Gavel to Gavel 89th Legislative Session - May 31, 2025
In the most productive days of the session, the Legislature advanced a flurry of keystone legislation this past week, including many priorities of the lieutenant governor, with opposition varying from nonexistent to remarkably successful. SB 7 and HJR 7, a bicameral package of bills to invest billions of dollars in water infrastructure and change the cash flow framework for the Water Development Board, enjoyed uncontested bipartisan support and are soon to be sent to the Governor. Learned attorney members of the House struck backroom deals in recent weeks to remove several portions of SB 30, the session's landmark tort reform bill, to weaken the caps on noneconomic damage rewards, and voted to advance the bill as a chamber. SB 30 went to a conference committee to work out the differences but it seems, and it is being reported by the Quorum Report that as of Sunday morning, that the legislation appears to be dead.
Senate Bills 10, mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms; 12, establishing parental rights and banning DEI hiring practices in public schools; and 13, restricting public school library book procurement, advanced with the support of only a small handful of Democrats. In a shocking halt of priority legislation, the Texas House killed SJR 87, automatically denying bail for repeat offenders of certain aggravated felonies, by a razor-thin 97-40 vote - missing the 100-vote threshold needed to advance a constitutional proposal. After a potential motion to revote by Rep. Cook (R-Mansfield) expired, the resolution fell.
The most contentious ongoing political fissure facing the state deepened on Thursday as Lt. Gov. Patrick held a press conference on the legislative success of SB 3, recently amended by the House to restore the bill to a statewide prohibition on THC products. The broadcast began with a display of THC-infused snacks on display, with Patrick lashing out against the THC industry for advertising to children without disclosing ingredients and blaming the media for failing to capture the life-threatening effects of THC consumables. He adamantly defended the ban on all products throughout the state as hemp business leaders and advocates look to a veto from Governor Abbott as a last-ditch opportunity to kill SB 3. The governor has until June 22nd to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without his signature.
On Wednesday, the bicameral conferees for Senate Bill 1 released the conference committee report for the 2026-2027 $338 billion budget, revealing the weeks of deliberation and compromise on statewide appropriations. On Saturday, the Senate and the House adopted the conference committee report. You can view the adopted SB 1 here.
Governor Abbott released a statement lauding the final passage of House Bill 150 by Rep. Capriglione (R-Keller), establishing a statewide Cyber Command Center to centralize cyberattack response and resiliency operations. A stated emergency item of Gov. Abbott before the session began, legislators carefully balanced the existing operations housed within the Department of Information Resources with plentiful industry opportunity in the soon-to-be established command's home of San Antonio. HB 150 also carried another recurring theme of the 89th session in that lawmakers continually stressed the need for Texas to reinforce defense against foreign adversaries through a variety of methods, a priority stressed by the governor in his statement. You can read Gov. Abbott's full press release on HB 150 here.
The remarkable productivity of both chambers this week was the result of midnight deadlines striking almost every day of the week. Following a busy weekend for conferees, the motion to adjourn sine die will be the final matter of business.