---
type: "Bill"
title: "Relating to a reliability assessment of the ERCOT power grid and certificates of public convenience and necessity for certain transmission projects."
description: "Relating to a reliability assessment of the ERCOT power grid and certificates of public convenience and necessity for certain transmission projects."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tx"
legislature: "Texas Legislature"
session: "87"
identifier: "SB 1281"
citation: "Texas SB 1281 (87)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Disaster Preparedness & Relief (I0211)", "ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCIL OF TEXAS (ERCOT) (V0167)", "PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION (V0023)", "Utilities--Electric (I0831)"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hancock", "King, Phil"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 81
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-03-09"
last_action: "2021-06-16"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/0ef86bda-1557-4ca7-8bd5-5a82780e8a33"
source_url: "ftp://ftp.legis.state.tx.us/bills/87R/billhistory/senate_bills/SB01200_SB01299/SB 1281.xml"
source_hash: "a17faec278e13a86929efc67a93aa2f34adcef08a3ed68412c9e4c2239cec5bd"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tx"]
---

# Texas SB 1281 (87) — Relating to a reliability assessment of the ERCOT power grid and certificates of public convenience and necessity for certain transmission projects.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](http://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/html/SB01281I.HTM)
2. **Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/html/SB01281E.HTM)
3. **House Committee Report** (committee substitute) — [source](http://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/html/SB01281H.HTM)
4. **Senate Committee Report** (committee substitute) — [source](http://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/html/SB01281S.HTM)
5. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/html/SB01281F.HTM)

## Votes

- other — **137–0** (fail) · upper
- passage — **142–1** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Hancock — primary (person)
- King, Phil — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-03-09** Received by the Secretary of the Senate `filing`
- **2021-03-09** Filed `filing`
- **2021-03-18** Read first time `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-03-18** Referred to Business & Commerce `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-30** Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
- **2021-03-30** Considered in public hearing
- **2021-03-30** Testimony taken in committee
- **2021-03-30** Left pending in committee
- **2021-04-07** Considered in public hearing
- **2021-04-09** Reported favorably as substituted `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-09** Recommended for local & uncontested calendar
- **2021-04-09** Committee report printed and distributed
- **2021-04-19** Placed on local & uncontested calendar
- **2021-04-19** Laid before the Senate
- **2021-04-19** Read 2nd time & passed to engrossment
- **2021-04-19** Vote recorded in Journal
- **2021-04-19** Three day rule suspended
- **2021-04-19** Record vote
- **2021-04-19** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2021-04-19** Passed `passage`
- **2021-04-19** Record vote
- **2021-04-19** Reported engrossed
- **2021-04-20** Received from the Senate `introduction`
- **2021-04-28** Read first time `introduction, reading-1`
- **2021-04-28** Referred to State Affairs `referral-committee`
- **2021-05-06** Considered in public hearing
- **2021-05-06** Committee substitute considered in committee
- **2021-05-06** Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
- **2021-05-06** Left pending in committee
- **2021-05-14** Considered in formal meeting
- **2021-05-14** Committee substitute considered in committee
- **2021-05-14** Reported favorably as substituted `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-18** Comte report filed with Committee Coordinator
- **2021-05-18** Committee report distributed
- **2021-05-19** Committee report sent to Calendars
- **2021-05-20** Considered in Calendars
- **2021-05-23** Placed on General State Calendar
- **2021-05-24** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2021-05-24** Point of order withdrawn
- **2021-05-24** Postponed
- **2021-05-25** Laid out as postponed business
- **2021-05-25** Amended `amendment-passage`
- **2021-05-25** Statement of Leg. Intent Recorded in Journal
- **2021-05-25** Passed to 3rd reading as amended
- **2021-05-26** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2021-05-26** Passed `passage`
- **2021-05-26** Record vote
- **2021-05-26** Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
- **2021-05-27** House passage as amended reported
- **2021-05-28** House amendment(s) laid before the Senate
- **2021-05-28** Read
- **2021-05-28** Senate refuses to concur
- **2021-05-28** Senate requests conference committee
- **2021-05-28** Senate appoints conferees
- **2021-05-28** Senate refuses to concur-reported
- **2021-05-28** Senate requests conference committee-reported
- **2021-05-28** Senate appoints conferees-reported
- **2021-05-28** House grants request for conference committee
- **2021-05-28** House appoints conferees
- **2021-05-28** House grants request for conf comm-reported
- **2021-05-28** House appoints conferees-reported
- **2021-05-29** Conference committee report filed
- **2021-05-29** Conf. Comm. Report distributed
- **2021-05-30** House adopts resolution to go outside bounds
- **2021-05-30** House adopts conference committee report
- **2021-05-30** Statement of Leg. Intent Recorded in Journal
- **2021-05-30** Record vote
- **2021-05-30** Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal
- **2021-05-30** House adopts conf. comm. report-reported
- **2021-05-30** Senate adopts resolution to go outside bounds
- **2021-05-30** Senate adopts conference committee report
- **2021-05-30** Record vote
- **2021-05-31** Senate adopts conf. comm. report-reported
- **2021-05-31** Senate adopts resolution for tech. correction
- **2021-05-31** House adopts resolution for tech. correction
- **2021-05-31** Reported enrolled
- **2021-05-31** Signed in the House
- **2021-05-31** Signed in the Senate
- **2021-06-01** Sent to the Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-06-16** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-06-16** Effective on 9/1/21 `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/0ef86bda-1557-4ca7-8bd5-5a82780e8a33`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Texas legislature records).