Sen. Juan Hinojosa introduced SB 440, a bill on Financial, to the Texas Senate on Thursday, Nov. 21 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’relating to audits of and reports by self-directed and semi-independent financial regulatory agencies’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
This bill mandates regular audits and reporting by self-directed and semi-independent financial regulatory agencies in Texas. It specifies that the state auditor must conduct financial, effectiveness, and performance audits of these agencies at least once every six years, with the option for risk-based audits at any time. Each agency must reimburse audit costs and provide the governor with a copy of audit reports. Additionally, before each regular legislative session, agencies are required to submit reports containing audits, financial summaries, fee changes, jurisdictional updates, and enforcement activity details. By November 1 annually, agencies must report personnel salaries, expenses, operating plans, revenues, expenditures, complaint data, and enforcement activities. This act is effective Sept. 1, 2025, and applies only to reports due on or after that date.
Juan Hinojosa, the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, proposed another 16 bills during the 89(R) legislative session. He is also a member of the Senate Committee on Border Security, a member of the Senate Committee on Committee of the Whole Senate, a member of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence, a member of the Senate Committee on Transportation, and a member of the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice.
Hinojosa graduated from Pan American University with a BS and again from Georgetown University with a JD.
Juan Hinojosa is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state’s 20th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Carlos Truan in 2003.
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.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| SB 448 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to certain cost sharing requirements for a desalination facility operating under a public-private partnership |
| SB 447 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to authorizing certain municipalities to change the date on which their general election for officers is held |
| SB 446 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to term limits for members of the senate serving on the Sunset Advisory Commission |
| SB 445 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to eliminating the fee for electronic access to certain information maintained by the secretary of state |
| SB 444 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to a requirement that certain special purpose districts cause certain information to be posted on an Internet website |
| SB 443 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to single-family homes held by corporate owners for rental purposes; providing a civil penalty |
| SB 442 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to the prosecution and punishment of the offense of unlawful production or distribution of certain sexually explicit media; increasing a criminal penalty |
| SB 441 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to civil liability for the production, solicitation, disclosure, or promotion of artificial intimate visual material |
| SB 439 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to approval by the commissioner of education of certain contracts entered into by a school district during the pendency of certain special investigations |
| SB 438 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to the confidentiality of certain information for a current or former administrative law judge for the State Office of Administrative Hearings |
| SB 437 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to civil and administrative penalties assessed for violations of statutes or rules governing chemical dependency treatment facilities |
| SB 436 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to the establishment of a property value study hardship grant program |
| SB 435 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to an adjustment for certain school districts under the public school finance system for revenue lost due to the use of the state value of the district’s taxable value of property determined by the comptroller of public accounts |
| SB 428 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to qualifications for a sheriff or constable or a candidate for sheriff or constable |
| SB 427 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to the eligibility of certain political subdivisions to receive a state loan or grant following the political subdivision’s failure to comply with certain financial reporting requirements |
| SB 426 | 11/21/2024 | Relating to a report by the Public Utility Commission of Texas on disconnections of residential retail electric service |
