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General & Misc. 89th TX Legislative Session, 2025

Updated: Jun 2


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Latest Update:  02 June, 2025

Summary: Journal of blogs, articles, and sources about GENERAL & MISC ISSUES in the 89th Texas Legislature, 2025. • Willow Park Civics reads widely, deeply, and daily, and then provides an INDEX of the activities of the 89th Texas Legislature, whose regular session is scheduled to meet from 14 January 2025 to  02 June 2025.

• Latest post: 05 March, 2025






General & Misc. 89th TX Legislative Session, 2025

• Journal of blogs, articles, and sources about GENERAL & MISC ISSUES in the 89th Texas Legislature, 2025. • Willow Park Civics reads widely, deeply, and daily, and then provides an INDEX of the activities of the 89th Texas Legislature, whose regular session is scheduled to meet from January 14, 2025, to June 2, 2025.


Journal

• Texas Legislative Session 2025, Fort Worth Report

• Texas Legislature 2025, The Texas Tribune

• 89th-session, The Texan

• 89th, Texas Scorecard




Texas has been ranked second worst state in the nation for squatting problems.




• Texas Lawmakers Approve Record-High State Budget, Texas Scorecard, 30 May 2025

The legislature has finally passed a $338 billion biennial budget.

The Texas Legislature has approved the final version of the state’s budget, with both chambers passing the conference committee report for Senate Bill 1—the only bill lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass.

Despite a historic $24 billion surplus and calls from conservative groups to use the funds for meaningful tax relief and spending restraint, the budget instead marks yet another expansion.

The final version of SB 1 totals over $338 billion in all funds, with state funds exceeding $237 billion—an 8.3 percent increase over the last biennium and a staggering 43 percent increase since the 2022–23 budget.

Only $6.5 billion of the surplus is being used for new property tax relief, even as property taxes have risen $13 billion (21.6 percent) since the last biennium.


The measure fell just three votes short of the 100 needed for passage.



A law providing for the removal of local officials from office via a lawsuit on incompetency or misconduct grounds was amended to ensure the process is more uniform.


According to a bill analysis prepared by the House, Senate Bill (SB) 1362 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) would amend state law to prohibit a judge, local governmental entity, or other state official from issuing or enforcing ERPOs that are “not issued on the basis of conduct that resulted in a criminal charge for the person who is the subject of the order and that has the primary purpose of reducing the risk of death or injury related to a firearm by prohibiting the person from owning, possessing, or receiving a firearm or requiring the person to surrender a firearm or otherwise removing a firearm from the person.”

House Democrats attempted and failed to gut the measure’s protections before lawmakers ultimately voted this week to approve it.


Lawmakers filed dozens of bills that would increase transparency around spending in elections and strengthen penalties for campaign and lobbying violations. None are poised to pass.



Legislation is on its way to the governor that will stop secret sex abuse settlements, past and future.


Texas judges have not received a pay increase since 2013.



Legislation allotting $300 million in tax incentives per biennium for the film industry in Texas is one step closer to being signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, after passing the Texas House on Monday — following Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s initiative and prodding from A-list celebrities.    

The Texas Moving Image Industry Program (TMIIP), which will be granted an additional $200 million under Senate Bill (SB) 22 by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), was brought to the House floor on Sunday night by Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi) with little debate prior to its passage, similar to the legislation’s hearings in both Senate and House committees. 

• House Greenlights $1.5 Billion in Film Subsidies, Texas Scorecard, 26 May 2025


The House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency (DOGE) took up Senate Bill (SB) 2401, the “sunset safety net” legislation that extends by two years eight different agencies: the Texas Lottery Commission, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Ethics Commission, the Department of Information Resources, the Angelina and Neches River Authority, the Lower Neches Valley Valley Authority, the Sabine River Authority of Texas, and the Trinity River Authority of Texas.

It’s a backup plan for agencies up for review in case individual sunset bills do not pass the Legislature. The only two of those agencies whose individual sunset extensions haven’t moved in the House are the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) and the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC).

Both are under fire from some conservatives who are hoping to abolish the lottery entirely and establish a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying, legislation for which has languished in the House State Affairs Committee.



• THC Product Ban Passes Texas House, The Texan, 23 May 2025

A bill to ban certain consumable THC products from being sold in Texas produced heated debate, parliamentary maneuvers, and a bevy of amendments on Wednesday before being finally passed on the House floor.

Senate Bill (SB) 3, otherwise known as “Banning THC in Texas,” became one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation this session. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made the bill's passage one of his top priorities, holding multiple press conferences and producing videos for social media to bring light to the issue he believes is negatively affecting children across the state.


We’re tracking the status of major bills through the final stretch of the session.


In a Monday bipartisan vote of 133 to 8, House members approved Sen. Joan Huffman’s (R-Houston) Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 5 that allows judicial officers the discretion to deny bail to defendants charged with murder or capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, trafficking of persons, and continuous trafficking of persons. 

Bail may also be withheld for aggravated assault if the person caused serious bodily injury or used a weapon. 


The Texas Legislature is poised to impose sweeping restrictions on how minors use social media, from banning them from signing up for accounts and requiring parental consent to download applications, to placing warning labels about their dangers.

House Bill 186, filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, has already passed with bipartisan support in the House, and a Senate panel has indicated its support as well. The proposal, the most far-reaching of the bills lawmakers have filed to address online dangers this session, would prohibit minors from creating accounts on social media sites, such as Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and more, and require users to verify their ages. Companies would have to comply with the ban by April 2026.


Senate Bill (SB) 3070, authored by Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), is the latest effort to quell some of the concerns that have surfaced in recent months regarding the TLC and lottery winners.

The bill would abolish the TLC and move the Texas Lottery’s operations under the watch of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), require a “limited-scope sunset review” of the lottery, and place a 100-ticket per transaction limit on purchases. Additionally, it would prohibit internet ticket sales and create an advisory committee.

“The problems we’ve had were not the result of some very smart people from outside the government figuring out how to beat the system,” Hall explained during the bill layout Thursday evening. “What we had here was the criminal activities that had taken place came from within the Lottery Commission itself.”


The cutoff came after lawmakers spent nearly 14 hours working their way through an agenda of more than 400 bills on Thursday, the last day the House could grant preliminary approval to most legislation filed by its own members. The GOP-controlled chamber made it through more than 200 of those bills before running out of time, finishing the night with the Senate companion to House Bill 5430 — a proposal that would prevent political candidates from filing to appear on a primary ballot for multiple political parties.

All remaining House bills in the queue were considered dead — though any measure can come back to life by getting tacked onto a related, breathing bill before the end of session. Others could see new life in the form of their identical twin Senate bills, which have another 12 days to reach the House floor.



• Hundreds of Bills Die as Texas House Hits Deadline, Texas Scorecard, 16 May 2025

At the stroke of midnight, the deadline for House bills to be passed on second reading expired, leaving hundreds of pieces of legislation on the calendar now dead for the session. ... numerous conservative priorities, like those ending in-state tuition for illegal aliens or mandating E-Verify for employers, didn’t even make it to the House calendar.

Despite having months to act, the House spent much of the early session at a crawl, taking frequent long weekends and moving relatively few bills. In the first months of the session, numerous conservative members highlighted the coming logjam by objecting to the early adjournments. The result was a bloated calendar yesterday, with a 30-page document listing hundreds of bills awaiting action.

One significant item to make it across the finish line was House Bill 3441 by State Rep. Shelley Luther (R-Sherman). Her legislation would allow individuals to sue vaccine manufacturers if a drug they advertised caused harm.

A high-profile casualty, however, was House Bill 3219 by State Rep. Joanne Shofner (R-Nacogdoches), which would have required the Texas commissioner of state health services to issue a statewide order allowing pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription.

The session is not over, however. With this deadline now passed, only legislation that originated in the Senate is still eligible to be considered by the House in the coming weeks.



Less than three weeks remain in the Legislature’s 140-day session, and while Gov. Greg Abbott has secured passage of his top priority — school vouchers — nearly every other top issue remains unfinished.

Making their way through the legislative gauntlet — and soon facing end-of-session deadlines — are measures to lower property taxes, tighten the state’s bail laws, dedicate money for water projects and clarify when doctors can perform life-saving abortions. Also unresolved is the final makeup of the state’s more than $330 billion two-year budget, along with a nearly $8 billion package to boost public school funding.



As the Texas House races toward its Thursday night deadline to pass House bills, lawmakers are now confronted with a predictably massive backlog—one largely of their own making.

With a calendar now packed with more than 400 pieces of legislation, the odds are high that many measures, including key conservative priorities, will not make it across the finish line.

The logjam follows months of slow movement. Despite convening on January 14, the House did not pass its first set of bills until April 1. Even then, the calendar consisted of only four bills and two resolutions, none of which were considered major legislation. In contrast, the Senate passed its first bill, a school choice measure later signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, back on February 5.

Early in the session, the House took frequent long weekends and delayed committee activity, a pace that has come back to haunt the chamber as the deadline looms. Now, Democrats have begun using a delaying tactic known as "chubbing"—a process whereby lawmakers intentionally prolong debate or discussion on bills to further slow the legislative process and prevent other bills from being considered before the deadline.


The program offers 100 percent tax exemptions, even sometimes without rent reductions.

In a lopsided bipartisan vote of 113 to 15, members approved Rep. Gary Gates’ (R-Richmond) House Bill (HB) 21 to address Housing Finance Corporations (HFC), which offer 100 percent tax exemptions for up to 99 years to apartment owners and developers who purportedly set aside some units to be leased at reduced rents.

Gates, who, along with Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), worked to reform a similar program known as Public Facility Corporations (PFC) in 2023, has documented examples in which owners could actually increase rents above what they were already charging after obtaining an HFC exemption.

Texas’ Local Government Code also permits HFCs to grant tax exemptions in other jurisdictions, oftentimes hundreds of miles away and without notification to or permission from the counties, school districts, and municipalities that must provide services to residents but lose property tax revenues. These so-called “traveling HFCs” are banned in HB 21 and in another bill authored by Rep. Cecil Bell (R-Magnolia) unless certain local governments have approved the tax exemption.


House Bill (HB) 3053 by Rep. Wesley Virdell (R-Brady) successfully made its way through the the lower chamber with 85 votes in favor and 56 against — after a combination of questions from members regarding the role of the state government in regulating local governments, the effectiveness of “buyback” programs, and a number of “hazing” questions due to it being Virdell’s first bill to pass as a freshman legislator.  


Insurance providers would be required to cover any adverse medical effects or complications related to a gender mutilation procedure, as well as care for those who seek to detransition.


• Texas Regenerative Agriculture Research Bill Nears Crucial Vote, Dallas Express, Dallas Express, 09 May 2025

The Texas House has given strong bipartisan support to a bill that would expand research into regenerative agriculture, signaling a shift toward science-backed solutions for the state’s struggling farmers.

House Bill 5339, introduced by Rep. Terry Wilson (R-Georgetown), passed its second reading in the House on May 6 with a vote of 129-12. The vote moves the bill closer to final House passage before it heads to the Senate for consideration.

The measure would establish a Higher Education Regenerative Agriculture Grant Program to be administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The program would fund public colleges and universities to conduct research and offer technical assistance on regenerative agriculture methods, which the bill defines as holistic farming techniques aimed at restoring soil health, boosting water retention, and improving resilience to drought and flooding.


Senate Bill (SB) 17 has become one of the most hotly contested pieces of legislation this session, with the committee substitute to the upper chamber’s bill, and its changes, further amplifying the discussions and disagreements surrounding its provisions — attracting significant attention from lawmakers and activists.


Texas lawmakers hope to rein in homeowners’ rising insurance bills even as they acknowledge there’s only so much they can do to tackle costs.

Legislators have advanced bills to limit how much insurance companies can hike rates and help homeowners make their homes more insurable. They’ve also sought to compel insurers to be more upfront with homeowners when they decide to yank coverage, or deny it in the first place.

Texans pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the country. On average, Texas homeowners saw their insurance rates spike by double digits in recent years — a far cry from the previous decade when such increases were unheard of. Homeowners' insurance rates climbed by nearly 19% in 2024, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, slightly down from more than 21% the previous year.


“It was occasioned by an election in 2022 where a judge in Harris County held open the polls and didn’t tell the other side,” said Rep. Mike Schofield (R-Houston) of his House Bill (HB) 1475 during a committee hearing last month. “So only one party, which had moved for it, knew that the polls were being held open an additional hour.”


Legislation that would require all users to show ID, as well as mandate parental consent for minors, to download apps on mobile devices passed the House with bipartisan support on Thursday afternoon after surviving multiple lines of questioning and points of order. 

The Senate companion to Rep. Caroline Fairly’s House Bill (HB) 4901, Senate Bill (SB) 2420


• Texas House and Senate Strike Property Tax Deal on Homestead, Business Exemptions, The deal increases exemptions for homeowners and for businesses. The Texan, 05 May 2025

A repeat of the property tax feud of 2023 looks unlikely as the two chambers of the Texas Legislature have struck a deal on homestead and business property taxes well in advance of “sine die,” the last day of the legislative session, on June 2.


The Texas House is considering a bill to abolish May elections, which have the lowest turnout of any election.


Senate Bill (SB) 31’s companion, House Bill 44, is pending in committee.


As water legislation advances in the Texas Legislature, a sharp divide has surfaced over how the state should safeguard and grow its water supply.

The Texas House last week took its first step toward tinkering with legislation already approved unanimously by the Senate. Their changes set up protracted negotiations between the two chambers and dozens of water advocacy groups that all have opinions on how billions of dollars should be spent over the next decade.

At a Thursday House committee hearing, the state’s water community showed overwhelming support for changes to a Senate bill proposed by state Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palenstine. His proposals provide more flexibility over what kind of water projects can be funded in the future.

That committee hearing offered a first look into how negotiations between the state House and Senate may go in the final month of the legislative session. Lawmakers in both chambers have put forth legislative packages to address the state’s looming water crisis. So far, much of the attention this legislative session has been focused on the Senate, where state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, has pushed his solution to the state water crisis that calls for a major investment to create new water supply through a Senate resolution.


State lawmakers are considering measures to ensure that only United States citizens vote in Texas elections.

During a House Elections Committee meeting on Thursday, State Rep. Candy Noble (R–Lucas) explained House Joint Resolution 161, which proposes a constitutional amendment to add non-U.S. citizens to the list of people not allowed to vote in Texas.

“Our laws, elections, and bond proposals should be decided by citizens,” said Noble.


The Local & Consent Calendars Committee eventually sent all of their bills over to the main Calendars Committee, through which everything will bottleneck.

A cold war is becoming hot in the Texas House as yet another Local & Consent (L&C) Calendar of bills went down in a lingering dispute between leadership, conservative Republicans, and Democrats.


The Texas House Speaker killed a series of conservative amendments to a proposed scholarship program.


The framework seeks to strike a balance between regulation and AI industry expansion.


Senate Bill 2051 and Senate Joint Resolution 68 were both authored by State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury), who served as chair of a special committee to recommend impeachment rules in the 2023 proceedings against Paxton.



The decision drew immediate praise from Planned Parenthood Texas, which claimed credit for the reversal.

House Bill 2197, which was filed to amend Texas’ penal code and treat all abortion-related deaths as homicide regardless of who performs them, was scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, April 22, in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.


House Bill 3071 by Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican who represents the area, aims to firmly shut the door on efforts to reestablish a landfill that residents fear would contaminate the neighborhood, threaten wildlife and endanger Lake Worth. The bill cancels permits for landfills once a property changes ownership. 


There’s political urgency for Republicans to deal with housing affordability, especially as surveys find most Texans say housing costs are a top concern.

For decades, Texas benefited from relatively low home prices and rents, a key component of the state’s ability to lure new residents and employers from more expensive parts of the country.

Now, Texas Republicans find themselves trying to rein in the state’s high housing costs — before it’s too late.



House Bill (HB) 150, co-authored by a number of members and led by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), would establish the Texas Cyber Command as “a component institution of The University of Texas System and administratively attached to The University of Texas at San Antonio.” It will be led by a governor-appointed chief, subject to Senate confirmation, who “must possess professional training and knowledge relevant to the functions and duties of the command.



• DEI Amendments Fail to Pass During Texas House Budget Night, The Texan, 15 April 2025


The bills would also allow property owners to sue the management organization if concerns are unaddressed.

House Bill 4078, filed by Jeff Leach (R-Plano) proposes to overturn the status quo management of downtown and central business district public investment districts(PID) of San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin, and replace it with a nonprofit organization with a seven-seat management board. One seat would be chosen by the municipality, county, governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the House each, and two seats would be elected by a body comprising the 10 largest owners of property by value within the district.

A companion bill was also filed in the Senate by Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston).Senate Bill 2594 is currently in the Local Government Committee but has not received a hearing. / Notably, the City of Houston is excluded from both bills, as well as all cities with a population of less than 900,000.


The proposed constitutional amendment would drastically increase the number of members of the public sitting on the state’s judicial oversight committee.


House Bill (HB) 748, known as “Trey’s Law,” by state Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) received all 149 present votes in the House chamber after its second reading, similar to the show of support it received at its hearing in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee three weeks prior. Nearly all members stood behind Leach while he read the bill at the dais and explained its provisions. 


• Texas Senators Move to Mandate Uniform Election Dates, Texas Scorecard,  08 April 2025

Senate Bill 1209 by State Sen. Byran Hughes (R-Mineola) keeps the March primary election and the May primary runoff, but it requires local elections and most special elections to be held in November alongside the general election.


The DOGE legislation had already passed the Texas Senate.

Senate Bill (SB) 14 by state Sen. Phil King (R-Weatherford) passed the Texas Senate on March 26 with only five votes against it, four Democrats and one Republican. Under the bill, the TREO would review agencies, their procedures, and the rules by which they abide with the aim of reducing inefficiency. The office would create a manual to be published regularly that provides economic analysis and another that advises on the reduction of regulations.

It would also require the creation of a searchable website that maintains agency procedure and ancillary materials needed for citizens to navigate their processes.

State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) — chair of the House DOGE Committee — carried the bill in the lower chamber, bringing it to the floor on Tuesday.

“As we've seen on the federal level, sometimes you have to hire a small group of experts to be able to go and make drastic changes in government. That's what this bill does. It provides incredible efficiencies. It's going to make it easier for small businesses for individuals to be able to do their work without having to follow just 274,000 rules. We're going to work on all that, we're going to cut, we're going to minimize,” Capriglione said.


As the Lottery Commission faces Sunset review, lawmakers are targeting its budget for cuts and redirection.

As the Texas House prepares to debate its version of the state budget later this week, conservative lawmakers are lining up amendments that would take a scalpel to the Texas Lottery Commission’s funding. They propose redirecting millions currently used to promote and operate the lottery to support taxpayer priorities like property tax relief instead.


Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has announced he is working on a deal with House Speaker Dustin Burrows to give senior citizens significant property tax relief.

The Senate budget proposal, Senate Bill 1, already includes contingent funding for a significant raise in the homestead exemption—the amount a homeowner can deduct from the value of his or her house before it is taxed.

Senators passed Senate Bill 4 in February, creating the framework. The measure increases the homestead exemption from $100,000 for adults and $110,000 for seniors to $140,000 for adults and $150,000 for seniors.

However, Patrick said on Thursday that he is working on a deal to raise the exemption for seniors even further to $200,000 as budget negotiations with Burrows continue.

“That will remove almost every senior in the State of Texas … from paying any M&O [maintenance and operations] taxes anymore,” said Patrick.

In Texas, M&O taxes are a portion of property taxes that fund the day-to-day operations of local government, including salaries, utilities, and other expenses.


One of the most publicized figures of the pandemic era in Texas has introduced a bill aimed at manufacturers of harmful vaccines.

State Rep Shelley Luther (R-62) spoke to the House Committee on House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee in support of her proposed legislation, House Bill 3441.

Luther said that she was not anti-vax and that both of her children were fully vaccinated. However, “the system we have today is the result of our decision to test a thesis made in 1986, when we passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, and the thesis was ultimately that we could improve health outcomes by eliminating accountability for those outcomes. What a thesis.”


On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services took up Senate Bill 883 by State Sen. Angela Paxton(R-McKinney), which would allow doctors to prescribe drugs off-label to treat COVID-19.


The lower chamber gave initial approval to its priority property tax plan on Wednesday, which would increase an exemption for businesses from $2,500 to $250,000.

Business personal property is any inventory or other property that isn’t the land on or the building in which a business sits, and House Joint Resolution (HJR) 1 and House Bill (HB) 9would multiply the current tax exemption on that by 100.

The fiscal note associated with it is $566 million, as during the next biennium, the state would no longer collect that amount in tax.

State Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas), the author of the proposals, said that the exemption, if passed, would be the second highest in the nation and that it’s aimed primarily at small businesses.


State lawmakers are scrutinizing a program that offers full property tax exemptions in exchange for designating some units for low- or moderate-income residents, with more than 100 Texas House members now backing a reform bill that has stalled in committee.

Rep. Gary Gates (R-Richmond) has proposed reforms to Housing Finance Corporations (HFC) that include more stringent requirements for properties awarded the tax exemptions and mandating compliance audits in his House Bill (HB) 21.

Under the current law, HFCs can authorize the exemptions even in jurisdictions hundreds of miles away from the authorizing entity. The cities of Pleasanton and Pecos, along with Cameron and Maverick counties, have been working with out-of-state agents to authorize HFCs in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and other parts of the state in exchange for millions in fees. 


The current 89th, Texas Legislature in debating more than a dozen bills to support affordable housing. As part of a potential slate of solutions to Texas’ housing affordability crisis, state senators recently examined a bill authorizing the use of small auxiliary residences behind a larger main house.


• Effort to End Taxpayer-Funded Junk Food Moves Forward, Texas Scorecard, 01 April 2025

The Texas Senate has passed legislation to prohibit the purchase of certain foods—including soda, candy, and chips—using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Senate Bill 379, authored by Sen Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), would prohibit the use of SNAP benefits to purchase junk food items such as soda, candy, cookies, potato chips, corn chips, and energy drinks. SNAP is a federally funded program administered at the state level by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which is responsible for determining eligibility and distributing benefits.


House Bill 13 would create the Texas Interoperability Council, which would be tasked with creating and coordinating the implementation of a statewide plan for the use of emergency communication. The council would set up a network that connects all first responders and state agencies. They would also administer a grant program to help local governments purchase the equipment and construct the infrastructure needed to connect to that system.

King’s second bill, House Bill 143, addresses one of the common causes for wildfires in the Texas Panhandle: unmaintained electrical lines for oilfield equipment. The House committee that investigated the wildfires last year concluded that unmaintained lines started at least two of the fires. This includes the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which became the largest fire in Texas history and ignited after a decayed power pole snapped and landed in dry grass, according to the report.


The proposed measure would significantly raise the amount allocated for the state’s film incentive program and keep it out of budget deliberation for a decade.

Senate Bill 22, filed by State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), would keep the existing film industry handouts, which have been criticized as a form of corporate welfare, under the governor’s control and create a new fund to incentivize investments.


As the Texas House prepares to consider the largest budget in state history, one Republican lawmaker is raising the alarm over a move to block public testimony—accusing House leadership of shutting Texans out of the process.

State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, issued a blistering letter Friday to Chairman Greg Bonnen (R–Friendswood) after it was revealed that no public testimony would be allowed during Monday’s hearing on the proposed state budget.


The budget now moves to the House, which will have a marathon proceeding whenever it reaches the floor.

• Texas Senators Unanimously Approve Biennial Budget, Texas Scorecard, 25 March 2025

Senate Bill 1, authored by State Sen. Joan Huffman (R–Houston), includes sweeping appropriations across all areas of government, with major investments in public education, healthcare, and border security—while reserving billions in surplus funds for tax relief.


Senate Bill 1026, filed by state Sen.Bryan Hughes, a powerful Republican from Central Texas, would amend the law to require the Texas attorney general’s office to prosecute election crimes if no local proceedings have begun after six months. The bill was approved by the GOP-led Senate Committee on State Affairs Thursday. Similar bills have also been filed in the House.


The Texas Senate passed legislation intended to ban “taxpayer-funded lobbying” late Wednesday night, but tacked on an amendment that exempts groups like the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).

Senate Bill 19, filed by State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), prohibits political subdivisions from using public funds to hire registered lobbyists.

State Sen. Mayes Middleton’s (R-Galveston) Senate Bill (SB) 19 passed along party lines last night in a marathon floor proceeding. The bill prohibits local governments from hiring registered lobbyists under the Texas Ethics Commission and allows citizens to sue those localities if they violate the ban. It applies only to political subdivisions and not constitutional offices, like county sheriffs.

Originally, SB 19 also barred nonprofit organizations representing cities, counties, and school districts from employing lobbyists.

However, an amendment by State Sen Robert Nichols (R–Jacksonville) removed that restriction, allowing groups like the Texas Association of School Boards, Texas Municipal League, and Texas Association of Counties to continue hiring full-time lobbyists with public funds.


House Bill (HB) 748 by Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) has various replicas filed in both chambers — Senate Bill (SB) 835 by Sen. Angela Paxton, SB 1587 by Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), HB 2411 by Rep. Mitch Little (R-Lewsiville), and Rep. David Cook’s (R-Mansfield) HB 1974 — all of which would also void the use of NDAs in cases involving sexual abuse of minors.


Senate Bill 15 — a top priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate — would reduce the amount of land cities require single-family homes in new subdivisions to sit on. The idea is to reduce the final cost of new homes by allowing homebuilders to construct smaller homes on smaller lots. The bill cleared the Senate by a 28-3 vote.


Senate Bill 95, authored by State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood), seeks to codify federal requirements into Texas law and hold healthcare providers accountable if they fail to properly inform parents about the risks and benefits of immunizations.


State Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, filed House Bill 13 this month. The bill would create The Texas Interoperability Council, which would be tasked with creating a statewide strategic plan for governing the use of emergency equipment and infrastructure. King filed the bill in response to the devastating wildfires last year that engulfed the Panhandle, when more than 1 million acres burned and three people died. King, who lost part of his property in the fires, said he found communication problems as he led the investigative committee last year.


• OPINION: Allegation: House Stalling Ban on Social Transitioning, Texas Scorecard, 18 March 2025,

Activists worry Speaker Burrows’ referral to the House’s “catch-all” committee will harm children. Questions about the legislative process are at the center of a battle over a measure filed by State Rep Steve Toth (R–Conroe). House Bill 2258, the Vulnerable Youth Protection Act, would create a civil liability on individuals who cause or contribute to the social transitioning of a minor.


Sen. Joan Huffman’s (R-Houston) Senate Bill (SB) 293 expands the definition of official misconduct to include judges and magistrates who engage in “persistent or willful” violations of state codegoverning bail, or who fail to meet deadlines set by statute or binding court order.


House Bill 930, introduced by Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park), seeks to impose stricter requirements on the activation of the Texas National Guard for active combat duty. Specifically, it mandates that the Texas National Guard can only be deployed into active combat duty if the U.S. Congress officially declares war or takes official action under the War Powers Clause of the U.S. Constitution.


The Texas legislative session has reached another key milestone: the deadline for lawmakers to file bills. With the session lasting 140 days, legislators have had the first 60 days to introduce their proposals, and as of 6 p.m. on Friday, that window has officially closed.

In total, 5,646 bills were filed in the Texas House and 3,028 in the Senate, excluding resolutions. From this point forward, new bills can only be introduced if a lawmaker secures a four-fifths majority vote in their respective chamber to suspend the rule—a high hurdle that ensures only the most urgent or widely supported measures can still be considered.

The 60-day mark also signals another major shift: all filed legislation is now eligible for debate and votes. Until now, lawmakers could only take action on bills designated as emergency priorities by Gov. Greg Abbott or those that received the rare four-fifths approval to bypass the restriction.


The upper chamber has already moved quickly to pass a number of priority bills.


“We are confident this legislation does not have the votes necessary to pass the Texas House this session,” the letter reads. “Given the certainty of its failure, I urge you not to waste valuable committee time on an issue that is dead on arrival.”


H.R. 2039 is a response to previous Biden administration Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s June 2024 advisory declaring firearm violence a “public health crisis.”


Two measures penalizing the distribution of AI-generated sexual content depicting children and non-consenting adults now move to the House.

Senate Bill 20, filed by State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) and a priorityof Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was the first measure passed by lawmakers on Wednesday.

SB 442, filed by State Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen), was passed directly after SB 20. The measure strengthens the definitions of what constitutes the non-consensual distribution of AI deepfakes of adults.


Senate Bill (SB) 315 focuses on establishing a DNA property right for individuals and prohibits the collection, testing, or sale of a person’s DNA without “informed, written consent,” except for specific cases such as an “emergency medical treatment” or for “law enforcement purposes.” The bill enables the Texas attorney general to seek civil penalties or injunctive relief against violators.


Senate Bill (SB) 29 by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), which was heard in the Senate Committee on State Affairs on Monday, is moving through the upper chamber as the welcome mat for major companies who are worried that Delaware may intervene in their internal decision-making processes.

Its identical companion — House Bill 15 by state Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) — will be heard in committee on Wednesday.


House Bill (HB) 3577, filed by State Rep. Mitch Little (R-Lewisville) on March 3, says that the purpose of the grant program would be to “improve clearance rates for violent and sexual offenses,” meaning a crime has been solved and penalties have been dealt out to the correct offender — essentially the measure of a law enforcement entity’s effectiveness.


Owners obtain a 100 percent tax exemption, but in some cases may charge higher rent.

“What the industry did after we did the reforms last session is just jump over to another part of the code because it allows them to do the exact same thing with just a slightly different ownership structure,” Rep. Gary Gates (R-Richmond) told The Texan. 

“This is huge because as of right now, $277 million a year of tax revenue has been wiped out,” said Gates. 

In 2023 Gates, along with former Rep. Jacey Jetton and Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), championed legislation adding restrictions to the state’s public facility corporation (PFC) program. 

The program allowed both new and existing multi-family properties to obtain tax exemptions for up to 99 years with no notice to the local county, city, or school districts, which were deprived of tax revenue while still being obligated to provide services. 


Senate Bill (SB) 17 is a priority piece of legislation for the upper chamber, proposed by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), that seeks to impose restrictions on the purchase or acquisition of real estate property by certain foreign individuals, organizations, and government entities associated with “designated countries” that pose national security risks.


Senate Bill 17 by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) would prohibit government entities, companies, and individuals that are domiciled in a country designated as a national security threat from acquiring “real property” in Texas. Real property includes agricultural land, commercial property, industrial property, and even mines.


Texas lawmakers have once more vowed to provide tax relief to property owners, and the House and Senate have so far agreed to spend at least $6 billion in state funds to do so. But the two chambers have competing ideas about how to deliver the cuts.

The biggest difference they’ll have to reconcile is whether homeowners or businesses get the bigger break.


Legislation filed in the Texas Legislature that would prohibit individuals from using state-funded bathrooms or locker spaces of the opposite sex has bipartisan support from 75 co-authors, tapping back into the hottest topic of the 85th Legislative Session and a current nationwide conversation.

House Bill (HB) 239, also called the Texas Women’s Privacy Act and filed by state Rep. Valoree Swanson (R-Spring), outlines the definition of biological sex and asserts that “private spaces” controlled by a state agency or other publicly-funded facilities must allow persons into such spaces only on the basis of biological sex, instead of gender identity. These include prisons, domestic violence shelters, state department buildings, and all other publicly-funded facilities with bathrooms, locker rooms, sleeping quarters, and other such intimate spaces. 


The bill would require IVF providers to report the fate of each embryo created.


The state’s newly empaneled House Delivery of Government Efficiency Committee gets down to work this week in what its leader says will be a long overdue assault on bloat, red tape and excessive spending throughout Texas state government.

In addition to Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows’ creation of the Texas DOGE panel — composed of eight Republicans and five Democrats — comparable efforts are underway in nearly 10 other states in response to Trump’s outcry against “bloated” and “sloppy” government.

"At this time, I have no reason to believe the committee will be doing any real work to cut waste or reduce fraud between now and June,” Cain said by text. “Leaving the work to be done in the interim is a part of the problem. I’m seeing zero desire to do real work now.”


House and Senate lawmakers plan to spend at least $6 billion on property tax cuts, but haven't yet agreed on how much relief should go to homeowners over businesses.


• Irving Could Inch Closer To Casinos With Next Vote, Dallas Express, 01 March 2025

The Irving City Council will soon vote on the first step in a multi-step process that could bring casinos to DFW.

The city council held a hearing ahead of a future vote on rezoning a section of the city for gaming. During the work session on February 27, the council heard a presentation from Assistant City Manager Phillip Sanders on how a portion of land could be rezoned to allow gaming and resort development.

Sanders’ PowerPoint presentation to the council members acknowledged that “a destination resort may include casino gaming if authorized by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas.”



Bills addressing parental rights, curricula, and sex education were taken up in the Senate committee hearing.


Among the proposals is a bill that would force more inspections of power lines, which a committee concluded ignited a blaze that burned more than 1 million acres last year

Three Republicans — state Sen. Kevin Sparks of Midland, state Rep. Ken King of Canadian, and state Rep. Caroline Fairly of Amarillo — are carrying the package of bills. Their proposed legislation would give two state agencies more oversight of unregulated power lines, increase funding for rural volunteer fire departments and create a database of firefighting equipment available during a wildfire.

King’s House Bill 2453 would require the Railroad Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, and the Public Utility Commission to notify electric utilities when substandard power lines are found at well sites or at facilities used for oil and gas development or production.

House Bill 3091, filed by state Rep. Vikki Goodwin of Austin, would create a fund for injection and abandoned wells cleanup. While King is not carrying that bill, he said orphan wells are a problem in Texas and have been for a long time.

Senate Bill 868 calls for the cap to be removed from the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance program to clear the backlog of funding requests.


• Proposed Law Would Allow Ivermectin to be Sold OTC in Texas, Texas Scorecard, 25 February, 2025

Legislation filed in the Texas House would allow Texans to purchase ivermectin over the counter, after its use was discouraged by the Biden administration’s FDA.

State Rep. Wes Virdell (R-Brady) has introduced House Bill 3175 to “authorize a pharmacist to dispense ivermectin without a health care practitioner’s prescription order.”


One of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s top legislative priorities, the Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), has been filed in the Texas Senate. Patrick first proposed DPRIT in November 2024 to draw “leading Dementia researchers and companies” to the state, and it has now been filed by Senate Committee on Finance Chair Joan Huffman (R-Houston) as Senate Bill (SB) 5, per Patrick’s prior indication.

The legislation would require voters to approve the $3 billion start-up cost, and then the fund would be maintained at no more than $300 million annually.

The Texas Senate on Wednesday advanced to the House a bill that would create America's largest brain health research center.

Senate Bill 5, by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, would create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Senate Joint Resolution 3, which would require voter approval if passed by the Legislature, would fund it with $3 billion in surplus revenue. This funding is intended to attract physicians, researchers, and experts in the field of dementia to Texas. This institute would research all brain diseases, not just dementia.


State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) filed [SB19] the act on Thursday, asserting that utilizing public funds for lobbying efforts is unethical and needs to end.


The bill would create new warning labels for food products that contain artificial colors and certain chemicals.

On the heels of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being confirmed as the new U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Texas has followed the “Make America Healthy Again” path with its own legislation to address health and wellness.

Senate Bill (SB) 25, dubbed the “Making Texas Healthy Again” bill on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s list of priority legislation, was filed by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) and is designed to promote healthy living by setting standards for physical activity in schools, enhancing nutrition education in higher education, establishing a nutrition advisory framework, and improving food labeling practices.


Previous attempts to amend the state constitution sailed through the Senate but failed in the House.

In a bipartisan vote, Texas senators have overwhelmingly approved placing an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot in hopes that despite previous failures, this year’s House members will finish the job. 

Sen. Joan Huffman’s (R-Houston) Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 5, would give judges and magistrates the discretion to deny bail to defendants charged with 1st degree felony sexual offenses in which a weapon was involved or where serious bodily injury, violent offenses, or continuous trafficking of persons occurred.


The measure would allow the attorney general’s office to step in if they suspect that a certain foreign purchase would create a national security risk. State Sen Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) introduced the measure, Senate Bill 17, on Thursday.


State Sen. Mayes Middleton’s (R-Galveston) Senate Bill (SB) 19 is described as “relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds for lobbying and certain other activities.”


Gov. Greg Abbott said cutting taxes is a top priority, however, state lawmakers don’t have as much money to plug into tax cuts as they did two years ago.



“Texans can visit their beautiful capitol and be reminded of the reason for the season,” Middleton said.


Lawmakers in the Texas House and Senate filed more than a thousand pieces of legislation Tuesday, offering an early look at the issues they hope to prioritize when they gavel in for the 89th legislative session in January.

Tuesday marked the first day lawmakers could file bills they hope to pass when the Texas Legislature reconvenes next year. Republicans control both chambers and expanded their majority in the House and Senate after flipping a handful of seats during this year’s elections. The ouster of many Republicans by challengers further to their right during this year’s primaries means that the Texas GOP’s far-right wing will have unprecedented sway over the upcoming legislative session. Few of those lawmakers filed bills on Tuesday, but it's likely they'll seek to push the Legislature's already deep-red agenda even further right once they file their own bills.




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