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Read. Follow. Verify.Texas Attorney General required to invoice federal government for state border security costs
Last action · March 12, 2025: Referred to State AffairsSponsor: Richard Raymond
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What This Bill Proposed
The Texas Attorney General must calculate and invoice the federal government for state border security expenditures every biennium, beginning with a special retroactive calculation capping past claims at $20 billion. If the federal government fails to pay by the due date, the attorney general is required to sue to recover the funds, with all collected amounts deposited into the state .
Directs state legal resources toward pursuing federal reimbursement for decades of border security spending, potentially recovering up to $20 billion for the state treasury or initiating federal litigation.
- The Legislative Budget Board is a permanent joint committee of the Texas Legislature that develops budget and policy recommendations for state agencies. 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.
attorney general
Must calculate biennial border security spending, submit invoices to the federal government, deposit payments, and initiate lawsuits if invoices remain unpaid.
Legislative Budget Board
Must provide assistance to the attorney general in determining state border security expenditures upon request.
federal government
Must receive invoices for state border security expenditures and faces potential litigation if payments are not made by the due date.
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
Who calculates how much money Texas spent on border security?
What happens if the federal government does not pay the invoice?
How far back can Texas claim border security expenses for the first invoice?
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 State Affairs
- Mar 12, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
- Dec 9, 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
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Federal Cost Recovery for Border Security
The bill transforms border security expenditures from standard state budget outlays into reimbursable debts that the state is statutorily required to litigate over if unpaid.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment15Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz65Current news / social attention level
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