Texas amended its telephone solicitation and telemarketing law (known as the “mini-TCPA”) through Senate Bill 140, effective September 1, 2025, to require businesses sending marketing text messages to Texans to annually register with the Secretary of State, pay a registration fee, post a $10,000 security deposit, and make detailed disclosures about their business and planned solicitations. The law expands the definition of “telephone solicitation” to include text messages and creates de facto violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (which carries significant penalties including treble damages and a private right of action) for violations of existing text messaging consent and no-call list requirements. Several exemptions may limit applicability for established businesses, including carveouts for publicly traded companies, supervised financial institutions, nonprofits, and entities that have operated under the same name for at least two years and are messaging current or former customers, though the scope of the customer exemption is somewhat ambiguous.
