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 · Senate bill

SB612

SB612 limits certain water-district pipeline charges to developers to the district’s actual, reasonable and documented costs.

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Official caption: Relating to the authority of certain conservation and reclamation districts to impose fees for the construction of certain pipelines and associated infrastructure.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Hinojosa, Juan "Chuy". 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.

SB612 limits certain water-district pipeline charges to developers to the district’s actual, reasonable and documented costs.
The law is geographically limited.
The governor signed the bill June 20, 2025, and its sufficient two-thirds votes made it effective immediately that day.

Read the full explanation ↓

What does it do?

SB612 limits certain water-district pipeline charges to developers to the district’s actual, reasonable and documented costs. It covers a developer proposing a water or sewer pipeline or related infrastructure in the district’s service area. Allowed costs include review, legal and engineering services, inspection, construction, repair, infrastructure relocation or conversion, and other related costs the district incurs in connection with subdivision construction. It is a cost ceiling, not a ban on charging fees. Enacted fee limit.

The law is geographically limited. Existing Section 49.2127 applies only to districts wholly or partly in a county on both the Gulf of Mexico and an international border, or a county adjacent to such a county. SB612 leaves that boundary intact; it is not a statewide limit on every utility or development fee. The new definition covers someone who owns land in the district and has divided or proposes to divide it into at least two parts, or requests more than two water or sewer connections on one contiguous tract. Existing geographic scope; Developer definition.

The governor signed the bill June 20, 2025, and its sufficient two-thirds votes made it effective immediately that day. History; Effective-date provision and certified votes.

What changed along the way?

The introduced bill would have added developers to existing subsection (d), including its prohibition on unduly burdensome pipeline-construction requirements. The Senate committee substitute instead created a separate developer fee limit in subsection (e). It required land ownership within the district, specified proposed or completed division into two or more parts, and expressly included infrastructure relocation or conversion among recoverable costs. It did not extend subsection (d)’s unduly-burdensome-requirements protection to developers; that existing provision remains for retail public utilities. Introduced proposal; Senate substitute; Prior subsection (d).

The Senate substitute, engrossed text and House committee text share the new structure. Their last clause says “construction or a subdivision”; the enrolled law instead says “construction of a subdivision.” This briefing follows the enacted wording. The official amendment index lists no amendments, and the House reported the bill without amendments; the posted texts do not themselves explain that wording difference. All versions; Amendment index; Final text.

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?

Covered developers gain a documented-cost ceiling that could reduce charges exceeding the statutory standard. Districts can still recover qualifying costs, including relocation or conversion expenses, but must stay within the actual, reasonable and documented amount. Whether any project becomes cheaper depends on its facts and previous charges; the act does not guarantee lower home prices or eliminate other lawful development requirements. Fee standard.

Both posted fiscal notes—the May 2 introduced-bill note and May 5 substitute note—anticipate no state fiscal implication and no significant local fiscal implication. Neither estimates developer savings or district revenue reductions. SB612 appropriates no money and creates no new fee amount. Introduced fiscal note; Substitute fiscal note.

Official sources

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