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Before You Testify: A Checklist for Skill Industry Hearings in Texas

By GamesOfSkillMag Editorial8 min read
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Illustration of a plain graphite skill-machine cabinet with a blank dark screen in an empty off-white space, with three blank interlocking graphite panels in front of it, one with a thin chartreuse edge.

Checklist topic: testify legislative committee hearing Texas. Sources checked October 31, 2026.

For skill machine operators and vendors, appearing before a Texas committee is a formal public act, and in the House it is sworn and recorded. It can also raise lobby registration questions. As of October 31, 2026, we found no skill-machine hearing on the schedule: Texas Legislature Online's House page listed one public hearing, on an unrelated topic, and its Senate page read, "No meetings have been scheduled." Items marked as our recommendation are editorial advice, not legal requirements.

1. How do you confirm a Texas hearing is happening?

Read the committee's posted notice, set up meeting alerts, and call the committee clerk shortly before you travel (our recommendation). Texas Legislature Online's FAQ says an account is needed for email alerts on new notices.

Notices change. A House Insurance meeting set for October 6, 2026 is now marked "** MEETING CANCELED **". Formats differ too: one House Insurance notice covered "invited and public testimony," while a House Administration notice read "Invited testimony only." Confirm the date, the room, who may speak, and whether the subject is a bill or an interim charge.

Under H.R. 4, Rule 4, Section 11, House public hearing notice must be posted "at least five calendar days in advance" in a regular session and "at least 24 hours in advance" in a special session. For interim meetings, Section 11(c) requires notifying committee members five calendar days ahead. This is the 89th Legislature's text, and rules are set Legislature by Legislature.

2. When is bill filing for the 2027 Texas session?

The Texas Library Association, an association rather than a legislative source, lists bill filing opening November 9, 2026, the first day of session January 12, 2027, the bill filing deadline March 12, 2027, and sine die May 31, 2027.

Interim hearings can matter before then. The Legislative Reference Library lists September 2026 Senate State Affairs items monitoring S.B. 3070 on the Lottery Commission's abolition and a "Closing Gambling Loopholes" charge on prediction markets. The Texas Dispatch wrote of the September 14 session that "the committee will take no votes" and that what members hear "will shape the panel's interim report and the bills filed for the 90th Legislature."

3. How do you register to testify?

In the House, register electronically. In the Senate, follow the specific hearing notice.

House: The House witness registration page describes paperless registration on touch-screen kiosks on levels 1 and 2 of the Capitol Extension, or by mobile device on the Public-Capitol Wi-Fi network. An advance public profile speeds check-in, but you must still register for a specific item on arrival. The page adds: "Witness registration will be open at the discretion of the committee clerk."

Senate: A February 2025 Senate Finance notice told oral witnesses to "fill out a paper witness card" and sent position-only registrants to the Senate kiosk. Treat that as one example, not a standing procedure.

4. Can you participate without testifying?

Often, yes, but the options depend on the notice. A published witness list for S.B. 1216 includes a "Registering, but not testifying:" section. The June 2026 House Insurance notice let "Texas residents" submit comments electronically "until the hearing is adjourned." It does not address non-residents, so out-of-state vendors should ask the clerk (our recommendation).

5. How many copies of written testimony do you need?

Bring the number the notice specifies, because it varies. A September 2026 Senate State Affairs notice required 20 copies with the witness's name on each; the 2025 Senate Finance notice required 40. Both limited oral testimony to 2 minutes, while the House Insurance notice left public testimony length "subject to the discretion of the chair." We recommend opening with who you are, whom you represent and what you are asking the committee to do.

6. What do you have to disclose when you testify?

In the House, you disclose whom you represent and your position. Rule 4, Section 20 requires a sworn statement showing "the person, firm, corporation, class, or group represented" and "whether for, against, or neutral on the matter." Self-represented witnesses show their type of business, profession or occupation.

Expect your name and affiliation to be public: the S.B. 1216 list shows each entry's name, "(Self)" or organization, and city. We recommend settling beforehand how you will describe any employer, client, association, vendor or operator relationship.

7. Does testifying require lobby registration in Texas?

Testimony alone may not, but the exception is narrow, so check your exposure before you appear. Take specifics to counsel or the Texas Ethics Commission.

  • Thresholds: The commission's May 2026 adoption, effective June 7, 2026, sets registration above $1,200 a calendar quarter in compensation and reimbursement, and above $650 in expenditures, excluding your own travel, food, lodging or membership dues.

  • Stale figures: State and Federal Communications reports the figures fell from $1,990 and $990. On October 31, the commission's start/end lobby page still showed $1,870 and $940, and its 2019 guide shows $1,000 and $500. Use the adopted rule text.

  • Time test: Rule 34.43(b) says a person need not register if they spend not more than 40 compensated hours a quarter on lobby activity, including preparation. Government Code 305.003(b-3) sets 26 hours "or another amount of time determined by the commission."

  • Testimony exception: Section 305.004(2) covers a person whose only direct communication is a hearing appearance or testimony and who gets no "special or extra compensation for the appearance other than actual expenses incurred in attending the hearing."

  • Outside contact: Section 305.002 covers in-person, phone, letter, fax, email or other electronic contact, and legislative members include "an employee of the legislature." Our reading, not a commission statement: an office visit or staff email can take you outside the exception, though the dollar and hour tests still apply.

  • Public-record exclusion: Rule 34.5 excludes compensation for communications documented in a public record for a legislative hearing, but not for registrants.

  • Preparation: Rule 34.3 counts paid preparation, such as strategy sessions and reviewing legislation.

  • Invitations: Ethics Advisory Opinion 535 concluded that an attorney who accepted a member's invitation to discuss pending legislation, intending to influence it and paid above the threshold then in force, must register.

  • Contingent pay: Section 305.022 bars pay "totally or partially contingent on the passage or defeat of any legislation," subject to listed exceptions.

8. How careful do your claims need to be?

Very. Under House Rule 4, those recognized "shall give their testimony under oath," and "All testimony before committees and subcommittees shall be electronically recorded." Section 305.021 separately bars knowingly or wilfully making "a false statement or misrepresentation of the facts" to an official to influence legislation.

We recommend separating what a manufacturer says from what is established, and not calling a machine legal or profitable on vendor material alone. To organize supplier evidence, use our vendor comparison checklist, which records questions and evidence, not legal approval.

9. What should you bring on hearing day?

The House page says to bring the bill number, committee, and hearing time and location. We recommend allowing extra time for kiosk registration. For accessibility requests, the September 2026 Senate notice directed people to the Senate Committee Coordinator, 512/463-0070, at least 72 hours ahead.

Other states set their own rules. Pennsylvania's 65 Pa.C.S. 13A06(1), for example, is worded differently from the Texas extra-compensation test. Confirm every date and procedure with the committee or organizer.

Sources

Reporting is for information, not legal advice. A vendor listing or the term skill game does not establish a machine's legality in any jurisdiction.

AI assistance is disclosed where used. Consult primary sources and qualified counsel for legal decisions.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to register to testify at a Texas House committee hearing?

Yes. Texas Legislature Online's FAQ says electronic registration is a requirement for providing testimony at House committee hearings, and the House witness page describes kiosks and mobile registration on the Public-Capitol Wi-Fi network.

Is testimony at a Texas House committee hearing given under oath?

Yes. Under Rule 4, Section 20 of H.R. 4 (89th Legislature), recognized witnesses file a sworn statement and give their testimony under oath, and Rule 4, Section 19 requires committee testimony to be electronically recorded.

Does testifying make you a lobbyist in Texas?

Not necessarily. Government Code 305.004(2) exempts a person whose only direct communication is a hearing appearance or testimony and who receives no special or extra compensation beyond actual expenses, but other direct contact or special pay falls outside that exception.

What are the current Texas lobby registration thresholds?

Texas Ethics Commission rules effective June 7, 2026 require registration above $1,200 in compensation and reimbursement, or above $650 in expenditures, in a calendar quarter. Some older figures remain in circulation, including on commission pages, so use the adopted rule text.

Can out-of-state vendors submit comments to a Texas House committee?

The June 2026 House Insurance notice offered electronic comments to Texas residents and did not address non-residents. Out-of-state vendors should ask the committee clerk.