Texas Compliance: TX-RAMP & HB 300 in Katy
Texas has its own rules, and they catch companies that already believed they were compliant. TX-RAMP governs cloud services sold to state agencies and public institutions; HB 300 adds state obligations on top of HIPAA for anyone handling Texas medical records. We handle both for Katy businesses so a state contract or a patient data question does not stall.
The Problem
A Katy software or services company wins interest from a school district, a public college campus, a state agency, or a public health entity, and then learns that its cloud product needs a TX-RAMP certification before the contract can be executed. Nobody budgeted for that, and the procurement clock does not pause. On the healthcare side, practices and their vendors around Houston Methodist West and Memorial Hermann Katy generally know HIPAA exists but have never looked at the Texas medical records chapter, which defines covered entities more broadly than the federal rule, sets its own workforce training expectations, and gives the state attorney general enforcement authority. Companies discover the gap during a contract review or a complaint, which is the worst time to start.
The Solution
For TX-RAMP we determine the applicable certification level based on the data and the agency relationship, then align your control set and evidence to what the state program expects, working from your existing SOC 2 or federal authorization where you have one so the work is not duplicated. For HB 300 we build the Texas obligations into the same program that satisfies HIPAA: training on the required cycle, patient access and disclosure handling, notification requirements, and the documentation to prove all of it. Both efforts run largely remotely, with on-site work available because Katy is inside our Houston metro service area. Pricing is scoped on a discovery call as a fixed monthly retainer.
Core Responsibilities
TX-RAMP preparation
HB 300 obligations
One program, both regimes
Engagement Process
Determine what applies
TX-RAMP and HB 300 have different triggers, and plenty of Katy companies are subject to one and not the other. We read your contracts, your data flows, and your customer base to establish which obligations are real before anyone starts building controls.
Reuse what exists
If you already hold a SOC 2, an ISO certificate, or a federal authorization, much of the evidence carries over. We map it forward and identify only the genuine deltas, because rebuilding a control program for each state requirement is how compliance budgets get wasted.
Close the deltas
We remediate what the mapping exposes: missing state specific training, notification procedures that only reference federal timelines, access request handling that misses the Texas window, or control gaps the state program will not accept.
Submit and sustain
We assemble the certification package and work with your sponsoring state entity through review, then keep the program current as staff turn over and contracts renew, so the next request is answered from a maintained file.
More for Katy Businesses
Common Questions
Who has to worry about TX-RAMP?
It applies to cloud computing services purchased by Texas state agencies and public institutions of higher education. If your product is delivered as a hosted service and a public entity is your prospective customer, the requirement typically reaches you through the procurement process before a contract can be signed.
We already have SOC 2. Does that satisfy TX-RAMP?
It helps substantially but does not replace the state process. Existing attestations and federal authorizations can support a large share of the evidence, which shortens the effort considerably. There is still a state specific submission and review that has to be completed with your sponsoring entity.
How is HB 300 different from HIPAA?
The Texas chapter defines a covered entity more broadly than the federal rule, so businesses that assumed they were out of scope can be captured. It also sets its own workforce training expectations tied to hire dates and a recurring cycle, and gives Texas enforcement authority independent of federal action.
We are a Katy clinic, not a software company. Does any of this touch us?
HB 300 does, directly, because you handle Texas medical records. TX-RAMP generally does not unless you sell a hosted service to a state entity. We build the HB 300 requirements into your HIPAA program so there is one set of policies, one training cycle, and one evidence file.
Can you meet with us in person?
Yes. Katy is inside our Houston metro service area, so on-site support is available for training sessions, walkthroughs, and leadership meetings. Package preparation, control mapping, and submission work run remotely from Houston.
Ready to get started?
BOOK A CONSULTATIONTexas Compliance: TX-RAMP & HB 300 for Katy, Texas
Katy sits at the intersection of both Texas rules more than most suburbs do. On the public sector side, the west side is served by large public school districts and by community college and university campuses that opened along the Grand Parkway to serve the population growth, and every one of them buys hosted software: scheduling, tutoring, transportation, facilities, safety, and workforce platforms. A Katy company that sells any of that into a public institution meets TX-RAMP at the contract stage, often after the sales work is already done. On the healthcare side, the corridor around Houston Methodist West and Memorial Hermann Katy has produced a dense population of practices, therapy clinics, imaging centers, and the billing, scheduling, and staffing vendors that support them, all of which handle Texas medical records and therefore carry HB 300 obligations that the federal rule does not describe. Katy's rapid west side growth means many of these organisations hired quickly, and HB 300 training is tied to hiring, which makes staff turnover the most common source of noncompliance we find. Engineering and energy services firms near the Energy Corridor get pulled in from a third direction when they administer self funded health benefits. Because Katy is in our Houston metro service area, training and walkthroughs can happen in your building with the people who do the work.
See the statewide overview of Texas Compliance: TX-RAMP & HB 300 or all services available in Katy.