Gary Gates, Texas State Representative from the 28th district | Twitter Website
Gary Gates, Texas State Representative from the 28th district | Twitter Website
More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to late payment fees charged by a municipally owned water utility’’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
The bill amends the Local Government Code to regulate late payment fees that a municipally owned water utility can charge for late payments. It stipulates that for overdue payments, a utility cannot charge a late fee higher than $5 or 2% of the unpaid amount before the 32nd day of delinquency; the fee increases to a maximum of $5 or 5% between the 32nd and 41st days; and it can rise to $5 or 10% between the 41st and 51st days. It also specifies that the penalty period for late payments cannot start before the 21st day after the utility sends the bill and ends once the full amount is paid. The new rules apply to fees assessed on or after the act's effective date, which is immediate upon a two-thirds majority vote in both legislative chambers or Sept. 1, 2025, otherwise.
Gary Gates, chair of the House Committee on Land & Resource Management and member of the House Committee on Energy Resources, proposed another 15 bills during the 89(R) legislative session.
Gary Gates is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state's 28th House district. He replaced previous state representative John Zerwas in 2020.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| HB 5648 | 04/07/2025 | Relating to the creation of the Fort Bend County Water Control and Improvement District No. 13; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes |
| HB 5431 | 04/07/2025 | Relating to the exclusion of at-large and mayoral seats from the requirement of re-election following apportionment |
| HB 5408 | 04/07/2025 | Relating to General Land Office and Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs reviews of real property owned by the state |
| HB 5132 | 04/07/2025 | Relating to an exclusion for mixed beverage gross receipts tax and mixed beverage sales tax |
| HB 4307 | 04/01/2025 | Relating to multifamily residential developments financed, owned, or operated by public facility corporations |
| HB 4306 | 04/01/2025 | Relating to multifamily residential developments owned by public facility corporations |
| HB 4305 | 04/01/2025 | Relating to disclosure of rent and certain fees and charges by a landlord |
| HB 3172 | 03/27/2025 | Relating to municipal regulation of multifamily and mixed-use development on religious land |
| HB 3534 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to multifamily residential developments financed, owned, or operated by public facility corporations |
| HB 3533 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to multifamily residential developments financed, owned, or operated by public facility corporations |
| HB 3532 | 03/24/2025 | Relating to multifamily residential developments owned by public facility corporations |
| HB 21 | 03/18/2025 | Relating to housing finance corporations; authorizing a fee |
| HB 1595 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to public housing authorities; authorizing a fee |
| HB 1590 | 03/17/2025 | Relating to multifamily residential developments owned by public facility corporations |
| HB 1225 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to the establishment of a bundled-pricing program to reduce certain health care costs in the state employees group benefits program |
Alerts Sign-up