HB 815 Would Let Texas Cities and Counties Put $10 Million in Bitcoin

Your city council already handles your water bill.

Your county already holds your tax dollars.

House Bill 815 would let each of them put up to $10 million of public money into Bitcoin.

Plain English summary

FACT: On November 9, 2026, State Rep. Ron Reynolds filed House Bill 815 for the 2027 session. The caption reads: "Relating to the authority of a municipality or county to invest money in cryptocurrencies."

FACT: The bill is two sections long. It adds Section 2256.0165 to the Public Funds Investment Act, Chapter 2256 of the Government Code. That is the law that tells local governments what they are allowed to do with the money they hold.

FACT: The key line says a municipality or county "may invest not more than $10 million of its money or money under its control in Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency."

FACT: It borrows the definitions of "Bitcoin" and "cryptocurrency" from the state Bitcoin reserve law the Legislature passed in 2025, Senate Bill 21. If it passes, it takes effect September 1, 2027.

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE (Bitcoin Magazine, Nov. 10, 2026): Reynolds is a Missouri City Democrat. In 2025 he filed HB 4258, which would have let the comptroller invest up to $250 million of the Rainy Day Fund in Bitcoin. That bill did not become law.

Why it matters

The cap is per city and per county. Not statewide.

Texas has 254 counties and well over a thousand cities. Every one of them would get the same $10 million door.

For Gregg County, that is real money. For a small town in Marion or Upshur County, $10 million can be a huge share of the whole budget. The bill does not scale the cap to the size of the government. It is one number for Houston and the same number for Jefferson.

And here is what the bill does not say.

It does not say who holds the coins. It does not say how they are stored. It does not require an outside audit of the holdings. It does not say what happens if the price drops 50 percent the week after the council votes.

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE (Bitcoin Magazine): SB 21 set custody and storage rules for the state reserve, and HB 815 does not carry those rules down to the local level. The bill text itself has no custody, audit, or loss language at all. That part is FACT. Read it.

The receipt

FACT: HB 815 bill history, Texas Legislature Online. Filed 11/09/2026. Author: Reynolds.

FACT: HB 815 introduced text. Section 1 adds Sec. 2256.0165. Section 2 sets the September 1, 2027 effective date.

FACT: Chapter 2256, Government Code, the Public Funds Investment Act.

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE (Texas Standard, Dec. 4, 2025): the state made its first reserve purchase, about $5 million in Bitcoin through an exchange traded fund, in late November 2025. The reporter said the Legislature put $10 million toward it.

What Ryan says

RYAN STATEMENT: I am not against Bitcoin. Plenty of East Texans own it. That is their money and their call.

This is not your money. This is the public's money.

When a city invests your tax dollars, the rule has always been safety first. Keep it liquid. Do not gamble it. That is why the Public Funds Investment Act exists.

So if Austin wants to open that door, I want three things on paper before a single county commissioner votes.

Who holds the keys.

Who audits it, and how often.

And who answers to the taxpayer when it goes down.

Same rule I want for every dollar. Show me the books.

If the state reserve is a good idea, prove it at the state level first. Publish what it bought, what it paid, and what it is worth today. Then we talk about handing the same tool to every county in Texas.

What this does not prove

It does not prove any East Texas city or county wants to buy Bitcoin. Nothing I found shows a local government here asking for this.

It does not prove the bill will pass. It was filed. That is all. Session starts in January.

It does not prove Bitcoin is a bad investment or a good one. Nobody knows next year's price.

It does not prove Rep. Reynolds did anything wrong. Filing a bill is his job.

What it does prove

It proves the bill, as written, sets one $10 million cap for every city and county, big or small.

It proves the bill is silent on custody, audits, and losses at the local level.

It proves the 2027 session will have to decide whether public money in Texas towns can sit in crypto.

The bottom line

Your city's money is your money.

Before anyone puts it in Bitcoin, the rules for holding it, checking it, and losing it need to be written in the law. Not in a council memo. In the law.

HB 815 does not do that yet.

Read the bill. It is two sections. It takes two minutes.

This is the record.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.