2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB609
HB609 requires a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality general aquaculture permit to allow a cultivated-oyster-mariculture permit holder to discharge waste from cleaning oyster-growing structures, subject to specific conditio…
Official caption: Relating to the cleaning of a structure used to grow oysters for cultivated oyster mariculture.
Official report lists House author(s): Vasut, Leo Wilson. 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.
- HB609 requires a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality general aquaculture permit to allow a cultivated-oyster-mariculture permit holder to discharge waste from cleaning oyster-growing structures, subject to specific conditions.
- This is a targeted permit allowance, not permission for unrestricted dumping, chemical washing, cleaning at another site, or operating without the required oyster permit.
What does it do?
HB609 requires a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality general aquaculture permit to allow a cultivated-oyster-mariculture permit holder to discharge waste from cleaning oyster-growing structures, subject to specific conditions. Cleaning must occur at the operator’s authorized location and use water from that location. The operator may not alter the water before cleaning, including by adding soap, chemicals or similar substances, and must comply with all other commission permit conditions. The commission must consult the Parks and Wildlife Department when establishing those other conditions. Final law.
This is a targeted permit allowance, not permission for unrestricted dumping, chemical washing, cleaning at another site, or operating without the required oyster permit. The governor signed the bill June 20, 2025; it took effect September 1, 2025. Official history.
What changed along the way?
The complete operative language is unchanged across the introduced, House committee, engrossed, Senate committee and enrolled texts. Both committees reported the bill without amendments, and the official amendment index reports none. The bill’s new on-site cleaning allowance was part of the original proposal, not a later addition. Introduced text; text versions; amendment index.
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?
Permitted oyster growers gain a clearer way to clean growing structures where they operate, potentially reducing handling and cleaning burdens. They still must follow the location, unaltered-water and remaining permit conditions. Environmental regulators must incorporate the allowance and consult the wildlife agency on other conditions. The sources do not quantify growers’ savings or changes in water quality.
The Legislative Budget Board anticipated no significant state or local fiscal impact and assumed implementation costs could be absorbed with existing resources. This is not an estimate of private farm costs or environmental outcomes. Engrossed fiscal note, May 15, 2025.
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.