Texas House bill by Rep. Geren eliminates portion of retail charge agreement delinquency fee

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Charlie Geren aims to eliminate the portion of the retail charge agreement delinquency fee remitted to the comptroller, focusing on adjusting financial regulations related to retail charges, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 57 Democrats and 78 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, also with no opposing votes.

Charlie Geren introduced the bill in the Texas House on Thursday, March 13, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Geren, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2003 to represent the state’s 99th House district, replacing previous state representative Kenny Marchant.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the elimination of the requirement that a portion of certain retail charge agreement delinquency fees be remitted to the comptroller’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill eliminates the portion of the Retail Charge Agreement Delinquency Fee that is remitted to the comptroller by repealing Section 345.157(d) of the Finance Code. It does not impact tax liabilities that accrued before its effective date, which continues to hold under the previous law for tax collection and enforcement purposes. The changes outlined in the bill are set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, unless otherwise specified within the article.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Monday, May 19, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday, May 29.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.