HB1991

Regular Session

Relating to information regarding certain charges for services provided by municipally owned utility systems.

ModeratePlan for compliance

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (All current charges must be posted). For future changes, updates must be posted no later than 30 days after the municipality adopts the change.
Agency Rulemaking: None. This is a self-executing statutory requirement for local governments; however, interpretation of "terms and conditions" will likely be defined through initial litigation or Attorney General opinions.

Immediate Action Plan

Audit Invoices: Direct Finance to identify all municipal utility accounts and flag "non-consumption" charges (maintenance, improvement fees).
Snapshot Baseline: On September 2, 2025, archive the utility pages of every municipality where you operate or own major assets.
Review MSAs: If you operate a utility for a city, issue a formal notice to the City Manager regarding their new obligation to publish data you provide.
Dispute Protocol: Create a standard objection letter for AP departments to use when an invoiced charge does not match the website.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Utility Operators: Review Master Services Agreements (MSAs) with municipalities immediately. If you manage the data, ensure the contract explicitly assigns the legal liability for *publishing* that data to the municipality. Insert indemnification clauses protecting your firm from citizen lawsuits if the city fails to update its website within the 30-day window.
Developers: When negotiating Chapter 380 or connection agreements, draft clauses that tie utility rates specifically to "charges published in accordance with Texas Government Code Section 1502.057." This prevents the enforcement of "hidden" council-approved fees that were not publicly disclosed.

Hiring/Training

Accounts Payable (Commercial Consumers): Train AP staff to verify municipal utility invoices against the municipality's website. If a "capital improvement" or "replacement" charge appears on an invoice but is not listed on the website, it is contestable.
IT/Web Teams (Utility Operators): Establish a rigid workflow to push rate data to municipal webmasters immediately upon adoption to ensure the 30-day statutory window is met.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Digital Archiving: Businesses engaged in disputes with municipalities must implement a "snapshot" protocol. Capture and timestamp the municipality’s utility webpage monthly. In a billing dispute, the burden will be on you to prove what terms were displayed on the specific date of service.
Synchronization: If the utility system maintains a website separate from the municipality, the law requires posting on *both*. Operators must ensure these data sets are identical to avoid ambiguity claims.

Fees & Costs

No Direct Fee Increases: The law does not mandate new fees.
Cost Containment: This is a cost-saving tool for businesses. It provides a statutory basis to reject utility charges that do not strictly conform to the published terms.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Terms and Conditions": The law requires publication of "terms and conditions," not just rates. Municipalities may attempt to publish only the rate table. Businesses should take the position that *any* penalty, surcharge, or peak-demand rule not published on the website is unenforceable.
"Improvement Charges": The definition of charges for "improvement" is broad. Watch for municipalities attempting to categorize Impact Fees or Capital Recovery Fees outside of this requirement to avoid publication.
Website Discrepancies: The law requires posting on both the utility's and the city's websites. If these conflict, businesses should argue for the application of the rate/term most favorable to the consumer (contra proferentem).

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCity Government City Government--utilities Utilities Utilities--general Secretary of State Public Notice

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1991

By: Guillen

Intergovernmental Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill author has informed the committee that the limited public visibility of the specific charges municipalities apply to their utility services has raised concerns about accountability, billing transparency, and potential confusion for customers regarding rate setting and adjustment. C.S.H.B. 1991 seeks to ensure that utility customers and the general public are informed of charges imposed for municipal utility services by requiring municipalities to publish the terms and conditions of utility charges on both the utility system's and the municipality's websites.

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

C.S.H.B. 1991 amends the Government Code to require a municipality that imposes operating, maintenance, replacement, or improvement charges for services provided by a municipally owned utility system to publish the terms and conditions of the charges on the utility system's and the municipality's websites and, not later than the 30th day after the date the municipality adopts a change to the terms and conditions of the charges, update the utility system's and the municipality's websites to reflect the change.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1991 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute revises the provision of the introduced requiring a municipality that imposes operating, maintenance, replacement, or improvement charges for services provided by a municipally owned utility system to publish certain information on the utility system's and the municipality's websites as follows:

·requires the terms and conditions of the charges to be published, whereas the introduced required the amounts of the charges to be published;

·includes a requirement absent from the introduced for the municipality to update the utility system's and the municipality's websites to reflect a change to the terms and conditions of the charges not later than the 30th day after the date the municipality adopts the change; and

·omits the requirement present in the introduced for the municipality to submit the amounts of the charges to the secretary of state for publication in the Texas Register.

Accordingly, the substitute also omits the provision of the introduced that required the Texas Register to contain the amounts of any charges submitted to the secretary of state.

House Authors

Rep. Ryan GuillenRepublican · Primary Author

Coauthors (1)

Penny Morales Shaw (D)

Senate Sponsor

Sen. Roland GutierrezDemocrat · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 1991

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to information regarding certain charges for services
	provided by municipally owned utility systems.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 1502.057, Government Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
	(d) A municipality that imposes operating, maintenance,
	replacement, or improvement charges under Subsection (a) shall:
	(1) publish the terms and conditions of the charges on
	the utility system's and the municipality's Internet websites; and
	(2) not later than the 30th day after the date the
	municipality adopts a change to the terms and conditions of the
	charges, update the utility system's and the municipality's
	Internet websites to reflect the change.
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 31, 2025

TO:	Honorable Cecil Bell, Chair, House Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB1991 by Guillen (Relating to information regarding certain charges for services provided by municipally owned utility systems.), 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:

307 Secretary of State

LBB Staff:

JMc, SZ, BC, CWi

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB1991

What does Texas HB1991 do?

HB1991 mandates strict digital transparency for municipally owned utility systems, requiring the online publication of all terms, conditions, and charges related to operations, maintenance, and improvements. While the statutory duty falls on municipalities, this law creates immediate contractual obligations for private utility operators and establishes a critical audit mechanism for commercial developers and high-volume utility consumers to contest undocumented fees. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (All current charges must be posted).

Who authored HB1991?

HB1991 was authored by Texas Representative Ryan Guillen during the Regular Session.

When was HB1991 signed into law?

HB1991 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

How urgent is compliance with HB1991?

The compliance urgency for HB1991 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB1991?

The cost impact of HB1991 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB1991 address?

HB1991 addresses topics including city government, city government--utilities, utilities, utilities--general and secretary of state.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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