Regular Session
Government Affairs & Regulatory Compliance Analysis
SB995 streamlines the permitting process for oversize/overweight (OS/OW) vehicle crossing contracts by removing the Comptroller and Attorney General from the surety bond approval loop. Effective September 1, 2025, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) assumes sole authority for approving these bonds, reducing administrative lead times for heavy civil, energy, and logistics operators.
Sen. Robert Nichols·Senate Bill·Regular Session
This legislation has regulatory implications for the following Texas businesses and organizations:
Standard regulatory changes (effective 2025-09-01). Review during normal business planning.
Affected business types:
lowMinimal cost impact anticipated.
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Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Ensure your surety providers update their standard bond forms for Texas OS/OW crossings. Forms must be revised to remove signature lines for the Comptroller and Attorney General. Using legacy forms after September 1 may result in administrative rejection by TxDOT.
Retrain permitting and compliance staff to cease routing bond drafts to the Attorney General or Comptroller. Update internal Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to reflect a direct-to-TxDOT submission workflow.
You no longer need to retain evidence of multi-agency approval for audit purposes. The singular approval notification from TxDOT will serve as the sole required compliance artifact for the validity of the bond.
There are no changes to statutory fees or bond calculation methods. Administrative costs should decrease due to the elimination of multi-agency coordination.
The statute removes external legal review (Attorney General), placing the burden of determining "legal sufficiency" entirely on TxDOT’s internal counsel. This creates a potential bottleneck in Q4 2025 if TxDOT is not adequately staffed to handle the increased legal review volume. Furthermore, the law does not specify if TxDOT will accept legacy forms with "N/A" marked in obsolete signature blocks or if they will require strictly updated forms immediately upon the effective date.
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 SB995
SB995 streamlines the permitting process for oversize/overweight (OS/OW) vehicle crossing contracts by removing the Comptroller and Attorney General from the surety bond approval loop. Effective September 1, 2025, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) assumes sole authority for approving these bonds, reducing administrative lead times for heavy civil, energy, and logistics operators.
SB995 was authored by Texas Senator Robert Nichols during the Regular Session.
SB995 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
SB995 is enforced by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
The regulatory priority for SB995 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the legislation to understand potential impacts.
The cost impact of SB995 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
SB995 addresses topics including highways, vehicles & traffic, vehicles & traffic--general, bonds and transportation, texas department of.
Key dates for SB995: Effective date is 2025-09-01. Consult with legal counsel regarding applicability.
SB995 primarily affects transportation and logistics companies. 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.
