Texas Senate bill by Sen. Schwertner modifies physician noncompete enforceability criteria

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Charles Schwertner seeks to adjust enforceability standards for covenants not to compete among physicians and health care practitioners, aiming to balance professional restrictions with patient care access, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, with no opposition.

Meanwhile, in the House, 54 Democrats and 72 Republicans voted in favor, while one Democrat and 11 Republicans voted against it.

Charles Schwertner introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Friday, Feb. 14, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Schwertner graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS.

Schwertner, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2013 to represent the state’s 5th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Steve Ogden.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to restrictions on covenants not to compete for physicians and certain health care practitioners’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill modifies the enforceability criteria of covenants not to compete for physicians and certain health care practitioners in Texas. It specifies that these covenants are enforceable only if they are part of an agreement with reasonable restrictions regarding time, geographical area, and scope of activity. For physicians, the covenant must not deny access to patient lists or records, permit a buyout not exceeding the physician’s annual salary, allow continued care for patients with acute illnesses, expire within one year, and limit to a five-mile radius. For other health care practitioners, the covenant must also allow a buyout, expire within one year, and restrict within a five-mile radius. The bill preempts other laws regarding these covenants, and changes apply only to agreements entered into or renewed on or after Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. Kevin Sparks (Republican – District 31).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Wednesday, May 28, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.