Texas Legislative Session 2025 in Review

As the dust settles on the 2025 Texas legislative session, businesses, industry stakeholders and regulators are assessing an array of new laws and policy shifts. Pillsbury’s multidisciplinary team of attorneys offers in-depth analysis of the most consequential developments—what passed, what stalled and what it all means for stakeholders across key industries. This series is designed to help you navigate the evolving legal landscape and prepare for what lies ahead.

1. Texas Cyber Command: New Authority for Statewide Cybersecurity Coordination (7.18.25)
   Austin Chegini, Aimee P. Ghosh and Brian E. Finch explore Texas HB 150, which establishes the Texas Cyber Command, a centralized cybersecurity body under the University of Texas System that will provide statewide cybersecurity for public entities.
   
2. Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act: Overview and Initial Considerations (7.2.25)
   Austin Chegini, Edward A. Cavazos and J.C. Freeman break down SB 2420, which requires businesses operating app stores to verify user ages at account creation, obtain parental consent for minors before allowing app downloads or in-app purchases, and share age and consent information with developers. The authors also place it in the context of other state-level legislation aimed at enhancing online safety for minors.
   
3. Bipartisan Passage of House Bill 40 Clarifies Texas Business Court’s Jurisdiction (6.30.25)
   Ryan Sullivan and Ryan Steinbrunner unpack Texas HB 40, a bipartisan effort by the Texas Senate to improve the state’s Business Court through key administrative reforms, expansion of the types of cases it hears and new rules for governing jurisdictional determinations.
   
4. Texas Signals Its Commitment to Leading America’s Nuclear Energy Future Through Industry-Friendly Legislation (6.11.25)
   Jeffrey S. Merrifield, Elina Teplinsky, Sidney L. Fowler, Ashleigh Myers and Santiago J. Herdoiza discuss three recent bills, HB 14, SB 1535 and SB 1061, passed by the Texas Legislature that seek to expand the state’s ability to attract and foster nuclear sector investments.
5. Texas Just Made Derivative Suits a Lot Harder for Shareholders (6.10.25) (subscription required)
   Ryan Sullivan breaks down Senate Bill 29 (SB 29), signed into law on May 14 of this year, which marks the Texas legislature’s attempt to “seize this moment” to compete with other business-friendly states like Delaware and Nevada.
6. Texas SB6 Establishes New Transmission Fees and Interconnection Standards for Large Load Customers and Co-Located Loads (6.9.25)
   Robert A. James, Ashleigh Myers, Alicia M. McKnight, Sidney L. Fowler, M.C. Hammond and Polly Gomez unpack Texas Senate Bill 6 (SB 6), which introduces significant changes to how large electricity users interact with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid and marks a notable shift in regulatory policy to address concerns over grid reliability and cost allocations.
   
7. Water, Reused: Texas Reshapes Liability and Regulatory Rules on Produced Water, Leaves Ownership Questions Unanswered (6.9.25)
   Ashleigh Myers and JC Freeman discuss a series of bills passed by the legislature that address produced water permitting, inspection processes and liability matters, as well as legislation that failed to advance, which would have clarified ownership of such water and the valuable brine minerals found in it.
8. Geothermal Energy Gains Steam with Boosts and Clarifications from Texas Legislature (6.5.25)
   Ashleigh Myers, Sidney L. Fowler, Blake Berkey and JC Freeman examine three new state laws that strengthen the investment environment for geothermal energy through a number of regulatory provisions.