The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Texas bill authorizes all counties to establish drainage utilities, levy impact fees, and regulate land use for flood control
Last action · August 20, 2025: Referred to Disaster Preparedness & FloodingSponsor: Erin Zwiener
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What This Bill Proposed
Relating to the authority of a county to establish drainage utilities, impose drainage fees, and regulate land use for the purpose of flood management.
Property owners and developers in unincorporated areas face new county-level land-use restrictions, potential drainage utility fees, and s for new development aimed at flood management.
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.
Counties
Counties gain new discretionary authority to adopt land-use regulations for flood control, establish drainage utility systems, and levy drainage impact fees.
Property owners and developers in unincorporated areas
Property owners and developers are subject to new county land-use standards, setback rules, landscaping requirements, and potential drainage utility and impact fees.
Municipalities
Municipalities retain supremacy over conflicting county regulations within their jurisdictions, and county drainage service areas cannot include municipal extraterritorial jurisdictions.
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
Can a county ban all development in a floodplain under this bill?
What happens if a county drainage rule conflicts with a city ordinance?
Which counties are allowed to impose storm-water and drainage impact fees?
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 · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Aug 20, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Disaster Preparedness & Flooding
- Aug 20, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
- Aug 15, 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.
Removal of Population Thresholds for Drainage Impact Fees
The bill expands storm-water impact fee authority from large counties (population 3.3 million or more) to all counties statewide.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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