2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB206
HB206 prohibits a county from requiring a cash bond as a condition of approving pipeline construction within its boundaries.
Official caption: Relating to a limitation on a county's authority to require a cash bond before approving the construction of a pipeline.
Official report lists House author(s): Craddick. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB206 prohibits a county from requiring a cash bond as a condition of approving pipeline construction within its boundaries.
- The restriction is specific: it concerns a county-imposed cash bond tied to construction approval.
What does it do?
HB206 prohibits a county from requiring a cash bond as a condition of approving pipeline construction within its boundaries. The prohibition applies to applications filed with a county on or after September 1, 2025, the law’s effective date. Final act, Sections 1–3
The restriction is specific: it concerns a county-imposed cash bond tied to construction approval. The act does not itself approve a pipeline, waive other applicable permits, change landowners’ property rights, or prohibit every conceivable kind of financial assurance. It also does not establish an automatic refund for cash bonds associated with earlier applications. Those broader results are not in its three sections. Final act
What changed along the way?
The filed bill would have allowed a county to require a cash bond if the pipeline applicant received the right to approve or deny use of the bond proceeds. If the applicant denied their use, the filed version would have entitled the applicant to a full refund. That was the proposal, not the enacted rule. Filed text
The House committee substitute removed that exception and the related refund provision, replacing them with a direct prohibition on requiring the cash bond. The House-passed, Senate committee and final texts retain that approach. The application-date limitation and September 1 effective date remained throughout. The official amendment index lists no separate floor amendments; the substantive change occurred in the House committee substitute. House substitute · House-passed text · Senate report · Amendment index
The House passed HB206 April 23 by 114–34, with one present but not voting. The Senate passed it May 12 by 27–3. The governor signed it May 26, 2025. Final vote certificates · Official history
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
Pipeline applicants could avoid tying up cash in a county-required bond as a condition of approval for a covered application. Counties lose that particular approval condition. Where a county would otherwise have used a cash bond as financial protection, it must operate without that tool for these applications; the act does not supply a replacement funding source. The practical size of either effect depends on the county and project. Final act
The Legislative Budget Board anticipated no state fiscal implication and no significant local-government fiscal implication. It did not quantify applicant savings, foregone bond amounts or possible future repair costs. The estimate should not be read as proof that every county or project is unaffected. Latest posted fiscal note, May 2
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
