The Texas Legislature has returned for another busy legislative session, with more than 10,000 bills introduced since the start of the legislative session on January 14, 2025.1 The Texas Legislature convenes only once every two years for a 140-day session, making each legislative period full of activity and public interest. From education to infrastructure to healthcare, this legislative session has the potential to have a far-reaching impact on the lives of Texans. The Texas legislature has proposed several bills that would have a significant impact on the legal landscape in Texas as well.
Two companion bills that have drawn much attention from tort litigators on both sides of the bar are Senate Bill 30 and House Bill 4806. Either bill, if enacted, would significantly impact tort cases throughout Texas. With that in mind, it is important to look at what these bills say, how they have changed, and where they stand.
Senate Bill 30 was filed by Senator Charles Schwertner on March 13, 2025.2 Senator Brent Hagenbuch joined the bill as a co-author on March 24, 2025.3 House Bill 4806 was filed by Representative Greg Bonnen on March 13, 2025, the same day Senate Bill 30 was filed.4 The text of both bills was identical when they were initially introduced.5 Both bills have been discussed in public hearings.
Since its introduction, Senate Bill 30 has made further progress through the Texas Senate than its companion bill has in the Texas House.6 The bill has passed three votes in the Texas Senate and was referred to the Texas House on April 17, 2025, where it currently sits in the House's Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee.
Senate Bill 30 first proposes modifications to the procedure associated with health care affidavits regarding the reasonableness and necessity of health care services provided under Section 18.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.7 Under the new provisions, a party seeking to controvert a Section 18.001 affidavit will simply need to give notice of intent to controvert the affidavit. Currently, the text of Section 18.001 requires the filing of a controverting affidavit to contest the information contained in an affidavit filed under Section 18.001.
Senate Bill 30 also proposes the addition of a new section of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Section 18.0011. If enacted, Section 18.0011 would prevent parties from controverting an affidavit under Section 18.001 if the affidavit meets a series of additional requirements. In outlining the reasonableness of the charges for the health care services provided, the affidavit must either state the amounts have been received from all sources by the health care facility or provider or, if any amount remains outstanding, a charge that does not exceed 300 percent of the Medicare fee schedule for the service provided. Section 18.0011 would also limit discovery into a health care provider's charges and the reasonableness and necessity of services provided if the provider states it does not intend to appear at trial to testify regarding the reasonableness and necessity of its services. A provider who states it does not intend to testify at trial will generally be prohibited from testifying regarding the reasonableness and necessity of its services.
The bill also proposes specific definitions for two categories of damages under Section 41.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code: "mental or emotional pain or anguish" and "physical pain and suffering." "Mental or emotional pain or anguish" would be defined as "grievous and debilitating angst, distress, torment, or emotional suffering or turmoil that causes a substantial disruption in a person's life" and would include mental or emotional pain "arising from loss of consortium, loss of companionship and society, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and physical impairment." Meanwhile, "physical pain and suffering" would be defined as "a painful or distressing sensation associated with an injury or damage to a part of a person's body" that is both "consciously felt" and either "arises from an observable injury, disfigurement, or impairment," "is shown to exist through objectively verifiable medical evaluation or testing," or, "in cases of sexual assault and abuse, is corroborated by medical evidence or a prior consistent statement."
Senate Bill 30's proposed changes to Chapter 41 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code also include detailed requirements for a party's ability to recover health care expenses as economic damages through the addition of a new subchapter, Subchapter C and Sections 41.101 through 41.152. Subchapter C would apply to any civil action in which a plaintiff "seeks recovery of health care expenses as economic damages in a personal injury or wrongful death action" and will limit the evidence that may be offered to prove such damages. For example, a party seeking recovery of these damages would only be permitted to present evidence of amounts paid by third-party payors, such as insurance providers, amounts paid by or on behalf of the injured individual, or, if the expenses remain unpaid or outstanding, an amount that does not exceed 300 percent of the Medicare fee schedule for the service provided. Separately, Senate Bill 30 proposes an update to Section 304.102 of the Texas Finance Code, which would only allow for recovery of prejudgment interest on health care expenses paid and other economic losses suffered by the claimant.
Additionally, the proposed Subchapter C would require parties seeking to recover health care expenses to disclose all statements or invoices from the provider showing the services provided, any letters of protection related to the case, and any written or unwritten agreements made by the injured party or the injured party's attorney. Parties seeking recovery of health care expenses would also be required to provide authorization allowing other parties the action to obtain the individual's medical records. Further, if a provider plans to testify in the matter regarding the health care services provided, the provider must disclose the individual who referred the patient to the provider, including an anonymized list of other individuals referred to the provider for the last two years, if the referral was made by the patient's attorney, the date and amount of any payments made by the provider for the last two years, and any other aspects of the provider's financial relationship with the referring attorney. Importantly, under the proposed language, "a referral is considered to have been made by the injured individual's attorney even if made by another person when the injured individual 's attorney knew or had reason to know that the referral would be made."
Senate Bill 30 would also impose requirements for the recovery of noneconomic damages through the addition of Subchapter D, Sections 41.151 and 41.152, of Chapter 41 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Section 41.151 would set forth four requirements for recovery of damages for physical pain and suffering or mental or emotional pain or anguish, under which the award: 1) must provide fair and reasonable compensation for the period of time the pain, suffering, or anguish has persisted or can reasonably be expected to persist in the future; 2) must be based on evidence of the nature, duration, and severity of the injury and reflect a rational connection, "grounded in the evidence" between the injury and the amount awarded; 3) must not be used to punish a defendant; and 4) may not include amounts that are considered economic losses. Any attempt to reference objects, values, units of time, or "other matters having no rational connection to the facts of the case" in suggesting an award amount to the jury would be considered a reversible error.
During its progression through the Texas Senate, Senate Bill 30 has not remained unscathed. Three key components found in the initial version of Senate Bill 30 are absent from the enrolled version currently before the Texas House. First, the initial text of Senate Bill 30 proposed a requirement that the trier of fact be unanimous in finding awarding an amount for physical pain and suffering or mental or emotional pain and anguish.8 Senate Bill 30 also initially stated that an injured individual's failure to use available health benefit coverage would be considered a failure to mitigate damages. Finally, the initial bill contained a process by which parties could seek to remit noneconomic damages awarded by the trier of fact if the damages exceeded certain thresholds. These provisions remain in House Bill 4806, which is unchanged from its original text.9 However, House Bill 4806 was left pending in the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee on May 7, 2025.10 It has only been read before the House once and has not been submitted to a House vote.
Even in its current form, Senate Bill 30 would have a meaningful impact on how a plaintiff must establish damages in a personal injury action, including limitations on the amounts a plaintiff may claim in medical expenses. Both Senate Bill 30 and House Bill 4806 are bills to watch over the next month, until the 89th Session of the Texas Legislature comes to a close on June 2, 2025.
Footnotes
1 LegiScan, Texas Legislature 2025-2026: 89th Legislature, https://legiscan.com/TX (last visited May 9, 2025).
2 Texas Legislature Online, Senate Bill 30, https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB30 (last visited May 9, 2025).
3 Id.
4 Texas Legislature Online, H.B. 4806, 89th Leg., R.S., https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB4806 (last visited May 9, 2025).
5 Tex. S.B. 30, 89th Leg., R.S. (2025); Tex. H.B. 4806, 89th R.S. (2025).
6 Texas Legislature Online, S.B. 30, 89th Leg., R.S., https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB30 (last visited May 9, 2025).
7 Tex. S.B. 30, 89th Leg., R.S. (2025)
8 Compare Tex. S.B. 30, 89th Leg., R.S. (2025) (enrolled version) with Tex. S.B. 30, 89th Leg., R.S. (2025) (filed version); see also Tex. H.B. 4806, 89th R.S. (2025).
9 See Tex. H.B. 4806, 89th R.S. (2025).
10 Texas Legislature Online, H.B. 4806, 89th Leg., R.S. https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB4806 (last visited May 9, 2025).
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