The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Texas bans money transmission businesses from fining customers for terms-of-service violations
Last action · March 12, 2025: Referred to Pensions, Investments & Financial ServicesSponsor: Mike Schofield
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What This Bill Proposed
Texas House Bill 1516 prohibits s from imposing monetary fines or penalties for violating a terms-of-service agreement, effective September 1, 2025. Companies that violate this prohibition face a state civil penalty equal to three times the amount of the unauthorized fine, and the attorney general is authorized to recover these penalties alongside legal costs.
Financial service customers gain legal protection against account penalties while companies face state fines and potential legal action for contract enforcement violations.
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.
Money transmission licensees
Must remove fine provisions from new terms of service agreements and face civil penalties equal to triple any unauthorized fines assessed.
Customers of money transmission businesses
Protected from facing monetary fines or penalties if they violate a company's terms of service agreement.
Office of the Attorney General
Gains the authority to bring legal actions to recover civil penalties and associated legal costs and fees.
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 money transmission business still close my account if I violate their terms of service?
What happens if a money services business imposes a fine on a customer anyway?
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- Mar 12, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Pensions, Investments & Financial Services
- Mar 12, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
- Dec 4, 2024HouseIntroducedFiled
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
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 55)
- Controversy30Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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