House JCJ to Take Up Public Nuisance Legislation Today
by | Apr 23, 2025
Alarming Expansion in Public Nuisance Litigation Revealed by ATRA Report
March 25, 2025
HEARING ALERT
Please attend and sign a card FOR HB 3964. If you cannot attend the hearing or send someone to sign a card, you may enter public comments of support here: https://comments.house.texas.gov/home?c=c330
House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
8:00, Wednesday, April 23, 2025
E2.030
Hearing Notice
Video Link
SB 779 by Middleton (R-Galveston)/HB 3964 by Vasut (R-Angleton): Adds Chapter 100C, Civil Practice & Remedies Code, to limit actions for damages or other relief based on common law public nuisance, whether asserted as a cause of action or an injury. Provides that a public nuisance claim is not cognizable if it seeks relief arising from: (1) an action authorized, licensed, approved, or mandated by law or by the federal, state, or local government; (2) an action or condition in which a statutory or administrative enforcement mechanism already exists to address the alleged condition; or (3) a product liability claim. Provides that the aggregation of private nuisance claims does not give rise to a public nuisance claim. Provides that in the event of a conflict with common law, the statute controls.
4-10-25
CSSB 779 passed the Senate on April 10, 2025 with a vote of 17-12-1-1
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
SENATE BILL 779 ON THIRD READING
Senator Middleton moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up for consideration CSSBi779 at this time on its third reading and final passage: CSSB 779, Relating to common law public nuisance claims.
The motion prevailed by the following vote:
Yeas 17, Nays 12, Present not voting 1.
Yeas: Bettencourt, Birdwell, Campbell, Creighton, Flores, Hagenbuch, Hall, Hancock, A. Hinojosa, Huffman, Hughes, Kolkhorst, Middleton, Nichols, Parker, Schwertner, Sparks.
Nays: Alvarado, Blanco, Cook, Eckhardt, Gutierrez, J. Hinojosa, Johnson, Menéndez, Miles, Paxton, West, Zaffirini.
Present-not voting: Perry.
Absent-excused: King.
The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote:
Yeas 17, Nays 12, Present not voting 1. (Same as previous roll call)
4-3-25
This bill was first placed on Senate Intent on 4-2-25.. Expect to see it up sometime next week. The senate has largely been covered already, but if you have any specific feedback from any senator please share it with Mary Tipps or me. The committee vote 7-1-0-3 is shown below fyi.
Committee Vote
Vote: S- 5701 Senate State Affairs-Voted as Substituted
Date: 03/27/25
AYES – 7
Bettencourt, Paul(R); Birdwell, Brian(R); Hall, Bob(R); Hinojosa, Adam (F)(R); Hughes, Bryan(R); Middleton, Mayes(R); Parker, Tan(R)
NAYS – 1
Paxton, Angela(R)
PRESENT-NOT-VOTING – 0
ABSENT – 3
Perry, Charles(R); Schwertner, Charles(R); Zaffirini, Judith(D)
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