To track Texas bill legislature activity, use Texas Legislature Online (TLO) at capitol.texas.gov. Select the session, search by bill number or keyword, read Last Action on the History tab, and check Bill Stages. Then open the correct text version and set up My TLO alerts. A bill changes Texas law only after it is enrolled and enacted, and only once it takes effect.
Why operators should track the stage, not the headline
Being filed, coming out of committee or passing the Senate does not change Texas law. Current law stays in force until a bill is enacted and takes effect. That includes Penal Code Chapter 47 and its Sec. 47.01(4)(B) exclusion from "gambling device." The exclusion covers contrivances "adapted solely for bona fide amusement purposes" that reward "exclusively with noncash merchandise prizes, toys, or novelties," with a wholesale value from a single play "of not more than 10 times the amount charged to play the game or device once or $5, whichever is less." This guide explains legislative procedure. It does not determine whether any machine is legal.
Step 1: Choose the session
The TLO homepage has a "Search Legislation" box with a "Legislature:" selector. TLO's bill number help page lists the first step as "Select the legislative session you wish to search." The 2025 regular session appears as 89R. Bill numbers are tied to a session, so make sure you have the right session before you read a bill number.
Timing matters too. The Legislative Reference Library (LRL) says legislators may prefile bills "beginning the first Monday after the general election preceding the next regular legislative session." On the first prefiling day for the 89th Legislature, 1,511 measures were prefiled. For the 90th Legislature, the TETAF legislative calendar lists these dates:
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November 9, 2026: prefiling begins
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January 12, 2027: opening day
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March 12, 2027: last day to file bills
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May 31, 2027: sine die
TETAF is an association, so its calendar is not an official source. Under Texas Constitution Art. 3, Sec. 5(b), the first 30 days of a regular session are devoted to introducing bills.
Step 2: Find the bill
You can search by Bill Number or by Word/Phrase. TLO help says a bill number is a chamber (H or S), then a type (B, R, JR or CR), then a number of up to five digits, such as "HB 14" or "SJR 14." The "Additional Searches" menu links to Text Search, Bill Lookup, Bill Search, Amendments, Reports and View Votes. Subject terms make keyword searches more useful. SB 517's subject list included EIGHT-LINERS (S0289) and GAMBLING (S1232).
Step 3: Read the History tab
Bill Lookup has tabs for History, Text, Actions, Companions, Authors, Captions and Bill Stages. The SB 517 history shows how a bill can move a long way without becoming law. SB 517 was authored by Middleton, with coauthors Hall and King. Its caption reads "Relating to gambling criminal offenses and a defense to prosecution for a gambling offense; increasing criminal penalties." Its history runs as follows:
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Filed 12/02/2024
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Referred to State Affairs 02/03/2025
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Heard and left pending 03/31/2025
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Reported favorably as substituted 04/14/2025
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Placed on the intent calendar 05/07/2025
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Passed the Senate by record vote 05/08/2025
Its last action is "Received from the Senate" in the House on 05/08/2025.
Step 4: Use Bill Stages as a dashboard
Bill Stages has seven steps: Filed, Out of Senate Committee, Voted on by Senate, Out of House Committee, Voted on by House, Governor Action and Bill Becomes Law. On SB 517's Bill Stages page, the committee step shows a vote of 9 Ayes, 0 Nays, 0 Present Not Voting and 2 Absent. Every step from House committee onward reads "Not reached."
TLO lists HB 487 by Tepper as SB 517's identical companion. The HB 487 history ends at referral to Licensing & Administrative Procedures on 02/28/2025. Neither bill became law. When a bill has a companion, check both.
Step 5: Read the right text version
The Texas Tech Law Library guide defines three text versions:
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Introduced: the bill as first filed.
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Engrossed: the bill after it passes its originating house.
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Enrolled: the bill as passed by both houses.
In code sections, added text is underlined, and removed text appears in brackets with strikethrough. TLO's FAQ says changes made by a conference committee are included in the enrolled version.
Committee substitutes can change a bill substantially. According to the Senate Research Center analysis, C.S.S.B. 517 would have raised four gambling offenses, including possession of gambling devices, from Class A misdemeanors to third-degree felonies. It would also have repealed an existing defense and set a September 1, 2025 effective date. The SB 517 Text tab lists Introduced, Senate Committee Report and Engrossed versions, with fiscal notes, analyses and a witness list attached. It has no Enrolled version.
Step 6: Confirm enactment and the effective date
SB 3070 by Hall, with House sponsor Geren, shows the complete path from filing to law. The bill abolished the Texas Lottery Commission and moved charitable bingo regulation to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation. Its history shows these end-stage actions:
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Senate concurred in House amendments 05/30/2025
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Reported enrolled 06/01/2025
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Sent to the Governor 06/02/2025
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Signed 06/20/2025
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Effective immediately (last action, 06/20/2025)
Its Bill Stages page reads "Bill becomes law. Effective immediately," and its Text tab includes an Enrolled version.
A bill can also become law without the governor's signature. Under Art. 4, Sec. 14, a bill the governor does not return "within ten days (Sundays excepted)" becomes law. If adjournment prevents its return, the governor has 20 days after adjournment to file objections. Under Art. 3, Sec. 39, laws take effect 90 days after adjournment unless two-thirds of each house vote otherwise. The LRL enters effective dates in TLO and tells readers to check the "Last action" field. Different sections of a bill may take effect on different dates.
Status signal checklist (editorial guidance)
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Low signal: Filed, Read first time, Referred.
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Medium signal: Out of committee, Passed one chamber, Engrossed.
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Decisive: Enrolled, Signed by the Governor or became law without signature, and an "Effective" entry in Last Action.
Step 7: Set up monitoring
My TLO offers bill lists, bill and meeting alerts, RSS feeds and saved searches. The TLO FAQ says "Bill alerts are available once you create an account on this website," and that updates appear "immediately after the information is entered." Once a bill takes effect, confirm the change in the codified statutes on the Texas Constitution and Statutes site.
For ongoing reference, see Occupations Code Chapter 2153 and the Comptroller's coin-operated machine page. Industry associations and vendors are useful sources, but they are not regulators.
Related reading
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Texas Skill Machine Enforcement Timeline: From the Rylie Ruling to Local Bans, 2023 to 2026
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JVL Corporation Skill Machines: What Texas Operators Should Know
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Do Skill Game Trade Associations Actually Protect Operators?
Sources
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Legislative Reference Library: effective dates, 89th prefiling statistics
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TETAF: Texas Legislative Dates (association calendar)
AI assistance was used in preparing this article. Consult primary sources and qualified counsel for legal decisions.
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.