Texas HB 5118 — Automated Employment Decision Tool Study

SUMMARY

The House committee substitute for HB 5118 would have directed the Texas Workforce Commission, with the Department of Information Resources, to study employer and state-agency use of AI systems and automated employment decision tools in hiring. The bill did not pass the House and was not enacted.

WHY IT MATTERS

The final committee text was a research mandate, not an employer compliance law. Its proposed November 15, 2026 report deadline and September 1, 2027 expiration never became operative.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• No operative requirements: HB 5118 did not become law.
• The unenacted committee substitute proposed study of current and future hiring uses, bias-detection and audit methods, transparency and auditability, privacy and security, state-agency uses, and possible regulatory procedures.

COVERAGE

Employers: The proposed study would have examined private employers and state agencies; it would not have imposed compliance duties on either group.

Workers: The proposal concerned applicants assessed for positions but created no individual rights.

Exceptions: The introduced bill contained employer bias-audit and disclosure duties, but the House committee substitute replaced them with a study. Neither version became law.

ENFORCEMENT & PENALTIES

None; unenacted proposal.

CHANGE HISTORY

1. 2026-10-01
   verification update

   Record re-verified

   Official source links, status, and key dates were checked for this maintenance release.

2. 2025-06-02
   expired

   Regular session ended without enactment

   HB 5118 did not pass the House before the 89th regular session ended.

3. 2025-05-15
   amended

   Committee substitute placed on House calendar

   The study-only committee substitute reached the General State Calendar but received no House passage.

TOPICS

PRIMARY SOURCES