Here’s what you missed from Texas’ 88th Legislative session

Gov. Greg Abbott called for a second special legislative session last week, immediately following the expiration of the first 30-day special session, after Texas legislators failed to reach an agreement concerning property taxes.

This year’s regular legislative session spanned 140 days, from January 10 to May 29. During this time, many major bills were passed, such as a $321 billion spending plan (including a historic $32.7 billion surplus), a significant expansion of Medicaid for mothers and a ban on the administration of medical treatments for transgender children.

Many more bills failed to garner the support necessary to pass, including Abbott’s proposed education savings accounts. The governor vetoed more bills than ever before, totaling 76 vetoes during the session – the second highest number of vetoes ever made by a Texas governor. Lawmaking took a temporary backseat just two days before the session was scheduled to end, with the vote to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton over alleged misconduct.

Legislators continue to duke out a deal on property taxes currently, in the Governor’s second special session, with the promise of even more extended sessions to resolve some of Abbott’s highest-priority issues. Here’s a look at what did and did not pass during Texas’ 88th legislative session.

Notable bills passed into law

Several prominent pieces of legislation made it through both the Texas House and Senate and were signed by Governor Abbott this session. Most new laws will go into effect on September 1st. For more information concerning each law, see the Texas Tribune’s comprehensive article in each title’s link.

• House Bill 1: The $321.3 billion spending plan for Texas over the next two years, which is being allocated towards tax cuts, mental health access, pay raises for state employees, border security, the state’s energy grid and state parks as well as infrastructure.
• House Bill 3: School safety measures in response to the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, creating a safety/security department and new standards under the TEA in addition to requiring an armed security officer at every school.
• House Bill 6: Enables prosecutors to pursue murder charges for those who have supplied fatal doses of fentanyl to individuals.
• House Bill 12: Expands postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year after childbirth (coverage previously expired two months postpartum). Includes a Senate-stipulated amendment excludes individuals who elected to terminate their pregnancy.
• Senate Bill 12: Criminalizes performers and businesses who host sexually explicit shows to child audiences.
• Senate Bill 14: Bans transgender-related medical treatments to children, including hormones, puberty blockers and surgeries.
• Senate Bill 15: Bans transgender athletes from competing on collegiate sports teams that correspond to their gender identity.
• Senate Bill 17: Bans Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) offices at Texas public universities.
• Senate Bill 28: Earmarks $1 billion to upgrade Texas’ water infrastructure and expand the water supply.
• House Bill 1500: Sets guidelines to allocate more money to gas-fueled power plants, in attempt to shore up Texas’ power grid.

Notable bills that did NOT pass

Several anticipated pieces of legislation did not pass this session after lawmakers could not reach agreements prior to key deadlines. For more information concerning each law, see the Texas Tribune’s comprehensive article in each title’s link.

• Senate Bill 3: Reduces property taxes by increasing homestead exemptions.
• House Bill 7: Allocates almost $100 million to border communities and creates a new state patrol unit for increased border security.
• Senate Bill 8: Creates education savings accounts, allotting parents state money to use on home-schooling or private school expenses.
• House Bill 100: Allocates an additional $4.5 billion in school funding, including teacher raises. Failed to pass following an update by senators to include education savings accounts.
• House Bill 2744: Raises the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

Abbott called for the first special session immediately following the conclusion of the regular legislative session on May 29, outlining the measures of property taxes and border security (concerning Senate Bill 3 and House Bill 7) as the focuses. After lawmakers were unable to come to a resolution on the matters by the session’s conclusion, Abbott called for a second session, this time solely focusing on property taxes. According to the Texas Tribune, the governor asked lawmakers to lower the taxes by allocating state funds to school districts, which would allow them to lower their property tax rates, as opposed to the Senate-favored homestead exemptions.

At least one, if not more, 30-day special sessions appear to be on the horizon, as Abbott reportedly claimed to call in lawmakers again in an effort to garner the necessary approval for his education savings account proposal, as outlined in Senate Bill 8.