City staff outline dozens of Texas bills city officials say could affect Richardson’s budget and services

City staff told the Richardson City Council they are tracking more than 2,000 bills filed in the 89th Texas Legislature and highlighted a subset they view as most likely to affect municipal revenues, borrowing and operations.

Chief Tittle, who is leading the city’s legislative monitoring, described measures that would limit municipal lobbying, change local debt authority, alter sales-tax sourcing and broaden an exemption for business personal property, among other bills. He said the city is coordinating with the Texas Municipal League (TML), the Texas Police Chiefs Association and regional partners as bills move through committee.

On lobbying, Tittle identified Senate Bill 19 and related measures that would “prohibit political subdivision[s] from hiring or contracting with a person who is registered or required to register as a lobbyist.” He said the city opposes the policy direction and is tracking the bill’s movement after it passed the full Senate 20–11 and was referred to House State Affairs.

Fiscal measures of special concern included: - House Bill 14503 (committee substitute discussed during the briefing): provisions that would constrain the use of certificates of obligation (COs) for certain projects; city staff said the bill remains in committee and that delays there may indicate difficulty advancing. - A proposal to shift sales-tax sourcing from origin to destination rules (described as House Bill 134 in the briefing): staff told council that changing sourcing could produce an estimated local revenue impact in a range that city staff and consultants have previously described as roughly $4 million to $6 million and that the outcome remains uncertain. - House Bill 9 and a related constitutional joint resolution that would expand an exemption for business personal property to $250,000 of market value; staff said the change would reduce property-tax yields and that their estimate from last year’s tax roll would be about a $2 million local revenue loss if enacted.

Tittle also summarized other sectors under watch, including transportation measures that could reduce dedicated transit funding for DART-membership cities, bills that change housing finance corporation authorities, and proposals that expand zoning-notice radii from 200 feet to 1,500 feet. On public safety, staff described bills addressing active-shooter preparedness, restrictions on unmanned aircraft procurement from certain foreign-owned companies, and a measure concerning sheriff-ICE agreements primarily affecting counties.

City staff emphasized that the final weeks of the session are likely to move quickly and urged council members to expect frequent updates during the legislative close-out period. Mayor and council members asked clarifying questions about several complex bills, including what “monitor” versus “oppose” positions mean for HB 23 (third-party review of property-development documents) and for bills affecting municipal procurement and debt.

Ending: City staff said they will continue to coordinate with TML and local partners, send written comments and, where appropriate, contact committee members and legislative delegations as the session moves into its final weeks.