Relating to certain governmental operations affecting the border region.
LowStandard timeline
Low Cost
Effective:2025-06-20
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Department of Transportation • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board • Texas Water Development Board • Department of State Health Services • Governor's Criminal Justice Division
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority vote).
Compliance Deadline:June 20, 2025. Business development teams must update grant and bid eligibility parameters immediately to capture new opportunities.
Agency Rulemaking: While the statute is effective immediately, agencies (TxDOT, TWDB) will likely lag in updating automated eligibility maps. Expect a "regulatory gray zone" between June and September 2025 where manual citations of Government Code Sec. 2056.002 will be required to override outdated system rejections.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Update CMBL Profiles: Log into the Centralized Master Bidders List and agency-specific portals to update geographic service areas for the ten new counties immediately.
2.Audit Pending Bids: Review all proposals currently in drafting stages for TxDOT or TWDB projects in the affected counties; amend the "Eligibility" sections to reference the new Border Region status.
3.Contact Program Officers: For active grants in these counties, contact the agency contract manager to determine if the new designation opens access to supplemental "border" funding tranches.
4.Revise Feasibility Studies: Re-evaluate shelved infrastructure projects in the ten counties that were previously deemed financially unviable; state subsidies may now alter the ROI.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Public-Private Partnerships (P3): Legal counsel must review potential infrastructure projects in the ten newly designated counties. Transportation Code Sec. 201.109 now authorizes expanded private investment (turnpikes, bridges) in these specific jurisdictions.
State Vendor Agreements: Review Master Service Agreements (MSAs) that contain geographic pricing tiers or "rural" vs. "border" service definitions. Vendors operating in the new counties may now trigger different reimbursement rates or service requirements.
Hiring/Training
Business Development: Train proposal teams to flag the ten new counties as "Border Region" eligible. Stop using "100-kilometer" distance calculations; the law has shifted to a strict county-list definition.
Procurement Officers: Update search filters on the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD) to include these counties in border-specific solicitation searches.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Grant Applications: For all applications submitted to the Texas Water Development Board or TxDOT after June 20, 2025, explicitly cite HB1240 and Government Code Sec. 2056.002 in the narrative to justify eligibility.
Fund Segregation: If awarded border-specific funds, establish separate accounting codes. You must prove that funds allocated for "border region" projects were spent exclusively within the statutory county limits, not on adjacent non-border operations.
Fees & Costs
No New Fees: The bill does not impose new state fees.
Cost Impact: Positive. This legislation potentially lowers project costs by unlocking state subsidies and grant reimbursements previously unavailable in these counties.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Cross-County Projects: The law does not specify how agencies should treat infrastructure projects (e.g., pipelines or roads) that span both a designated border county and a non-designated county. Until TxDOT or TWDB issues rulemaking, businesses should prepare to segregate costs and apply for funding only for the portion of the project located strictly within the designated county lines.
Automated System Rejection: Agency portals often use legacy "distance from border" algorithms. There is a high probability that valid applications from counties like Mason or McCulloch will be auto-rejected initially.
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Information presented is for general knowledge only and is provided without warranty, express or implied. Consult qualified government affairs professionals and legal counsel before making compliance decisions.
The bill author has informed the committee that the inconsistent definitions of the "Texas‑Mexico border region" across various state laws and agencies has led to confusion and inefficiencies in governmental operations, funding, program implementation, and resource allocation. H.B. 1240 seeks to reduce administrative confusion, improve coordination between state agencies, and ensure that resources intended for the border region are distributed fairly and efficiently by providing for a consistent definition of the "Texas-Mexico border region."
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 1240 amends the Education Code, Government Code, Health and Safety Code, Transportation Code, and Water Code to revise the counties or geographic area considered part of the Texas-Mexico border region by designating as that region the counties of Atascosa, Bandera, Bee, Bexar, Brewster, Brooks, Cameron, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, El Paso, Frio, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, Loving, Mason, Maverick, McCulloch, McMullen, Medina, Menard, Nueces, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, San Patricio, Starr, Sutton, Terrell, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Webb, Willacy, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala. The bill applies this revised designation to the following:
·the requirement for a state agency serving the border region to make a strategic operation plan;
·research on border region environmental issues by entities using state research or technology funds that is encouraged by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
·the requirement for family practice residency training pilot programs that provide services to economically depressed or rural medically underserved areas to be located in the border region;
·the prosecution of border crime grant program established and administered by the governor's criminal justice division;
·the interagency work group on border issues;
·the border prosecution unit established within the governor's criminal justice division;
·the task force of border health officials established by the Department of State Health Services;
·the requirement for the Texas Transportation Commission, in enhancing existing sources of revenue and creating alternate sources of revenue, to increase private investment in the transportation infrastructure in the border region; and
·the Border Activity Tracker maintained and updated by the Texas Water Development Board that contains information about certain projects in the border region.
Honorable Angie Chen Button, Chair, House Committee on Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1240 by Guillen (Relating to certain governmental operations affecting the border region.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 300 Trusteed Programs Within the Office of the Governor, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 305 General Land Office and Veterans' Land Board, 307 Secretary of State, 320 Texas Workforce Commission, 332 Department of Housing and Community Affairs, 405 Department of Public Safety, 455 Railroad Commission, 537 State Health Services, Department of, 551 Department of Agriculture, 580 Water Development Board, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality, 601 Department of Transportation, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 802 Parks and Wildlife Department
LBB Staff:
JMc, RStu, NTh
Related Legislation
Explore more bills from this author and on related topics
HB1240 redefines the statutory "Texas-Mexico border region" to explicitly include Bee, Karnes, Loving, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Reagan, Upton, Ward, and Wilson counties, effective June 20, 2025. This expansion immediately qualifies businesses and infrastructure projects within these ten counties for specific state funding streams, private investment incentives in transportation (P3s), and preferential grant eligibility previously restricted to the border zone. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority vote).
Q
Who authored HB1240?
HB1240 was authored by Texas Representative Ryan Guillen during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB1240 signed into law?
HB1240 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB1240?
HB1240 is enforced by Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Water Development Board, Department of State Health Services and Governor's Criminal Justice Division.
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB1240?
The compliance urgency for HB1240 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB1240?
The cost impact of HB1240 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB1240 address?
HB1240 addresses topics including crimes, crimes--miscellaneous, environment, environment--general and bee county.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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