2025 Texas sessionsRegular and both called sessions have ended. This index covers House and Senate bills, not resolutions. Statuses come from official reports.

2025 · Regular session · House bill

HB3016

HB3016 adds a theft-related exception to the rule limiting when a rental company can void a damage waiver.

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Official caption: Relating to the circumstances in which a rental company may void a damage waiver for a rental vehicle.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists House author(s): Lujan, Longoria, Guillen, Bhojani, Gámez. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.

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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.

HB3016 adds a theft-related exception to the rule limiting when a rental company can void a damage waiver.
The new exception says the vehicle is stolen and the renter “fails to”: return the ignition key; file a law-enforcement report within 24 hours after discovering the theft; and cooperate with the rental company and investigating authorities in all matters relating to the investigation.
The previous exceptions remain, including intentional or wilful and wanton damage, specified unauthorized or prohibited vehicle uses, and fraudulent information supplied to obtain the rental.
The change applies only to agreements entered into on or after September 1, 2025.

Read the full explanation ↓

What does it do?

HB3016 adds a theft-related exception to the rule limiting when a rental company can void a damage waiver. A damage waiver is the company’s agreement not to hold an authorized driver responsible for all or part of damage or loss; it is not insurance. Theft is included in the statutory meaning of damage. Definitions and waiver notice.

The new exception says the vehicle is stolen and the renter “fails to”: return the ignition key; file a law-enforcement report within 24 hours after discovering the theft; and cooperate with the rental company and investigating authorities in all matters relating to the investigation. That preserves the enacted list’s “and”; this summary does not turn it into a rule that any single lapse automatically voids every waiver. The 24-hour clock starts at discovery, not necessarily when the theft occurred. Final law, section 1.

The previous exceptions remain, including intentional or wilful and wanton damage, specified unauthorized or prohibited vehicle uses, and fraudulent information supplied to obtain the rental. HB3016 does not abolish damage waivers or require companies to void them in every permitted circumstance.

The change applies only to agreements entered into on or after September 1, 2025. Earlier agreements remain governed by the former law. The governor signed June 20, 2025. Official history.

What changed along the way?

The filed bill, House committee printing and House-passed version said “fully cooperate.” The Senate committee substitute removed “fully.” The final law keeps “cooperate” and the rest of the theft provision. That is a wording change, not deletion of the cooperation requirement.

The amendment index lists no separate floor amendments. The Senate change is documented in the committee substitute and the history’s House concurrence in Senate amendments. All text versions.

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?

Rental companies gain an express theft-related basis to dispute damage-waiver protection under the statutory conditions. Renters may face exposure to vehicle-loss costs if protection is validly voided. Keeping the key, promptly reporting a discovered theft and cooperating with investigators are therefore important. The act does not set a new damage amount, guarantee a company’s claim succeeds, or decide a particular renter’s insurance or credit-card coverage.

The final fiscal note anticipates no significant state or local-government fiscal impact, with state costs absorbed using existing resources. It does not estimate private losses, waiver prices or how many theft disputes the change will affect. The bill makes no appropriation.

Official sources

Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.