IN EFFECT NOW
HB 149 — broad AI governance, limited employment application
Effective January 1, 2026, HB 149 prohibits intentionally unlawful AI discrimination across covered deployments. Its consumer definition excludes people acting in an employment context, so consumer-specific disclosures do not create worker rights; the broader discrimination provision is not written only for consumers.
Commercial biometric identifiers
Texas requires notice and consent before commercial-purpose capture of specified biometric identifiers and regulates disclosure, protection, and destruction. The statute can reach workplace uses when its elements are met, but it is not a general facial-recognition or monitoring ban.
Public-sector AI governance
SB 1964 requires covered governmental entities to inventory and govern AI systems. It can encompass an agency's hiring tools operationally, but it does not create hiring-specific applicant notice, bias-audit, or appeal rights.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
5 verified records
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.
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.
Texas HB 5118 — Automated Employment Decision Tool Study
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.
Texas SB 2473 — State-Agency Automated Hiring Tools
SB 2473 proposed notice, tool-use descriptions, and bias-mitigation duties when Texas state agencies used automated employment decision tools to assess applicants. It was referred to Senate Business & Commerce and received no further recorded action.
RECENT REGULATORY TIMELINE
- verification updateRecord re-verifiedTexas HB 149
- verification updateRecord re-verifiedTexas Biometric Identifier Law
- verification updateRecord re-verifiedTexas SB 1964
- verification updateRecord re-verifiedTexas HB 5118
- verification updateRecord re-verifiedTexas SB 2473
- effectiveTexas AI governance act became effectiveTexas HB 149
- amendedHB 149 biometric amendments took effectTexas Biometric Identifier Law
- effectivePublic-sector AI governance law became effectiveTexas SB 1964
WHAT EMPLOYERS SHOULD WATCH
- Texas Attorney General enforcement or guidance under HB 149
- Department of Information Resources implementation of SB 1964 standards and impact-assessment requirements
- Future reintroduction of employment-specific automated hiring legislation after HB 5118 and SB 2473 failed
TOPICS COVERED
PRIMARY SOURCES
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.