Regular Session
Government Affairs & Regulatory Compliance Analysis
HB5515 eliminates "shipping and handling" as a profit center for instructional materials sold to Texas public schools. Vendors are now legally prohibited from charging freight costs that exceed the actual carrier rate or adding administrative handling fees. This impacts all publishers, manufacturers, and distributors of instructional materials; if you rely on flat-rate shipping percentages to subsidize unit prices, your pricing model is now non-compliant.
Rep. Brad Buckley·House Bill·Regular Session
This legislation has regulatory implications for the following Texas businesses and organizations:
Significant regulatory changes (effective 2025-09-01). Review with your legal and compliance teams to understand implications.
Affected business types:
highSignificant operational investment may be required.
JD Key Consulting provides government affairs and regulatory strategy services. We help businesses navigate Texas agencies, understand legislative impacts, and advocate for their interests.
JD Key Consulting provides strategic guidance on Texas regulatory compliance and legislative impact for your business.
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Review all sales agreements for the 2025-2026 academic year. Any clause stipulating a flat shipping percentage (e.g., "Shipping is 10% of order total") is void if that amount exceeds actual carrier costs. Replace these with "Actual Freight Cost" or "Pass-through Logistics" clauses.
Sales representatives must be retrained immediately to stop quoting shipping margins. Finance and Logistics teams must collaborate to ensure the shipping software (e.g., ShipStation, SAP) feeds real-time cost data to the invoicing system.
You must establish a strict audit trail. For every invoice sent to a school district containing a shipping charge, you must retain the corresponding third-party carrier invoice (UPS, FedEx, DHL). You must be prepared to prove that the amount billed to the school matches the amount paid to the carrier.
This bill necessitates a revenue shift. You must strip profit margins from your shipping line items. If this creates a deficit, you must adjust your base unit pricing, keeping in mind "most favored nation" clauses that prevent charging Texas schools more than other states for the same item.
JD Key Consulting specializes in Texas regulatory compliance strategy. Work directly with James Dickey—former Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas—to understand this bill's impact on your operations and develop an actionable compliance plan.
Schedule a ConsultationInformation 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.
This bill's path through the Texas Legislature
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Common questions about HB5515
HB5515 eliminates "shipping and handling" as a profit center for instructional materials sold to Texas public schools. Vendors are now legally prohibited from charging freight costs that exceed the actual carrier rate or adding administrative handling fees. This impacts all publishers, manufacturers, and distributors of instructional materials; if you rely on flat-rate shipping percentages to subsidize unit prices, your pricing model is now non-compliant.
HB5515 was authored by Texas Representative Brad Buckley during the Regular Session.
HB5515 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
HB5515 is enforced by Local School Districts (via procurement audits), State Board of Education (SBOE) and Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The regulatory priority for HB5515 is rated as "critical". Businesses and organizations should review the legislation to understand potential impacts.
The cost impact of HB5515 is estimated as "high". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
HB5515 addresses topics including education, education--primary & secondary, education--primary & secondary--finance, education--primary & secondary--general and science & technology.
Key dates for HB5515: Effective date is 2025-09-01. Consult with legal counsel regarding applicability.
HB5515 establishes the following penalties: contractual/administrative penalty of Contract termination or removal from state adoption list for Inclusion of freight/shipping costs exceeding actual carrier rates or inclusion of non-physical handling charges in material price. Consult with legal counsel for specific applicability to your situation.
HB5515 primarily affects technology companies and data processors. These businesses should review the legislation with their legal and compliance teams to understand potential impacts.
JD Key Consulting is an Austin, Texas-based government affairs firm led by James Dickey, former Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. We specialize in Texas regulatory compliance and legislative strategy for data centers, energy, banking, and manufacturing.
