Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
Texas laws taking effect Sept. 1 will change how consumers repair electronic devices, strengthen oversight of residential solar sales and allow certain forms of gold and silver to be used as legal tender.
House Bill 2963 creates a limited “right to repair” for digital electronic equipment. It requires manufacturers to provide owners and independent repair businesses with the parts, tools and documentation available to authorized repair shops on “fair and reasonable terms.”
“This law is a major step forward,” said Nathan Proctor, senior director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign. “It allows Texans to get access to parts, tools, and other things you need to fix modern electronics.”
The law covers consumer electronics with a wholesale price of at least $50 — but only equipment originally offered for sale in Texas on or after Sept. 1. Consequently, devices already on the market before that date are not covered.
The measure also contains numerous exemptions, including many motor vehicles, farm equipment, medical devices, video-game consoles, large home appliances, heavy equipment and certain cybersecurity-related products.
Small countertop appliances are not included in the home-appliance exemption. The Texas attorney general can enforce the law, but it does not create a private right for consumers to sue over violations.
“We strongly advocate for the right to repair everything,” Proctor said. “In Texas, there was clear agreement on personal electronics.” He said Texas lawmakers could expand the right to repair, as in other states, if enough voters make it clear this is what they want.
Another change arriving Sept. 1 is the registration requirement under Senate Bill 1036, the Residential Solar Retailer Regulatory Act. Residential solar systems salespeople must now register with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and work for a registered solar retailer. Retailers that employ or contract with salespeople must also register.
Ann Baddour of the nonprofit Texas Appleseed said the accountability provisions “go a long way toward addressing many of the problems that we saw in the market prior to the most recent legislative session.”
Texas Appleseed examined complaints filed between 2018 and 2024 and reported allegations of forged signatures, misleading promises, undisclosed financing terms, liens and panels that were paid for but never installed. Complaints involving solar panels submitted to the attorney general increased 818% between 2018 and 2023, while those submitted to the licensing department rose 576%, according to the organization.
“We heard story after story of people in their 80s with $100,000 in solar panel loans,” Baddour said, describing obligations that caused severe financial hardship.
Most of SB 1036, including its requirement that contracts allow purchasers or lessees to cancel within five business days, took effect Sept. 1, 2025. However, the salesperson and retailer registration requirements, along with the law’s enforcement provisions, takes effect this year.
House Bill 1056, authored by Republican state Rep. Mark Dorazio of San Antonio, recognizes qualifying privately produced gold and silver specie as legal tender in Texas beginning Sept. 1.
The metal must be marked with its weight and purity and cannot bear markings suggesting that it was issued by a government. No person, business or government agency will be required to accept it.
Dorazio has promoted the measure as a way to make precious metals functional money and provide an alternative store of value.
“How am I supposed to buy groceries or put gas in my car with a gold bar?” Dorazio asked during a legislative hearing. “Fortunately, the technology is available today and allows you to pay for goods and services using a gold card through the convenience of a debit card.”
That electronic-payment component, however, does not begin Sept. 1. The provisions authorizing systems backed by bullion held in the Texas Bullion Depository take effect May 1, 2027, and implementation will depend on action by the state comptroller.
The Sept. 1 change is limited to recognizing qualifying physical gold and silver as legal tender.
Dorazio said the bill protects Texans by “making gold and silver functional money.” Supporters view precious metals as a hedge against inflation, while the law’s practical reach will depend on voluntary acceptance and the later development of the electronic transaction system.
