Texas House Rep. Walle authors bill mandating minimum $25 fee for driving safety courses

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Armando Walle aims to standardize fees charged by driving safety providers, ensuring a minimum cost of $25 for students enrolled in these courses, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 61 Democrats and 84 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, also with no opposing votes.

Armando Walle introduced the bill in the Texas House on Wednesday, Feb. 19, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Walle graduated from the University of Houston with a BS and again from University of Houston with a JD.

Walle, a Democrat, was elected to the Texas State House in 2009 to represent the state’s 140th House district, replacing previous state representative Kevin Bailey.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the fee for a driving safety course’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates that driving safety providers charge students a minimum of $25 for a driving safety course. The legislation modifies Section 1001.352 of the Education Code to ensure a standardized minimum fee is applied by all providers offering these courses. The new fee requirement takes effect Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Thursday, May 15, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday, May 28.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.