Texas Legislature 2025

Democrats declined to support Senate Joint Resolution 87, which sprinted through the Senate and needed 100 votes to clear the lower chamber. Full Story 

While state leaders say growers can still produce industrial hemp, farmers say they will quit growing the plant altogether under a total THC ban. Full Story 

SB 22, which awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval, injects $300 million over the next two years into projects filmed in Texas, $100 million more than current funding. Full Story 

The governor has not addressed whether he supports the ban, as hemp industry leaders have urged him to veto Senate Bill 3. Full Story 

SB 3070, which awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, would move the lottery game to Texas’ Department of Licensing and Regulation and includes new restrictions on ticket purchases. Full Story 

Instead of waiting for the state to send them one, parents would be able to print out vaccine exemption forms at home if they want to skip school-required shots. Critics believe the bill would increase infections. Full Story 

A top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the legislation would make it easier to construct homes on smaller lots. A House Democrat briefly killed the bill. Full Story 

A 2024 war among Republicans tilted the House to the right. Now more closely aligned with the Senate, Speaker Dustin Burrows has accelerated action on bail, school vouchers and social issues. Full Story 

Senate Bill 12’s supporters say DEI programs use class time and public funds to promote political agendas. Full Story 

Both houses have approved Senate Bill 10 even though a similar Louisiana law was deemed unconstitutional. Supporters say Christianity is core to U.S. history. Full Story 

The House approved Senate Bill 8, which mandates sheriffs request formal partnerships with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for designated deputies to serve administrative immigration warrants at their jails. Full Story 

The latest version of the proposal eliminates language that would have required university curricula not to advocate that “any race, sex, ethnicity or religious belief is inherently superior to another.” Full Story 

The Texas Senate agreed Friday to make it easier for the new city, home to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to shutter the beach during rocket launches. Full Story 

The state constitution’s legislative calendar — not a vote threshold — makes it hard to overrule the governor. Legislators are crafting an amendment that would make more overrides possible. Full Story 

The chamber jettisoned a provision tenants’ advocates warned would make it easier for Texas landlords to evict renters. Full Story 

A bill that would make it illegal to sell THC products could soon head over to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. For a cannabis store employee, lawmakers don't know enough about the industry they're trying to shut down. Full Story 

The bill also contains a controversial provision that says it cannot be challenged in state court before it is enforced. It goes now to the House for a full vote. Full Story 

Decades after making it harder for people to successfully sue doctors and corporations, the influential group Texans for Lawsuit Reform is facing more resistance than ever in its latest push to further restrict legal liability for business. Full Story 

As the state seeks to put guardrails around the fast-growing technology, some critics say the bill doesn’t go far enough to protect citizens while industry worries about stifling innovation. Full Story 

The ban aims to remove products — made legal through a 2019 loophole — that provide a similar high to marijuana and are easily accessible to the general public. Full Story