SB1066

SB1066 adds an express bonding requirement for certain Texas Parks and Wildlife Department contracts worth more than $150,000. For a contract under Parks and Wildlife Code 11.0171(a)(2) to construct, alter or repair a public building, or carry out or complete a public work, the department, executive director or director’s designee must require both a performance bond and a payment bond to the department before work begins. The new trigger is more than $150,000, not $150,000 or more. Final law, section 1.

The referenced contract authority concerns professional services related to department projects, including project management, design, bid and construction administration, consistent with the state’s professional-services procurement law. This is a specific department provision, not a rewrite of bonding requirements for every Texas public contract or every professional service. PW 11.0171, subsection (a)(2); GV 2254.002; GV 2254.003; GV 2254.004; Final law.

In ordinary public-work bonding law, a performance bond protects the government’s interest in faithful completion, while a payment bond protects qualifying labor and material providers. SB1066 requires both forms for the covered contracts. It does not expressly repeal Government Code chapter 2253 or state that contracts at or below $150,000 are exempt from every other bonding obligation. Accordingly, the new threshold should not be read as blanket permission to omit bonds on all smaller department contracts. GV 2253.021, subsections (a)–(c); Final law.

Signed May 15, 2025, the act took effect September 1, 2025. Its application turns on when the department first solicits bids, proposals, offers, qualifications or a similar response—not when the contract is signed or construction begins. Solicitations first made on or after September 1 are covered; earlier solicitations remain governed by the former law. Official history; Final law, sections 2–3.