Legislative

Legislative Session Reports

2023

TPSC 2023 Legislative Recap
During Texas' 88th Regular Legislative Session, Texas legislators introduced more than 8,000 bills, 5,413 in the House and 2,633 in the Senate. Several of these bills had either direct or indirect impact to the pool and spa industry in Texas. Read our compilation of the most impactful bills that the Texas Pool and Spa Coalition tracked and/or engaged on during the 2023 Legislative Session.

• Legislative Update - February 19

2021

• Weekly Legislative Report – May 13
• Weekly Legislative Report – May 6
• Weekly Legislative Report – April 8
• Weekly Legislative Report – March 25
• Weekly Legislative Report – March 11
• Weekly Legislative Report – March 4
• Weekly Legislative Report – February 25
• Weekly Legislative Report – February 18
• Weekly Legislative Report – February 11
• Weekly Legislative Report – February 4
• Weekly Legislative Report – January 28
• Weekly Legislative Report – January 21

Legislative Activity

Local Issues

County government follows basically the same format as the state. The governing body of your county is the Commissioners Court. Within that court there are 4 commissioners and a county judge. As the local arms of the state government, each Commissioners Court performs judicial, legislative, and executive functions. To get a glimpse of what is going on in your area, check out your county website. There you will find the Commissioners Court agenda and notices of upcoming public hearings. Members are encouraged to contact TPSC about any issues on the court's agenda that will have an impact on the pool and spa industry. We can send experts to testify at public hearings and provide critical research that could affect the outcome of a vote. We can also assist local officials in drafting more effective legislation.

Municipalities are independent of counties and carry their own sets of ordinances. City ordinances vary drastically across the state, and pass down mandates that directly affect our industry. It is imperative to understand the specific requirements of your city in regards to pool and spa construction and service. It is equally important to understand where state law ends and municipal law begins. For example, the Texas Local Government Code passes the authority to municipalities concerning pool fences and enclosures. While one city may have very liberal fencing requirements, a neighboring city's code may be very restrictive. Good news is with the 2019 passage of HB 2858, which requires a local jurisdiction, if regulating pool and spa construction, to adopt the 2018 International Swimming Pool & Spa Code as a minimum code, Texans may see less differences among cities.

Every major city offers their municipal code through their website, making it very easy for small business owners to stay within compliance at all times. The Texas Local Government Code is also easily accessible online for quick referencing.