AARP Texas: 2025 Legislative Session Brings Wins For Older Texans

By Mark Hollis , June 17, 2025 06:59 PM

Throughout the 2025 Texas legislative session, AARP Texas volunteers and staff were ever-present at the Capitol, fighting hard on issues important to our 2.4 million members, as well as all older Texans and their families.

As a result of our nonpartisan advocacy, significant legislative wins were achieved across many budget and policy areas, including fraud fighting, housing and home ownership, healthcare access, long-term care quality, brain health, elections law, and more.

While AARP Texas provided input into dozens of bills, here’s a look at some of the ones that received final legislative approval and have been sent to the governor for his consideration.

FRAUD-FIGHTING MEASURES

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AI Phishing. AARP Texas helped to pass Senate Bill 2373, which updates Texas fraud law by giving victims a civil cause of action and the power to ask courts for quick injunctions to stop artificial intelligence-generated scams. The legislation also authorizes the Texas attorney general to levy daily fines against offenders of these crimes.

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) tools make it easy for scam artists to layer in realistic graphics, spoofed caller ID, and AI-generated voices or images to sell their ruse. Scammers combine these deepfakes with classic phishing tactics to trick people, especially older persons, into surrendering passwords, wiring funds and buying gift cards.

Deed Fraud. Also called home title fraud, title fraud, or house stealing, deed fraud is the illegal transfer and recording of a real estate title without the knowledge or consent of the legal owner. AARP Texas supported at least four deed fraud bills, including ones that would create an ex parte process for fraudulent deeds, create more training and education for notaries public, require further information for an affidavit of heirship on a property, and allow county clerks to require additional information before recording a deed.

Other fraud fighting actions. AARP Texas helped to pass legislation to stamp out gift card fraud by establishing in law the offense of gift card fraud. We also helped pass a measure to expand the scope and size of the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center. The center is staffed under the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation by law enforcement officers and intelligence analysts experienced in investigating organized financial crimes, including credit card skimming and shimming that attack fuel dispensers, ATMs and other point of sale terminals, as well as other types of financial crimes. We also worked on the successful passage of a bill requiring the creation of a consumer guide for purchasing solar panels.

ELDER ABUSE

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Elder abuse in Texas has seen a significant rise, with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services reporting over 83,000 cases in 2023, up from 60,000 in 2022. This surge encompasses various forms of abuse, including physical, emotional, financial and neglect. This legislative session, AARP Texas helped to successfully pass several initiatives to combat the abuse, including:

Secure Our Seniors Safety. With backing from AARP Texas, Senate Bill1283 will set a standard that independent living facilities conduct background checks for employees, to not obscure police questioning if there is an event on site and disclose what they will and won’t do in the event of a power outage or natural disaster. The bill has been spearheaded by AARP Texas and Secure Our Seniors Safety, a nonprofit comprised of the surviving family members of older-age murder victims, primarily in Dallas.

Elder Abuse Training for Judges. Senate Bill 2878 requires all Texas judges – including district, county, and associate judges – to take training on elder abuse.

BRAIN HEALTH

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Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The Legislature approved, and AARP supported, legislation and budget authority to give Texans the chance to vote on the creation of a $3 billion-backed Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas that’s expected to revolutionize Alzheimer’s care and research. Nearly 7 million Americans over 65 are living with Alzheimer’s. In Texas, nearly half a million Texans live with Alzheimer’s, and a million more provide them with unpaid care.

Alzheimer’s Disease Guardianship Training. House Bill 3376, which AARP Texas supported, requires prospective guardians of persons with dementia to complete specialized and recurring education on Alzheimer’s disease and related diseases. Without the education, even well-intentioned guardians may be prone to isolate wards, misinterpret their behavior or make choices that do not reflect the ward’s wishes.

HEALTH COSTS

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Transparency: Senate Bill 311 will help consumers at free-standing emergency rooms, outpatient clinics, and ambulatory surgery centers know the cost of a healthcare service before receiving it. In turn, individuals can better plan their finances and even shop for a better price, saving consumers and the health care system money.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

Widows Penalty: Senate Bill 1238 closes a loophole in the Texas Insurance Code that has allowed insurance companies to charge widows a higher insurance rate, known as a widow’s penalty.

Policy Cancellation Notice: Under legislation AARP supported and is expected to be signed by the governor, insurers will be required to inform Texas homeowners in writing of the reasons a policy was declined, canceled or not renewed, as well as to provide the Texas Department of Insurance with quarterly reports on such decisions broken down by ZIP code. Sponsors consider it a transparency move to benefit consumers.

ELECTIONS

Ballots by Mail: AARP Texas testified at the Legislature on several elections-related bills, including House Bill 2259, which was approved, and would make the instructions font on ballots by mail larger and, presumably, easier to read.

For more information about AARP’s work at the Texas Legislature, reach out to the following AARP Texas staff or follow us on social media, including AARP Texas on Facebook, AARPTX on Instagram, AARP Texas on LinkedIn and @AARPTX on X: