agchouston.org Fall 2025 Cornerstone 15 agchouston.org Fall 2025 Cornerstone 15 Senate Bill 783 (SB 783) updated regulations for the construction and alteration of residential and commercial buildings. It amends Chapter 3000 of the Texas Government Code, which limits municipal building standards, by adding new exceptions to prohibitions on local ordinances. These include energy codes adopted by the State Energy Conserva- tion Office (SECO) or the Health and Safety Code, energy and water conserva- tion standards established by SECO, and high-performance building standards approved by a university board of regents under the Education Code. SB 783 also requires SECO to ana- lyze cost impacts and payback periods (including more stringent requirements that are enacted immediately before the change takes effect) before adopting stricter codes and restricts updates to the International Residential Code (IRC) to once every six years. The bill supports adoption of the 2021 IECC and IRC energy chapter. The bill passed and was effective September 1, 2025. Senate Bill 840 (SB 840) amended Chapter 211 of the Local Government Code to loosen zoning restrictions for multi-family and mixed-use housing in commercial/office zones of certain Texas cities. It limits municipal fees on multi-family developments, allows conversion of commercial buildings to residential use, and preempts local regulations on density, parking, height and setbacks. SB 840 applies to cities with popu- lations over 150,000 in counties with populations over 300,000, impacting about 20 cities statewide. The law took effect September 1, 2025. Senate Bill 785 (SB 785) promotes affordable housing by removing regu- latory barriers and restrictions on the installation of HUD-compliant manu- factured homes. SB 785 limits a municipality’s ability to impose additional regulations on these homes. The bill passed and took effect September 1, 2026. House Bill 1922 (HB 1922) clarifies ambiguity in the existing law relating to accrual claims under the Texas Right to Repair Statute for government con- tractors. It specifies that claims accrue on the date a pre-claim defect report is postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service. The date of the accrual of a cause of action for all other purposes is unaffected by the bill, including the date of an occurrence under applicable insurance policies, and whether the action is barred by limitations or repose. SB 1922’s clarification protects con- tractors from disputes over technical filing dates while leaving other deadlines unchanged. HB 1922 passed and took effect September 1, 2025. Senate Bill 687 (SB 687) extends protections previously granted to archi- tects and engineers to licensed land surveyors. Construction contracts with surveyors can no longer require certain duty-to-defend provisions, and the con- tractual duty of care is defined as services performed with professional skill and care ordinarily provided by competent land surveyors practicing under the same or similar circumstances and professional licenses. SB 687 extends existing protections to an additional class of professionals. This bill passed and took effect September 1, 2025. House Bill 3005 (HB 3005) ensures that public project audits lasting longer than 60 days after substantial completion cannot delay payment. To bring public projects in line with the goals of the Texas Prompt Payment Act, this bill seeks to prevent delays in agreed payments and the release of retainage already earned by contractors in projects subject to audits. HB 3005 benefits contractors and will likely facilitate the prompt payment of monies owed. The bill was passed and applies to contracts entered into after September 1, 2025. House Bill 3228 (HB 3228) strength- ens landowner protections by requiring wind and solar energy providers to recycle and properly dispose of project components upon decommissioning. HB 3228 passed and took effect Sep- tember 1, 2025. House Bill 14 (HB 14) establishes the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office to oversee nuclear initiatives, administer funding and provide regulatory assis- tance. Created in response to ERCOT projections of energy demand reaching 150 gigawatts by 2030, it provides grants of up to $12.5 million — or half of total project costs — for qualifying projects. The promotion of nuclear energy in Texas may ultimately lead to opportu- nities for the construction of additional facilities and provides opportunities to receive government funding. HB 14 passed and takes effect Sep- tember 1, 2025. Senate Bill 1555 (SB 1555) creates a program to fund the construction of rail-roadway and rail-pedestrian grade separation projects at non-highway crossings. Grants require at least 10 percent non-state funding and must be approved by the Texas Transportation Commission. SB 1555 passed and took effect imme- diately on May 24, 2025. As you can see, 2025 was an active year for construction-related bills, and 2026 promises to be no different. Keep a close eye on legislative activity through organizations such as the AGC to ensure you stay informed about the latest devel- opments. James Richards and Allison Miller are Houston based attorneys with Cokinos Young, PC. James is one of less than 200 Board Certified Construction Attorneys in the State of Texas. Allison is a trial lawyer with substantive experience in both construction disputes and construction related injury claims. For additional information on James and Allison, please visit cokinoslaw.com. While these bills addressed a variety of topics, construction-related issues — including the vital lien and trust fund laws — were no exception.
