Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4501 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R13330 MAW-F
2	2	By: Schofield H.B. No. 4501
3	3
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5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to statutory construction.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Sections 311.016(2) and (3), Government Code,
12	12	are amended to read as follows:
13	13	(2) "Shall" imposes a duty. The use of "shall" does not
14	14	indicate that an action is discretionary.
15	15	(3) "Must" imposes a requirement and either creates a
16	16	duty or creates or recognizes a condition precedent.
17	17	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 311, Government Code, is
18	18	amended by adding Sections 311.0211, 311.0212, and 311.0213 to read
19	19	as follows:
20	20	Sec. 311.0211. INTENTIONALISM PROHIBITED. When
21	21	interpreting a statute, a court:
22	22	(1) may not inquire into what members of the
23	23	legislature intended to accomplish by enacting the statute; and
24	24	(2) shall enforce the statutory text as written and in
25	25	accordance with the meaning that the words of the statute would have
26	26	to an ordinary speaker of the English language.
27	27	Sec. 311.0212. USE OF LEGISLATURE HISTORY PROHIBITED. When
28	28	interpreting a statute, a court may not consider, consult, cite,
29	29	rely on, or give any weight to:
30	30	(1) any statement from an individual legislator,
31	31	including a statement by the author or sponsor of the bill that
32	32	enacted the statute or a statement made during a committee hearing
33	33	or debate of the bill on the floor of a house of the legislature;
34	34	(2) a committee report; or
35	35	(3) a statement of a presiding officer or the governor
36	36	made on the signing of the bill.
37	37	Sec. 311.0213. DEFERENCE TO AGENCY CONSTRUCTION
38	38	PROHIBITED. Notwithstanding any other law, a court is not required
39	39	to give deference to any construction of a statute by a state agency
40	40	responsible for administering, implementing, or enforcing the
41	41	statute. This section does not prohibit a court from considering a
42	42	state agency's construction of a statute if that construction is
43	43	reasonable and does not conflict with the plain language of the
44	44	statute.
45	45	SECTION 3. Section 311.025(c), Government Code, is amended
46	46	to read as follows:
47	47	(c) In determining whether amendments are irreconcilable,
48	48	text that is reenacted because of the requirement of Article III,
49	49	Section 36, of the Texas Constitution is not considered to be
50	50	irreconcilable with additions or omissions in the same text made by
51	51	another amendment. Unless clearly indicated to the contrary, an
52	52	amendment that reenacts text in compliance with that constitutional
53	53	requirement does not mean [indicate legislative intent] that the
54	54	reenacted text prevails [prevail] over changes in the same text
55	55	made by another amendment, regardless of the relative dates of
56	56	enactment.
57	57	SECTION 4. Section 311.026(b), Government Code, is amended
58	58	to read as follows:
59	59	(b) If the conflict between the general provision and the
60	60	special or local provision is irreconcilable, the special or local
61	61	provision prevails as an exception to the general provision, unless
62	62	the general provision is the later enactment and clearly and
63	63	unambiguously supersedes the special or local provision [the
64	64	manifest intent is that the general provision prevail].
65	65	SECTION 5. Section 311.028, Government Code, is amended to
66	66	read as follows:
67	67	Sec. 311.028. UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION OF UNIFORM ACTS. A
68	68	uniform act included in a code shall be construed, when possible,
69	69	[to effect its general purpose] to make uniform the law of those
70	70	states that enact it.
71	71	SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 311, Government Code, is
72	72	amended by adding Section 311.0311 to read as follows:
73	73	Sec. 311.0311. SEVERABILITY AND SAVING CONSTRUCTIONS. (a)
74	74	Unless a statute contains a provision expressly providing for
75	75	nonseverability, every provision, section, subsection, sentence,
76	76	clause, phrase, and word of the statute, including every discrete
77	77	application of the provision, section, subsection, sentence,
78	78	clause, phrase, or word to any person, group of persons, or
79	79	circumstance, is severable.
80	80	(b) If any application of any statutory provision, section,
81	81	subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word to any person, group
82	82	of persons, or circumstance is determined by a court to be invalid,
83	83	preempted, or unconstitutional, regardless of the reason, all
84	84	remaining applications of that statutory provision, section,
85	85	subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word to any other person,
86	86	group of persons, or circumstance shall be severed and preserved
87	87	and remain in effect.
88	88	(c) It is the intent of the legislature that every valid,
89	89	non-preempted, and constitutional application of its statutory
90	90	enactments be allowed to stand alone and remain enforceable.
91	91	(d) A court may not decline to enforce the severability
92	92	requirements of this section on the grounds that the severance
93	93	would rewrite the statute or involve the court in legislative or
94	94	lawmaking activity. A court that declines to enforce, or that
95	95	enjoins a state official from enforcing, wholly or partly, a
96	96	statute is not considered to be rewriting a statute or engaging in
97	97	legislative or lawmaking activity because the statute continues to
98	98	contain the same words as before the court's decision. A judicial
99	99	injunction or declaration of unconstitutionality:
100	100	(1) is only an edict prohibiting enforcement of the
101	101	disputed statute against the parties to that lawsuit and may
102	102	subsequently be vacated by a higher court based on a different
103	103	understanding of the law;
104	104	(2) is not a formal amendment of the language in a
105	105	statute; and
106	106	(3) does not rewrite the statute any more than a
107	107	decision by the executive not to enforce a duly enacted statute in a
108	108	limited and defined set of circumstances.
109	109	(e) If a court, in violation of this section, declares or
110	110	finds any statutory provision, section, subsection, sentence,
111	111	clause, phrase, or word to be facially or totally invalid,
112	112	preempted, or unconstitutional, when there are discrete
113	113	applications of that statutory provision, section, subsection,
114	114	sentence, clause, phrase, or word that could be enforced against a
115	115	person, group of persons, or circumstance without violating federal
116	116	law or the federal or state constitutions, then that statutory
117	117	provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
118	118	shall be interpreted, as a matter of state law, as if the
119	119	legislature had explicitly limited its application to the person,
120	120	group of persons, or circumstance for which its application will
121	121	not violate federal law or the federal or state constitutions, and
122	122	every court shall adopt and apply this saving construction until
123	123	the court ruling declaring the statutory provision, section,
124	124	subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word facially or totally
125	125	invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional is vacated or overturned.
126	126	SECTION 7. Section 311.034, Government Code, is amended to
127	127	read as follows:
128	128	Sec. 311.034. WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY; JURISDICTIONAL
129	129	REQUIREMENTS. In order to preserve the legislature's interest in
130	130	managing state fiscal matters through the appropriations process, a
131	131	statute shall not be construed as a waiver of sovereign immunity
132	132	unless the waiver is effected by clear and unambiguous language. In
133	133	a statute, the use of "person," as defined by Section 311.005 to
134	134	include governmental entities, does not [indicate legislative
135	135	intent to] waive sovereign immunity unless the context of the
136	136	statute indicates no other reasonable construction. Statutory
137	137	prerequisites to a suit, including the provision of notice, are
138	138	jurisdictional requirements in all suits against a governmental
139	139	entity.
140	140	SECTION 8. Subchapter C, Chapter 311, Government Code, is
141	141	amended by adding Section 311.037 to read as follows:
142	142	Sec. 311.037. GRAMMATICAL OR SCRIVENER'S ERROR. A
143	143	grammatical or scrivener's error does not vitiate a law. A court
144	144	construing a statute that contains a grammatical or scrivener's
145	145	error that would be apparent to an ordinary reader of the English
146	146	language may interpret the statute consistent with the
147	147	understanding of the statute by an ordinary reader of the English
148	148	language.
149	149	SECTION 9. Subchapter A, Chapter 312, Government Code, is
150	150	amended by adding Sections 312.0051, 312.0052, 312.0053, 312.0081,
151	151	and 312.0082 to read as follows:
152	152	Sec. 312.0051. INTENTIONALISM PROHIBITED. When
153	153	interpreting a statute, a court:
154	154	(1) may not inquire into what members of the
155	155	legislature intended to accomplish by enacting the statute; and
156	156	(2) shall enforce the statutory text as written and in
157	157	accordance with the meaning that the words of the statute would have
158	158	to an ordinary speaker of the English language.
159	159	Sec. 312.0052. USE OF LEGISLATURE HISTORY PROHIBITED. When
160	160	interpreting a statute, a court may not consider, consult, cite,
161	161	rely on, or give any weight to:
162	162	(1) any statement from an individual legislator,
163	163	including a statement by the author or sponsor of the bill that
164	164	enacted the statute or a statement made during a committee hearing
165	165	or debate of the bill on the floor of a house of the legislature;
166	166	(2) a committee report; or
167	167	(3) a statement of a presiding officer or the governor
168	168	made on the signing of the bill.
169	169	Sec. 312.0053. DEFERENCE TO AGENCY CONSTRUCTION
170	170	PROHIBITED. Notwithstanding any other law, a court is not required
171	171	to give deference to any construction of a statute by a state agency
172	172	responsible for administering, implementing, or enforcing the
173	173	statute. This section does not prohibit a court from considering a
174	174	state agency's construction of a statute if that construction is
175	175	reasonable and does not conflict with the plain language of the
176	176	statute.
177	177	Sec. 312.0081. GRAMMATICAL OR SCRIVENER'S ERROR. A
178	178	grammatical or scrivener's error does not vitiate a law. A court
179	179	construing a statute that contains a grammatical or scrivener's
180	180	error that would be apparent to an ordinary reader of the English
181	181	language may interpret the statute consistent with the
182	182	understanding of the statute by an ordinary reader of the English
183	183	language.
184	184	Sec. 312.0082. SEVERABILITY AND SAVING CONSTRUCTIONS. (a)
185	185	Unless a statute contains a provision expressly providing for
186	186	nonseverability, every provision, section, subsection, sentence,
187	187	clause, phrase, and word of the statute, including every discrete
188	188	application of the provision, section, subsection, sentence,
189	189	clause, phrase, or word to any person, group of persons, or
190	190	circumstance, is severable.
191	191	(b) If any application of any statutory provision, section,
192	192	subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word to any person, group
193	193	of persons, or circumstance is determined by a court to be invalid,
194	194	preempted, or unconstitutional, regardless of the reason, all
195	195	remaining applications of that statutory provision, section,
196	196	subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word to any other person,
197	197	group of persons, or circumstance shall be severed and preserved
198	198	and remain in effect.
199	199	(c) It is the intent of the legislature that every valid,
200	200	non-preempted, and constitutional application of its statutory
201	201	enactments be allowed to stand alone and remain enforceable.
202	202	(d) A court may not decline to enforce the severability
203	203	requirements of this section on the grounds that the severance
204	204	would rewrite the statute or involve the court in legislative or
205	205	lawmaking activity. A court that declines to enforce, or that
206	206	enjoins a state official from enforcing, wholly or partly, a
207	207	statute is not considered to be rewriting a statute or engaging in
208	208	legislative or lawmaking activity because the statute continues to
209	209	contain the same words as before the court's decision. A judicial
210	210	injunction or declaration of unconstitutionality:
211	211	(1) is only an edict prohibiting enforcement of the
212	212	disputed statute against the parties to that lawsuit and may
213	213	subsequently be vacated by a higher court based on a different
214	214	understanding of the law;
215	215	(2) is not a formal amendment of the language in a
216	216	statute; and
217	217	(3) does not rewrite the statute any more than a
218	218	decision by the executive not to enforce a duly enacted statute in a
219	219	limited and defined set of circumstances.
220	220	(e) If a court, in violation of this section, declares or
221	221	finds any statutory provision, section, subsection, sentence,
222	222	clause, phrase, or word to be facially or totally invalid,
223	223	preempted, or unconstitutional, when there are discrete
224	224	applications of that statutory provision, section, subsection,
225	225	sentence, clause, phrase, or word that could be enforced against a
226	226	person, group of persons, or circumstance without violating federal
227	227	law or the federal or state constitutions, then that statutory
228	228	provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
229	229	shall be interpreted, as a matter of state law, as if the
230	230	legislature had explicitly limited its application to the person,
231	231	group of persons, or circumstance for which its application will
232	232	not violate federal law or the federal or state constitutions, and
233	233	every court shall adopt and apply this saving construction until
234	234	the court ruling declaring the statutory provision, section,
235	235	subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word facially or totally
236	236	invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional is vacated or overturned.
237	237	SECTION 10. Sections 311.021, 311.023, 311.032, 312.005,
238	238	312.006, 312.012, and 312.013, Government Code, are repealed.
239	239	SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.