SB1036

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation administers the program. The commission must set cost-covering fees, contract/disclosure rules and restrictions on unfair practices, consulting the consumer credit commissioner on financing-related disclosures and agreement formats. The Public Utility Commission must develop consumer education with the department and attorney general. The act required implementing rules by June 1, 2026 and a stakeholder work group as soon as practicable. It requires compliance with the named deceptive-trade-practices, solar-disclosure and financial-disclosure laws; it prevails only to the extent of a conflict with municipal rules regulating the same conduct or Business & Commerce Code chapters 115 or 601. This is a review of the enacted requirements, not verification that every implementation deadline was met. Final law, sections 1806.006, 1806.051–.053 and 1806.153, and act sections 3–4; BC 115.003 (pre-act); BC 115.004 (pre-act); BC 115.005 (pre-act).

The Senate committee substitute narrowed the contractor registration exemption to employees rather than also contracted individuals, revised how contractor obligations are stated, added exclusions for older systems and new construction, and removed the introduced bill’s express power-purchase-agreement exclusion. Removing that exclusion does not mean every electricity-purchase arrangement automatically meets the final sale-or-lease definition. The substitute also added consumer-credit consultation and disclosure provisions, cooperative/municipal interconnection approvals and the affiliated/referred-loan cancellation clause. It raised the enhanced civil-penalty age threshold from over 55 to over 65. These changes survived; the substitute, engrossed, House committee and enrolled operative texts match, and no floor amendments are indexed. Introduced bill; Senate substitute; All versions; Amendment index; Final law.

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

The enforcement rules prohibit intentional, knowing or reckless false, misleading or deceptive statements, falsely implying utility or government affiliation, missing required disclosures, ignoring no-solicitation signs unless an occupant directs otherwise, unlicensed installation, material application misrepresentations and other violations. Registration can be denied or renewal refused for violations or prior occupational/business discipline under the statutory conditions. Officials may use warnings, administrative penalties, sanctions and cease-and-desist orders; a warning is discretionary, not a mandatory first chance. Final law, sections 1806.201–.205 and 1806.208.

Civil and administrative penalties are different. The new civil limits are $2,500 per violation and $50,000 in aggregate for similar violations. If a court finds a person over 65 was harmed, the limits rise to $10,000 per violation and $100,000 for similar violations. Separate administrative penalties use chapter 51, whose default ceiling is $5,000 per day per violation when the program law supplies no maximum; harm to someone over 65 may be considered. These are enforcement ceilings, not automatic payments to customers. Final law, sections 1806.203 and 1806.206; OC 51.301 (pre-act); OC 51.302 (pre-act); OC 51.352 (pre-act).

After notice, a hearing and a finding of a violation, the commission or executive director may order cancellation and a refund capped at what was paid under the agreement. That proceeding does not itself award extra damages, though it can be combined with administrative enforcement; an injured party may pursue other damages or equitable relief in court under applicable law, without recovering the refunded money twice. Consumers gain cancellation and accountability tools; covered businesses bear registration, insurance, disclosure and supervision burdens. Neither registration nor these remedies guarantees energy savings, repayment or success in a particular dispute. Final law, section 1806.207.

The March 30 substitute and May 6 engrossed fiscal notes estimate a $233,095 net general-revenue cost for fiscal years 2026–2027: $204,801 in 2026 and $28,294 in 2027. Gross costs of $517,801 and $574,294 are partly offset by projected fee revenue of $313,000 and $546,000. For each of 2028–2030, projected costs of $738,023 less $546,000 revenue leave $192,023 net cost. The revised model assumes 110 additional hearings cases rather than the introduced estimate’s 480; the introduced two-year net estimate was $724,400. These are forecasts, not enacted fee amounts or an appropriation. The bill makes no appropriation, and the notes anticipate no significant local fiscal implication. Introduced fiscal note; Substitute fiscal note; Engrossed fiscal note.