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Senate committee advances non‑substantive code‑update bills prepared by legislative council
Summary
The Senate Committee on Administration voted to report favorably several non‑substantive code‑update bills drafted by the Texas Legislative Council that recodify, renumber and correct statutory text; the measures were placed on committee calendars for May 14, 2025.
The Senate Committee on Administration on Tuesday reported several non‑substantive code‑update bills to the full Senate, voting to advance measures prepared by the Texas Legislative Council that recodify, renumber and correct statutory text.
The committee reported House Bill 1615 to the full Senate with a recorded aye vote and no nays after sponsor Senator Kolkhorst described the bill as the routine interim update to incorporate prior enactments and correct duplicative citations. Senator Kolkhorst said the Legislative Council’s legal division “has taken meticulous steps to ensure that the update bill does not include any substantive changes to the law.”
The committee also reported House Bill 1620, described by sponsor Senator Johnson as a non‑substantive recodification to ensure statutes are numbered and formatted correctly, and House Bill 1610, an update to the Code of Criminal Procedure, each to the full Senate with favorable recommendations. Committee members opened public testimony on the items, heard resource witnesses from the Texas Legislative Council, and then closed public testimony without opposition.
Why it matters: these update bills are intended to preserve current statutory meaning while bringing the codes into consistent form after multiple legislative sessions. Sponsors emphasized that the drafting process aims to avoid substantive change and instead fix numbering, cross‑references, outdated phrasing, and typographical errors.
What the committee did: for each bill the clerk called the roll and the motions to report were approved. House Bill 1615 was reported favorably with the clerk recording 4 ayes and 0 nays. House Bill 1620 was reported favorably with 5 ayes and 0 nays. House Bill 1610 was reported favorably with 5 ayes and 0 nays. The committee recommended the bills for placement on the local and uncontested calendar for the May 14, 2025 session where applicable, or left bills pending as the chair directed.
Background and limits: Sponsors repeatedly described these measures as non‑substantive and credited the Texas Legislative Council for the technical drafting work. The committee record shows resource witnesses from the Legislative Council were present; no substantive policy debate or amendments were recorded on these items during the hearing.
The committee then moved to other agenda items.
