SUMMARY
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.
WHY IT MATTERS
HB 149 is not a comprehensive AI employment law and does not impose bias audits, applicant notices, or human review on private employers. An employment use can nevertheless fall within the general prohibition on intentionally using AI to unlawfully discriminate, and AI-related biometric uses remain subject to the statute's biometric provisions.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
- A person may not develop or deploy an AI system with the intent to unlawfully discriminate against a protected class in violation of state or federal law; disparate impact alone does not establish that intent.
- Governmental entities face separate restrictions on specified social-scoring and biometric-identification uses.
- A violation of Texas Business & Commerce Code § 503.001 is also a violation of HB 149's AI biometric section.
- The consumer-interaction disclosure applies only to the statute's defined consumers and therefore does not create an applicant or employee notice right.
COVERAGE
Employers: Any person within the subtitle's territorial applicability that develops or deploys an AI system, including an employer when the chapter-wide prohibition itself applies. The act does not establish a separate employer-coverage threshold.
Workers: HB 149 does not define a protected category of workers. The discrimination provision protects classes covered by state or federal civil-rights law, but consumer-specific provisions exclude individuals acting in an employment context.
Exceptions: An individual acting in a commercial or employment context is excluded from the definition of consumer; that exclusion limits provisions keyed to consumers, not provisions written broadly to govern a person, individual, or protected class.
Exceptions: The discrimination prohibition requires intent; disparate impact alone is insufficient.
Exceptions: Insurance entities and federally insured financial institutions receive section-specific treatment.
Exceptions: The act contains additional exemptions and defenses that depend on the actor, system, use, and governing law.
ENFORCEMENT & PENALTIES
Exclusive Texas Attorney General enforcement, with limited additional sanctions by licensing agencies after a violation finding and Attorney General recommendation. No private right of action.
After the statutory cure process, civil penalties range from $10,000–$12,000 for a curable violation or cure-statement breach, $80,000–$200,000 for an uncurable violation, and $2,000–$40,000 per day for a continuing violation.
CHANGE HISTORY
- verification update
Record re-verified
Official source links, status, and key dates were checked for this maintenance release.
- effective
Texas AI governance act became effective
HB 149 took effect, including its provision-specific AI discrimination and biometric rules.
- signed
Governor signed HB 149
The Governor signed the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act.
- passed legislature
Legislature completed passage
The House concurred in Senate amendments, completing passage of HB 149.
TOPICS
PRIMARY SOURCES
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS
Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Law
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.
Texas SB 1964 — Public-Sector AI Governance
SB 1964 requires public-sector AI inventories, risk and governance standards, impact assessments for heightened-scrutiny systems, training, and related oversight for covered governmental entities.
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.