Relating to requiring owners or operators of commercial passenger bus services to provide certain notifications to residents concerning operations, the official text

H.B. No. 3966

AN ACT

relating to requiring owners or operators of commercial passenger

bus services to provide certain notifications to residents

concerning operations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 5, Business & Commerce Code, is

amended by adding Chapter 121 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 121. REGULATION OF COMMERCIAL PASSENGER BUS SERVICES

Sec. 121.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Commercial passenger bus service" means a

business that in exchange for compensation operates a passenger bus

service that provides regularly scheduled intercity bus

transportation to passengers using buses with at least 35 seats.

The term does not include a public transit service provided by or on

behalf of a transit authority or district, transit department,

municipality, political subdivision, or other local governmental

entity.

(2) "Terminal" means an installation:

(A) located on the premises of a commercial

passenger bus service; and

(B) at which tickets are sold to passengers by

the service.

Sec. 121.002. NOTIFICATION OF NEW TERMINALS. (a) Except as

provided by Subsection (d), at least 90 calendar days before the

date an owner or operator of a commercial passenger bus service

begins operating a new terminal located in this state, the owner or

operator shall provide notice of the proposed terminal to the

community in which the terminal is to be located as prescribed by

Subsection (b).

(b) The notice required by this section must:

(1) be published in a newspaper of general circulation

in the municipality:

(A) in which the proposed terminal is to be

located; or

(B) nearest to the proposed location of the

terminal; and

(2) except as provided by Subsection (c), if the

elementary or middle school nearest to the proposed location of the

terminal provides a bilingual education program as required by

Subchapter B, Chapter 29, Education Code, be published by the owner

or operator at least once in an additional publication of general

circulation in the municipality or county in which the terminal is

proposed to be located that is published in the language taught in

the bilingual education program.

(c) An owner or operator of a commercial bus service does

not have to comply with the requirements of Subsection (b)(2) if:

(1) a publication described by that subdivision does

not exist; or

(2) the publisher of a publication that meets the

requirements of that subdivision refuses to publish notice.

(d) An owner or operator of a commercial passenger bus

service does not have to comply with this section if the owner or

operator is operating or intends to temporarily operate the new

terminal in response to an unforeseen emergency, including a

natural disaster or road closures.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3966 was passed by the House on May

15, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 116, Nays 24, 2 present, not

voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.

No. 3966 on May 29, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 89, Nays 44,

1 present, not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 3966 was passed by the Senate, with

amendments, on May 26, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays

5.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: __________________

Date

__________________

Governor