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

SB897

SB897 lowers the required non-state match for certain grants supporting community mental-health services for veterans and their families, subject to a funding condition.

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Official caption: Relating to the administration of a grant program to support community mental health programs assisting veterans and their families.

Signed by governorSource-checked explanation published

Official report lists Senate author(s): Blanco. 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.

SB897 lowers the required non-state match for certain grants supporting community mental-health services for veterans and their families, subject to a funding condition.
The Health and Human Services Commission must implement these changes only if the Legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose in an amount greater than the amount appropriated for that purpose for the two-year state budget period ending August 31, 2025.
The underlying program supports community mental-health services and treatment for veterans and their families, coordinated with other transition support services.
The act was signed May 15, 2025, and took effect September 1, 2025.

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What does it do?

SB897 lowers the required non-state match for certain grants supporting community mental-health services for veterans and their families, subject to a funding condition. For a program serving one county with at least 250,000 residents, the minimum match falls from 100% to 75% of the grant amount. For a program serving multiple counties, the same reduction applies when the largest county served has at least 250,000 residents. The match stays at 25% when the relevant county has fewer than 100,000 residents, and at 50% when it has 100,000 to fewer than 250,000. These percentages are of the grant, not of the project’s total cost. Final act, section 1.

The Health and Human Services Commission must implement these changes only if the Legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose in an amount greater than the amount appropriated for that purpose for the two-year state budget period ending August 31, 2025. Without that appropriation, the commission may, but is not required to, use other available money for the purpose to implement the changes. SB897 itself does not supply an appropriation or guarantee a grant. Section 3 funding condition.

The underlying program supports community mental-health services and treatment for veterans and their families, coordinated with other transition support services. Nonprofit and governmental entities apply; grants are selected under evaluation criteria, not automatically awarded. Existing matching rules permit cash or in-kind contributions from private contributors or local governments as determined by the executive commissioner, but exclude both state and federal funds. The lower match does not remove those rules. Matching contributions; Recipient selection; Permitted use.

The act was signed May 15, 2025, and took effect September 1, 2025. The changes apply only to grants awarded on or after that date; earlier awards remain governed by the law on their award date. This briefing explains the enacted conditions, not a finding that a particular appropriation or grant award satisfies them. History; Sections 2–4.

What changed along the way?

The introduced bill would have required a 50% match for all relevant counties with at least 100,000 residents, eliminating the separate 250,000-or-more tier. The Senate committee substitute instead preserved three tiers and reduced the largest-county tier from 100% to 75%. The smaller-county tiers, prospective award rule and conditional implementation language were retained. The substitute, engrossed bill, House committee version and final act have identical operative provisions. All five text versions were compared; the amendment index lists no floor amendments.

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?

An eligible program in the largest-county tier would need a smaller match if the changes are implemented. For example, a $100,000 grant would require at least $75,000 in qualifying matching support rather than $100,000—a $25,000 reduction in the minimum match, not a $25,000 payment to a veteran or a guaranteed increase in services. Nonprofit or governmental applicants and their local/private contributors may benefit; veterans and families could benefit if funded services become available. Match formula and implementation condition.

Both the March 17 introduced fiscal note and April 1 substitute fiscal note anticipate no significant state fiscal impact, assume associated costs can be absorbed with existing resources and recognize the appropriation condition. They say reduced matching requirements may benefit affected counties, but the amount cannot be determined. They do not estimate individual benefits or guarantee that appropriations, awards or services will increase.

Official sources

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