Texas · verified October 5, 2026

Texas AI laws for political campaigns

Prohibits deceptive AI in election media2 AI call rules3 political AI laws

Texas makes it a Class A misdemeanor to create a deceptive deepfake video meant to injure a candidate or sway an election and release it within 30 days of an election; the 2025 bill that would have added an AI disclosure rule for political ads (HB 366) passed the House but died in the Senate, so there is no AI disclaimer requirement.

Political ad AI law
Prohibition
When it applies
Publication or distribution within 30 days of an election
Required AI disclaimer
No label safe harbor
Criminal penalty
Yes
Candidate can sue
No
AI voice calls
2 state rules + TCPA

Political ads and deepfakes

Does Texas regulate AI in political ads?

Yes. Since September 1, 2019, a person commits a crime if, intending to injure a candidate or influence an election result, they create a deep fake video and cause it to be published or distributed within 30 days of an election. The law covers video only (not audio or still images) and has no disclosure safe harbor and no written exemptions. Texas has no AI disclaimer requirement for political ads: HB 366 (2025) passed the House 102 to 40 but never moved in the Senate, SB 893 passed the Senate but died in the House, and HB 142 (first called session, 2025) was filed but never acted on. The Legislature does not meet in regular session again until January 2027. Key law (SB 751 (2019, 86th Legislature), Tex. Elec. Code 255.004(d) and (e); penalty in 255.004(c)).

SB 751 (2019, 86th Legislature): Fabricating a deceptive video with intent to influence the outcome of an election

In effect
Citation
Tex. Elec. Code 255.004(d) and (e); penalty in 255.004(c)
Enacted
June 14, 2019
Effective
September 1, 2019
When it applies
publication or distribution within 30 days of an election
Media covered
video only. A "deep fake video" is a video, created with the intent to deceive, that appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not occur in reality.
Who it covers
any person
Rule
ban
Intent required
intent to injure a candidate or influence the result of an election, plus the video itself must be created with intent to deceive
Criminal penalty
Class A misdemeanor (Tex. Elec. Code 255.004(c)); under Texas Penal Code 12.21 that is up to 1 year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000
Injunction available
No
Court challenges
No challenge to subsection (d) found. A neighboring subsection, 255.004(b) (misrepresenting the true source of a campaign communication), was struck down as facially overbroad under the First Amendment by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Ex parte Stafford (Sept. 2024). Subsection (d) was not before the court, but the ruling signals that broad speech restrictions in this section face strict scrutiny.
Notes
The statute does not say how a label or disclaimer affects liability, and it has no satire, parody, or news exemption in the text. Because the video must be created with intent to deceive, clearly labeled parody is a strong defense in practice, but that is a constitutional argument, not a statutory safe harbor. AI audio (voice clones) and AI still images are not covered by this section.

Read the official text

Bills to watch

  • HB 366 (89th Legislature, regular session, 2025): Required disclosures on political advertising that contains altered media; would have required a disclosure that the content "did not occur in reality" for candidates, officeholders, and committees spending over $100, with a Class A misdemeanor penalty. Dead. Passed the House 2025-04-30 (102 to 40), received by the Senate the same day, no further Senate action before the session ended 2025-06-02. Did not become law.
  • SB 893 (89th Legislature, regular session, 2025): Criminal offenses for creating and distributing certain misleading images, audio recordings, and videos. Dead. Passed the Senate 2025-03-24, referred to House Elections Committee 2025-04-09, no further action.
  • HB 142 (89th Legislature, 1st called session, 2025): Required disclosures on political advertising that contains altered media (refiled version of HB 366). Dead. Filed 2025-07-21, no further action; the special session has ended.

For campaigns and consultants

Before an AI ad runs in Texas

  • Do not create or release a realistic fake video of any real person (candidate or not) doing something they did not do within 30 days of a Texas election. This is a criminal offense even if you add a label.
  • AI audio and AI still images are not covered by 255.004(d), but defamation and other general law still apply. Treat voice clones of real candidates as high risk.
  • No Texas AI disclaimer is required in political ads today, but the standard political advertising disclosure (Tex. Elec. Code 255.001) still applies to ads that require one.
  • Watch the 2027 session: an HB 366 style disclosure bill passed the House in 2025 and is likely to return.

AI voice calls and texts

Can a campaign use AI voice calls in Texas?

Texas has no law aimed specifically at AI voices in political calls. Two older laws matter. First, Texas Utilities Code chapter 55, subchapter F regulates any "automated dial announcing device" that plays a "prerecorded or synthesized voice message" for unsolicited calls ("telephone solicitation" is defined simply as "an unsolicited call"), which on its face reaches an AI voice robocall; it requires a PUC permit, a message that states the nature of the call, the caller's identity, and the calling number within the first 30 seconds, and disconnection within 5 seconds of hang-up. There is no political exemption in the text, though whether the PUC applies it to political calls was not confirmed. Second, Texas Business and Commerce Code 305.053 lets any person who receives a call that violates the federal TCPA (for example an artificial or AI voice call to a cell phone without prior express consent, which the FCC confirmed in February 2024 covers AI voices) sue in Texas state court for $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if knowing or intentional.

Automatic Dial Announcing Devices (1997, amended 2013 by SB 1040): Automatic Dial Announcing Devices (ADAD)

In effect
Citation
Tex. Util. Code 55.121 to 55.137; PUC rule 16 TAC 26.125
Effective
September 1, 1997
When it applies
anytime
Media covered
automated equipment that dials stored or generated numbers and conveys a prerecorded or synthesized voice message without a live operator, used for unsolicited calls or collection
Who it covers
any person using an ADAD; exemptions only for certain emergency, school truancy, municipal public safety, and organization-to-member calls (55.122)
Rule
disclosure required
Disclaimer format
Recorded message must state, during the first 30 seconds: the nature of the call, the identity of the person, company, or organization making the call, and the telephone number from which the call is made (55.127). Device must disconnect within 5 seconds after either party ends the call, otherwise a live operator must introduce the call and get oral consent first (55.126). Solicitation messages must be under 30 seconds unless the device can detect an answering machine and end the call within 30 seconds (55.128). No random or sequential dialing (55.124). Telephone solicitation calls only 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday (55.125). Written notice to each phone carrier used and a PUC permit are required (55.123, 55.129, 55.130).
Exemptions
  • emergency or public service calls under a county emergency management program
  • school truancy calls
  • municipal public health, safety, or welfare calls
  • calls by an organization to its own members
Civil penalty
PUC administrative penalty up to $1,000 per day of violation (55.137); permit revocation (55.135); court or PUC may order phone service disconnected (55.136)
Injunction available
No
Notes
The definition expressly includes a "synthesized voice message," so an AI voice agent that auto-dials is likely an ADAD. Whether the PUC treats political robocalls as "unsolicited calls" under this subchapter was not confirmed; the text has no political exemption.

Read the official text

HB 2278 (2007): State court civil action for TCPA violations

In effect
Citation
Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 305.053
Effective
April 1, 2009
When it applies
anytime
Media covered
any call or message that violates 47 U.S.C. 227 (TCPA), its FCC rules, or Texas Bus. & Com. Code chapter 305 subchapter A
Who it covers
the person who originates the communication
Rule
ban
Intent required
strict liability; higher damages if knowing or intentional
Civil penalty
greater of $500 per violation or actual damages; up to the greater of $1,500 per violation or triple actual damages if knowing or intentional
Who can sue
Yes. Any person who receives a violating communication may sue in Texas for an injunction, damages, or both.
Injunction available
Yes
Notes
This gives Texas voters a state court path to enforce the federal TCPA, which bars artificial or prerecorded voice calls (including AI voices, per the FCC's February 2024 declaratory ruling) to cell phones without prior express consent, even for political calls. Chapter 305 subchapter A itself (305.001) covers only sales calls to mobile phones.

Read the official text

Federal floor everywhere: AI-generated voices are “artificial” voices under the TCPA (FCC, February 2024), so they need prior express consent to cell phones and must identify the caller at the start of the call. AI robocall laws in every state

Federal layer

Federal rules that apply in Texas

At the federal level, the binding rules that hit AI in campaigns today are the TCPA and FCC robocall rules, not any AI-specific election law. Since February 2024 the FCC treats AI-generated voices as "artificial" voices, so AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent (political calls included), AI or prerecorded political calls to landlines are limited to three per 30 days without consent, and every such message must identify the caller, give a callback number and offer an opt-out. The FEC says its existing fraudulent misrepresentation ban covers AI, but it has had no quorum since April 2025 and cannot enforce. Proposed FCC rules on AI disclosure in broadcast political ads and in AI calls were never adopted, and no federal AI political ad disclaimer bill has passed. Federal efforts to preempt state AI laws (a 2025 moratorium the Senate struck 99 to 1, and Executive Order 14365) have not displaced any state election or robocall law as of October 2026.

FCC, FEC and the federal preemption fight

How Texas compares

2 other jurisdictions share Texas's status (prohibition):

Maryland · Minnesota

See Texas on the mapPolitical deepfake laws, all statesDisclaimer generatorTexas 2026 electionsTexas underdog paths to victory

HyperPhonebank

Voter contact that clears Texas's AI rules before the first dial.

Live professional callers and AI voice programs for voter ID, persuasion, ballot chase and GOTV, scripted to the disclosure and consent rules on this page, with every call graded and a real time dashboard.

Frequently asked questions

Does Texas regulate AI in political ads?

Yes. Since September 1, 2019, a person commits a crime if, intending to injure a candidate or influence an election result, they create a deep fake video and cause it to be published or distributed within 30 days of an election. The law covers video only (not audio or still images) and has no disclosure safe harbor and no written exemptions. Texas has no AI disclaimer requirement for political ads: HB 366 (2025) passed the House 102 to 40 but never moved in the Senate, SB 893 passed the Senate but died in the House, and HB 142 (first called session, 2025) was filed but never acted on. The Legislature does not meet in regular session again until January 2027. Key law (SB 751 (2019, 86th Legislature), Tex. Elec. Code 255.004(d) and (e); penalty in 255.004(c)).

What AI disclaimer does Texas require on political ads?

Texas does not prescribe exact wording. Since September 1, 2019, a person commits a crime if, intending to injure a candidate or influence an election result, they create a deep fake video and cause it to be published or distributed within 30 days of an election. The law covers video only (not audio or still images) and has no disclosure safe harbor and no written exemptions. Texas has no AI disclaimer requirement for political ads: HB 366 (2025) passed the House 102 to 40 but never moved in the Senate, SB 893 passed the Senate but died in the House, and HB 142 (first called session, 2025) was filed but never acted on. The Legislature does not meet in regular session again until January 2027.

What is the penalty for a deceptive political deepfake in Texas?

Criminal: Class A misdemeanor (Tex. Elec. Code 255.004(c)); under Texas Penal Code 12.21 that is up to 1 year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000.

When does the Texas political deepfake law apply?

publication or distribution within 30 days of an election. It covers video only. A "deep fake video" is a video, created with the intent to deceive, that appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not occur in reality.

Can a campaign use an AI voice for robocalls in Texas?

Texas has no law aimed specifically at AI voices in political calls. Two older laws matter. First, Texas Utilities Code chapter 55, subchapter F regulates any "automated dial announcing device" that plays a "prerecorded or synthesized voice message" for unsolicited calls ("telephone solicitation" is defined simply as "an unsolicited call"), which on its face reaches an AI voice robocall; it requires a PUC permit, a message that states the nature of the call, the caller's identity, and the calling number within the first 30 seconds, and disconnection within 5 seconds of hang-up. There is no political exemption in the text, though whether the PUC applies it to political calls was not confirmed. Second, Texas Business and Commerce Code 305.053 lets any person who receives a call that violates the federal TCPA (for example an artificial or AI voice call to a cell phone without prior express consent, which the FCC confirmed in February 2024 covers AI voices) sue in Texas state court for $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if knowing or intentional. Under federal law, the FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so prerecorded or AI voice calls to cell phones need prior express consent, and every such call must identify the caller at the start.

How many political AI laws does Texas have?

This tracker counts 3 Texas AI laws touching politics and elections as of October 5, 2026: 1 on elections, 2 on AI or artificial voice calls.

Are there pending AI election bills in Texas?

HB 366 (89th Legislature, regular session, 2025) (Required disclosures on political advertising that contains altered media; would have required a disclosure that the content "did not occur in reality" for candidates, officeholders, and committees spending over $100, with a Class A misdemeanor penalty): Dead. Passed the House 2025-04-30 (102 to 40), received by the Senate the same day, no further Senate action before the session ended 2025-06-02. Did not become law. SB 893 (89th Legislature, regular session, 2025) (Criminal offenses for creating and distributing certain misleading images, audio recordings, and videos): Dead. Passed the Senate 2025-03-24, referred to House Elections Committee 2025-04-09, no further action. HB 142 (89th Legislature, 1st called session, 2025) (Required disclosures on political advertising that contains altered media (refiled version of HB 366)): Dead. Filed 2025-07-21, no further action; the special session has ended.

Sources

Verified October 5, 2026 against official legislature and statute pages. This page summarizes Texas law for campaigns and is not legal advice.