Texas Compliance: TX-RAMP & HB 300 in Friendswood
Texas has its own rules layered on top of the federal ones. If you sell cloud software to a state agency or a public university, TX-RAMP applies. If you handle Texas patient information, HB 300 raises the bar above HIPAA. We map which obligations reach you and build the evidence to satisfy them.
The Problem
Two very different Friendswood organizations get caught by state requirements. The first is a software or technology company that wins interest from a state agency, a public university, or a school district, then learns that the contract cannot proceed until the product holds TX-RAMP certification at the appropriate level. That is a real body of work, and nobody told them at the start of the sales cycle. The second is any organization touching Texas medical records: a clinic, a dental or specialty practice, a billing company, a therapy provider, or a vendor serving them. HB 300 broadens who counts as a covered entity well past the federal definition, requires training on Texas specific requirements within sixty days of hire and repeated periodically, tightens the timeline for producing electronic health records to a patient, and adds state enforcement on top of federal penalties. Most owners have never heard of it.
The Solution
We start by determining which obligations actually apply, because both regimes are frequently assumed too broadly or missed entirely. For TX-RAMP we assess your cloud offering against the required control set, identify whether an existing federal authorization or a StateRAMP status can shorten the path, prepare the documentation package, and coordinate the submission with the agency sponsoring you. For HB 300 we build the training program with the tracking records the statute expects, tighten access controls and audit logging over electronic health records, verify your systems can produce records inside the state timeline, and refresh notice and consent language. Business associate agreements are reviewed down your vendor chain, since that is where practices most often carry risk they never agreed to. Delivery is remote, with Friendswood inside our on-site service area for staff training sessions and walkthroughs.
Core Responsibilities
TX-RAMP Readiness
HB 300 Obligations
Controls and Vendor Chain
Engagement Process
Determine what applies
We establish whether TX-RAMP is triggered by your buyer and your product, and whether HB 300 reaches you under the broader Texas definition of a covered entity. Getting this wrong in either direction is expensive.
Assess against the requirement
For TX-RAMP that means a control by control gap review against the applicable level. For HB 300 it means examining training records, access logs, records request handling, and vendor agreements as they exist today.
Build the evidence
Policies, technical controls, training delivery, and documentation are put in place and captured. For Friendswood practices we run the staff training on site, because a session held in your break room lands better than a video nobody watches.
Submit and sustain
TX-RAMP packages go through the state process with us coordinating alongside your sponsoring agency. HB 300 obligations move into a recurring calendar covering training cycles, access reviews, and agreement renewals.
More for Friendswood Businesses
Common Questions
Does TX-RAMP apply to us if we only sell to private companies?
No. TX-RAMP governs cloud services purchased by Texas state agencies and public institutions of higher education, so a purely commercial customer base does not trigger it. It becomes relevant the moment a public university, an agency, or certain other public bodies want to buy your product, which is a conversation worth having before the contract stage rather than after.
We follow HIPAA already. What does HB 300 add?
Chiefly three things: a broader definition of who is covered, so organizations outside the federal definition can still be captured; mandatory Texas specific training within sixty days of hire with repetition on a set cycle and documented completion; and a shorter timeline for providing a patient with an electronic copy of their record. Texas also enforces independently, so a single incident can attract both state and federal attention.
How long does TX-RAMP certification take?
It depends on your starting posture, the level required, and whether you can leverage an existing federal authorization for reciprocity. A company already holding a comparable authorization is in a far better position than one starting from an unassessed product. We will scope a realistic sequence for your situation rather than quote a duration we cannot control, since the state review timeline is not ours to promise.
Are we a covered entity under HB 300 if we are not a medical practice?
Possibly. The Texas definition reaches organizations that obtain, store, or come into possession of protected health information in the course of business, which can include billing services, employers handling employee health data in certain circumstances, and technology vendors serving providers. If patient information passes through your systems, the question deserves a proper answer rather than an assumption.
Can you deliver the required training to our staff in Friendswood?
Yes. Friendswood is inside our on-site service area, so we run the session in your office and leave you with the attendance documentation and materials. We also set the recurring schedule so the next cycle and every new hire are handled without anyone having to remember the deadline.
Ready to get started?
BOOK A CONSULTATIONTexas Compliance: TX-RAMP & HB 300 for Friendswood, Texas
Friendswood produces both kinds of organization these rules were written for. On the healthcare side, the practices along the FM 528 corridor and the specialty and dental offices serving families across this suburb and the neighboring Clear Lake communities all hold Texas patient records, and many also use billing companies, transcription vendors, or scheduling platforms that inherit the same obligations without anyone confirming it in writing. Practice owners here tend to know HIPAA by name and have never encountered HB 300, which is the exact combination that produces an avoidable state enforcement problem after a lost laptop or a misdirected record. On the technology side, Friendswood's position as a residential base for the Clear Lake aerospace and engineering workforce means a steady stream of small software and technical services companies founded by people who understand a domain deeply. When one of those products draws interest from a public university, a state agency, or a regional public entity, TX-RAMP becomes the gate between a signed contract and a stalled one, and a small company usually meets that requirement for the first time in the middle of a procurement. Professional firms in town, from accounting practices to insurance agencies, sit adjacent to both worlds and often hold health related client information without classifying it as such. Sorting out which state obligations genuinely apply is the first hour of useful work, and we can do that in your office rather than over a call.
See the statewide overview of Texas Compliance: TX-RAMP & HB 300 or all services available in Friendswood.