SUMMARY
Texas law requires advance notice and consent before a person captures an individual's biometric identifier for a commercial purpose and regulates disclosure, protection, and destruction of identifiers. HB 149 amended the provision for AI training and public-source media.
WHY IT MATTERS
The statute is not employment-specific, but it can directly govern commercial workplace uses such as fingerprint or face-geometry capture when the statutory elements are met. It does not create a general ban on workplace facial recognition or monitoring.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
- Before capturing a biometric identifier for a commercial purpose, inform the individual and obtain consent.
- Do not sell, lease, or otherwise disclose the identifier except under the statute's listed circumstances.
- Protect the identifier with reasonable care and at least as protectively as other confidential information.
- Destroy the identifier within a reasonable time and no later than one year after the collection purpose expires, subject to the statutory warrant exception.
COVERAGE
Employers: Persons capturing or possessing biometric identifiers for a commercial purpose. Application to a workplace practice depends on the facts and the statutory commercial-purpose requirement.
Workers: Individuals whose retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or hand or face geometry is captured for a commercial purpose.
Exceptions: HB 149 excludes specified AI model or system training, processing, or storage unless the system is used or deployed to uniquely identify a specific individual.
Exceptions: Separate exemptions apply to specified financial-institution voiceprints, security and fraud uses, and law-enforcement disclosures.
Exceptions: Public availability alone generally does not establish notice and consent, unless the individual made the relevant media public.
ENFORCEMENT & PENALTIES
Texas Attorney General enforcement; the statute does not create a private right of action.
Up to $25,000 per violation.
CHANGE HISTORY
- verification update
Record re-verified
Official source links, status, and key dates were checked for this maintenance release.
- amended
HB 149 biometric amendments took effect
The amendments addressed public-source consent and specified AI training, identification, and security uses.
- effective
Biometric identifier law took effect
Texas's commercial-purpose biometric notice, consent, handling, and destruction requirements became effective.
TOPICS
PRIMARY SOURCES
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS
Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act
HB 149 establishes a broad statewide AI governance framework. Its employment relevance is limited but real: the chapter-wide intentional-discrimination prohibition is written to apply to a person developing or deploying AI, while consumer-specific disclosures do not cover individuals acting in an employment context.
Information, not legal advice. Bot Labor Law provides general informational content that may not reflect the most current legal developments. Consult qualified counsel regarding specific legal matters.