The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Texas HB 143 regulates mass text message political ads and caps campaign disclosure penalties
Last action · July 21, 2025: FiledSponsor: Dade Phelan
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What This Bill Proposed
Texas HB 143 explicitly includes paid mass text message campaigns in the legal definition of political advertising and caps civil penalties so that an entire single text messaging campaign counts as only one violation. These changes apply to political advertising distributed on or after the bill's effective date, which is the 91st day after the legislative session ends.
Campaign organizers and political committees face clearer regulatory standards for mobile messaging, while also receiving a statutory limit on how civil penalties are assessed for disclosure violations during mass outreach efforts.
- Texas election laws govern political advertising disclosures and impose civil penalties for non-compliance under the Texas Election Code. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Political candidates and campaigns
Campaigns utilizing mass text message outreach must comply with political advertising definitions and benefit from a single-violation penalty cap for disclosure infractions.
Political parties
Party organizations conducting mass text messaging efforts are subject to the updated advertising classifications and civil penalty limitations.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a mass text message campaign under this bill?
How are civil penalties calculated if a mass text message campaign violates disclosure laws?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
1 action- Jul 21, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Political Advertising to Digital Messaging
The bill formally integrates paid mass text message campaigns into the established statutory framework governing political advertising and disclosure penalties.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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