HB5246

The introduced and House committee versions matched. They proposed moving the consortium into a new Chapter 483 and attaching it to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station. They also proposed express authority to establish a nonprofit and charter aircraft for site visits, and a two-year donor disqualification period.

Bonnen’s adopted House amendment removed the nonprofit-creation and aircraft-chartering proposals, added governor-approved interstate/federal agreements and certain NASA/Defense or decommissioned-asset spending, added space-vehicle procurement safeguards and closed-meeting authority, and made grant applications confidential. Its five amendment instructions were checked against the engrossed text.

The Senate substitute instead retained the consortium in Chapter 482 as an advisory committee administratively attached to the Space Commission. It added commission marketing/database duties and administrative support, permitted donated goods/services, changed strategic planning to every two years, reduced the donor lookback to one year and expressly included donations. It changed consortium appointment guidance from ethnic and geographic diversity to multiple geographic regions, and replaced its statewide strategic-plan duty with an organizational plan.

The conference report largely followed the Senate approach and added the municipal road/venue/beach closure provision. Senate Resolution 715 expressly permitted consideration of that new matter outside the earlier versions. The Senate adopted the conference report 21–10 and the House 83–52; the governor signed June 20. Earlier proposals that did not survive are not final law.

Sources: version index; amendment index; House amendment; Senate amendment packet; conference report and comparison; outside-bounds resolution.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Space businesses, researchers and governments gain broader funding and contracting pathways, while the commission gains more discretion. Public-purpose findings, grant controls and public final votes provide checks, but application confidentiality reduces what the public can inspect. Municipal approval is a check on temporary closures, which may still affect access for residents and visitors. The donor rule is less restrictive than the former rule, which had no stated lookback limit; it is not a new blanket prohibition on all past donors.

The consortium retains a nine-member executive committee, with appointed members serving at their appointing official’s pleasure. Participating colleges designate campus liaisons; other entities join through an application process. Its work shifts toward research recommendations, organizational planning and requests to the commission for project funding. Members receive no compensation but may receive meeting-expense reimbursement; ordinary advisory-committee rules do not govern its size, composition or duration.

The aerospace and aviation office remains, but loses specified spaceport-promotion/fund duties. Its advisory committee becomes seven members without separate seats for each active spaceport development corporation; existing terms end at the effective date, with reappointment allowed.

Abolishing the spaceport trust fund does not cancel existing contracts. Unrestricted balances go to general revenue for legislative appropriation; restricted gifts and contract-obligated money remain in trust with the comptroller under the act’s safeguards. Donors may request return of remaining donated money; specified later income and returned funds go to general revenue. This is distinct from the continuing space exploration and aeronautics research fund.

The May 30, 2025 conference fiscal note estimates a $7,206,000 gain to general revenue in fiscal 2026, matched by a $7,206,000 reduction in the old trust fund—not newly created wealth or demonstrated operational savings. It starts with a reported $7.18 million balance, adjusted for interest, spending and protected obligations. The introduced estimate was $7.18 million. The bill makes no appropriation, and the note anticipates no significant local fiscal implication.

Review boundary: all 19 final sections, five text versions, House amendment, Senate packet, conference text/comparison, official history, resolution and six indexed fiscal-note files were checked, along with repealed trust-fund law and relevant definitions. The explanation does not certify actual grants, fund transfers, procurement, closures, constitutional validity or economic results.

Sources: final indexed fiscal note; June 1 House journal: conference text and adoption.