Tabulating The Texas Legislature

The 89th Texas legislative session ended on Monday, June 2, and the body count has only begun.

In 140 days, the legislature once again did what they do best to millions of Texans: ban, bully and burn.

These were among the main targets this year:

The remaining independence and integrity of the Texas House. Which under Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows transformed into Gov. Greg Abbott’s and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s vacation home.

Public schools. They’ll receive more funding under House Bill 2, though far from what districts called for adjusted for inflation, post-COVID 19 enrollment declines and closing schools. Public schools are also going to be reeling following passage of the $1 billion voucher program, which allows taxpayer dollars to go towards private schooling for Texas children

Transgender and nonbinary people. They’re targeted by a slate of bills set to become law. Under House Bill 229, transgender and nonbinary people will now be identified on government documents by their birth sex and not gender identity. The bill codifies a 2024 directive by Governor Greg Abbott barring the Texas Department of Public Safety from accepting court orders or amended birth certificates changing the sex marker on public documents. SB 1188 requires patients’ assigned sex at birth and any physical sexual development disorders appear on all state medical records. HB 1106 protects parents from abuse or neglect investigations over not recognizing or affirming their child’s gender identity. Then there’s SB 12, which bans LGBTQ clubs in public schools. The House bill sponsor initially called them sex clubs during debate before apologizing. He nevertheless defended the bill. (But, hey, insurance companies are now mandated to cover so-called ‘detransitioning’ care, per Senate Bill 1257.)

People who like to read. Under Senate Bill 13, school boards would have the final say on materials in their schools’ libraries and allow anyone in the school district to challenge literature deemed harmful and obscene.

Media not made by Christian filmmakers, Texas heritage enthusiasts or Taylor Sheridan. Senate Bill 22 establishes a $300 million fund to encourage more movie and television productions in the state. Pornography, political advertisements, worship services and other productions would not be eligible for the incentives. While the state already has such a fund, albeit smaller and with tighter restrictions, that wasn’t enough for producer Taylor Sheridan, who urged the governor to offer more incentives. Additionally, media promoting Texas heritage and faith-based media would qualify for an additional two and a half percent grant. And the threshold for requiring productions employ a certain percentage of Texans plummeted from 55 percent to 35 percent.

Church-state relations. Senate Bill 10 mandates every public classroom display the Ten Commandments. The display must be at least 16 by 20 inches. It follows a 2021 law requiring public schools display “In God We Trust” signs if they are donated.

Free speech on college campuses. Senate Bill 2972 is a reaction to the nationwide campus protests against the Israeli and Palestinian war. The bill proposes a number of bans, including on encampments and face masks, what students wear, and the hours and weeks they can protest.

Texas Democrats. But they did it to themselves. The session started with a contested race between Reps. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos (D-Richardson), David Cook (R-Mansfield) and Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). Because a majority of the House must back a speaker, Burrows sought help from Democrats, most of whom backed him instead of their colleague. They said he’d preserve the lower chamber’s traditions. Thus, Burrows won with Democrats help, promises of bipartisanship and commitments to independence. Instead, the caucus, led by Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, remained leaderless. Plans to break quorum, sink constitutional amendments, use procedural warfare to kill legislation broke down. Wu even admitted in an excellent interview with the Texas Observer that the caucus was screwed.

THC products, maybe. The future of THC products in the state now awaits Abbott’s signature or veto. The psychoactive compound found in cannabis would be banned if he signs Senate Bill 3, which prohibits all THC products in the state. (The bill would only allow for the sale of CBD and CBG.) By doing so Abbott would defy a bipartisan majority of Texans who oppose the ban and wipe out an $8 billion dollar industry. The House bill would have simply regulated the products and put tighter restrictions on access to minors and age restrictions. It had the support of the business community; Patrick’s ban does not. The governor has until June 22 to veto, sign or let it go into law without his signal. (Editor’s note: One of Texas Signal’s board member is a registered lobbyist for businesses supporting CBD products and was involved in negotiations. Texas Signal’s reporting is independent of its board’s positions.)

And here’s the funny thing. The legislature might not be done yet. Rumor has it Abbott will call a special session in July to redistrict Congressional seats ahead of the 2026 election at President Donald Trump’s behest. Some additional items to watch out for in a potential special session include banning taxpayer funded lobbying, restricting access to abortion-inducing pills and regulating, instead of banning, THC products.