Senate Bill 8, which takes effect on Thursday, places new restrictions on which restrooms transgender people can use in certain government-owned buildings and schools.  Starting on Thursday, Texas will implement Senate Bill 8 — also known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, or more commonly known as a “bathroom bill” — aimed at restricting transgender people’s access to certain restrooms in the state.  upporters of the law say it will create more secure private spaces, but opponents worry the law’s unclear guidance on how to enforce SB 8 will cause oversurveillance and public harassment. Here’s what you need to know about SB 8, what areas are affected and why the Legislature passed the new restrictions on restrooms in the state. view article

Dozens of new Texas laws will take effect in December and January, bringing wide-ranging changes to the state’s education system, law enforcement, taxes and more.  Over 800 laws from this year’s regular legislative session already took effect on Sept. 1, but more measures from that period as well as the second special session will soon activate. Some also had to wait for voters’ approval, such as more tax exemption for businesses’ inventory. view article

The state’s new $3 billion dementia research fund has been blocked temporarily by a trio of voters who claim voting machines used in this month’s election are faulty. The plaintiffs — Shannon Huggins, Lars Kuslich and Jose Silvester — filed the action Nov. 13 in Travis County against the Texas Secretary of State’s office. In it, they claim that some voting machines were not certified by federal law and that the election results should be scrapped and a new election be ordered.   Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick championed the fund during the legislative session and listed it as a priority for lawmakers. On Wednesday, he slammed the plaintiffs for singling out Proposition 14, which was the funding of the research effort.  view article

The state’s new $3 billion dementia research fund has been blocked temporarily by a trio of voters who claim voting machines used in this month’s election are faulty. The plaintiffs — Shannon Huggins, Lars Kuslich and Jose Silvester — filed the action Nov. 13 in Travis County against the Texas Secretary of State’s office. In it, they claim that some voting machines were not certified by federal law and that the election results should be scrapped and a new election be ordered.   Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick championed the fund during the legislative session and listed it as a priority for lawmakers. On Wednesday, he slammed the plaintiffs for singling out Proposition 14, which was the funding of the research effort.  view article

Until being labeled as the "radical left," Brown was widely supported by Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who previously hired him as his clerk. Abbott called the ruling “clearly erroneous.” view article

Under Senate Bill 10, Texas public school districts are required to display donated copies of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. view article

The seat will be back on the ballot in November 2026, when voters will choose who will represent the district for the next full term.   Gov. Greg Abbott has set Saturday, January 31, 2026, as the date for the special election runoffs in two major Texas races, including the contest to fill the Senate District 9 seat in North Texas.  The Senate District 9 race will see Republican Leigh Wambsganss face Democrat Taylor Rehmet after the two advanced from November’s special election to succeed former Sen. Kelly Hancock, who resigned earlier this year to become acting comptroller. view article

Even before the Texas Legislature finally passed its private school voucher bill earlier this year, the race was on among the handful of firms in the burgeoning voucher vendor sector to win the lucrative contract to launch and administer what will be the largest program of its kind in the nation.   That race is now over as the Texas Comptroller last month awarded the job to a New York firm called Odyssey. In winning the bid, and in its plans to ramp up the program, Odyssey cultivated close ties to the political world of Governor Greg Abbott.  view article

Breaking news!  A groundbreaking Texas bill authorizes police to take people to psychiatric hospitals against their will.    tate lawmakers pledge to create “new,” expansive commitment laws in Washington that the state already has.  Witnessing the manifestation of its own vision for mass commitments, the New York Times blames it all on Trump.  AI can now predict, more reliably than humans can, the existence of mental illnesses that don’t exist yet.   ProPublica reports on the tragedies caused by anyone questioning psychiatric diagnoses.   The Marshall Project blames too many people being forcibly detained on not enough people being forcibly detained.  No, it’s not April Fools on PsychForce Report. In this third and concluding installment of the September-October 2025 news roundup, I review a selection of prominent news reports that aptly illustrate how and why public discussions of civil commitment end up so far from reality. And I highlight some of the key questions that we should all be asking journalists and legislators to ask. view article

Faculty are also prohibited from teaching material inconsistent with approved syllabi. The changes come in response to a recent controversy over gender identity classroom discussions.  Texas A&M University System regents unanimously voted Thursday to approve a new policy that will require each campus president to sign off on any course that could be seen as advocating for “race and gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.”  The policy defines race ideology as “attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity” or anything that “promotes activism on issues related to race or ethnicity rather than academic instruction. Gender ideology is defined as “a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex.”  view article

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who is pushing his state to pursue mid-decade redistricting, said Thursday that President Donald Trump should not get to unilaterally decide which states redraw their maps this cycle.  “Donald Trump decided to start picking and choosing which states should go through this process mid-decade,” Moore said during a Texas Tribune Festival panel. “He didn’t call all of us. He called some of us.”  Moore, a Democrat, created a redistricting advisory commission in the wake of a national redistricting arms race that Texas kicked off in August, when state legislators took the rare step of changing the map mid-decade to create more seats for Republicans. view article

The issue roiled Texas politics earlier this year when Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a ban on THC products spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.  As part of the spending deal to end the government shutdown, federal lawmakers approved a provision cracking down on hemp products containing THC, restoring a ban Texas Republicans sought to impose earlier this year  The funding package, passed by the U.S. House and signed into law by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, includes language banning the sale of hemp-derived products with more than 0.4 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive element in marijuana. The measure would criminalize almost all consumable hemp products nationwide. view article

A group of moderate Democrats has a tentative deal to reopen the government if Republicans promise to hold a vote on expiring health care subsidies by December, a potential breakthrough as lawmakers seek to end the shutdown. view article

A group of moderate Democrats has a tentative deal to reopen the government if Republicans promise to hold a vote on expiring health care subsidies by December, a potential breakthrough as lawmakers seek to end the shutdown. view article

Texas’ law prohibiting explicit sexual performances in front of children is enforceable, according to a Thursday decision from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is being sent back to the district court for a decision on the law’s constitutionality.  The law known as Senate Bill 12—dubbed a “drag show ban”—regulates sexually oriented performances on public property and in the presence of minors. Attorney General Ken Paxton and local municipalities are responsible for enforcing it.  However, SB 12 has yet to be enforced, as it was preemptively blocked by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas before it took effect on September 1, 2023. view article

Texas will use $1 billion in sales tax a year for the next two decades to help secure the state’s water supply.  Texas is poised to make the largest investment in its water supply in the state’s 180-year history after voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 4, which authorizes $20 billion to be spent on water projects over the next two decades.   The vote comes at a time when communities are scrambling to find new water supplies to meet the needs of their growing population, all the while deteriorating infrastructure, and a warming climate threatens the state’s water supply.   view article

Democrat Taylor Rehmet came within three percentage points of winning Senate District 9 — which voted for Donald Trump by over 17 points in 2024 — over his two Republican opponents. view article

Residents of a rural North Texas community who have long complained about noise from a nearby Bitcoin mine facility lost their effort to regulate the facility Tuesday night when 62% of the 138 voters who cast ballots rejected a proposal to incorporate as a city.  The community’s noise complaints began after a cryptocurrency facility owned by MARA Holdings, formerly known as Marathon, was built in 2022. The site operates about 60,000 computers that are cooled by powerful industrial fans that residents say have shattered the peace and quiet of their rural area with its roaring noise. view article

The propositions include restrictions on the creation of certain taxes, new tax exemptions, investments on water infrastructure and dementia research. view article

The president has sharpened his calls for Senate Republicans to kill the longstanding legislative maneuver, saying the GOP’s electoral success could hinge on it. view article

Texas is poised to make the largest investment in its water supply in the state’s 180-year history after voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 4, which authorizes $20 billion to be spent on water projects over the next two decades.   The vote comes at a time when communities are scrambling to find new water supplies to meet the needs of their growing population, all the while deteriorating infrastructure, and a warming climate threatens the state’s water supply.    Throughout Texas’ history, ensuring water supply has rarely been a partisan issue. Many see it as a precious resource essential to both survival and the prosperity of the state’s economy. However, this year proved that water is personal and deeply emotional too. Proposed reservoirs and groundwater exports in East Texas have outraged many in the water-rich region, desalination projects along the Coastal Bend region have sparked political debate amid a water crisis, and data centers expanding across arid West Texas have locals worried about their dwindling groundwater supply. view article

The propositions include restrictions on the creation of certain taxes, new tax exemptions, investments on water infrastructure and dementia research.  The propositions include restrictions on the creation of certain taxes, new tax exemptions, investments on water infrastructure and dementia research. view article

The runoff winner will serve out the term of U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died in office earlier this year. The seat will immediately be up for election again in 2026 for a full two-year term.  WASHINGTON — Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards advanced to a runoff Tuesday in the special election to decide who will serve out the term of the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston.  With most of the Election Day vote tallied, Menefee led the 16-candidate field with about 29% of the vote, followed by Edwards at nearly 26%. Both candidates are Democrats, guaranteeing that the Houston-based seat will remain under Democratic control. view article

The funds will help the workforce training institution fix campus infrastructure and expand its footprint at a time when the state has seen a decline in skilled workers in some fields.  Texas voters on Tuesday seemed poised to approve the creation of an $850 million endowment for the struggling Texas State Technical College, the state’s primary higher education system for workforce development. view article

Tuesday’s vote is part of a push by Texas lawmakers to rein in the state’s high property taxes.  Texas homeowners and businesses are poised for bigger tax breaks.  Voters are on track Tuesday night to approve a constitutional amendment to raise the state’s homestead exemption, meaning the amount of a home’s value that can’t be taxed to pay for public schools, from $100,000 to $140,000 — shaving hundreds of dollars off of the biggest chunk of the typical homeowner’s property tax bill. Homeowners above the age of 65 or living with disabilities looked primed to see even bigger cuts after voters signed off on a separate amendment. view article

5th Circuit will hear arguments in Texas, Louisiana Ten Commandments cases in January  A federal appeals court next year will hear Texas’ arguments against a ruling that blocked nearly a dozen school districts from displaying posters of the Ten Commandments.  The 17 active judges on the U.S. 5th Court of Appeals in January will hear both the Texas case and a similar case happening in Louisiana, which was the first state to pass a requirement to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms.  A federal judge in August found Texas’ Ten Commandments law unconstitutional and temporarily blocked it from taking full effect, following an initial lawsuit against 11 school districts. The complaint was brought forth by 16 families of various religious and nonreligious backgrounds, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and a coalition of religious freedom organizations. The civil rights groups later sued 14 more districts.  The ruling only applied to the 11 school districts named in the groups’ first lawsuit, though attorneys expressed hope in court that other districts would not implement the law. But those lawyers later told the same court in a legal filing that many districts are implementing the new law or have signaled an intent to do so. view article

Secretary of State Moves to Dismiss Texas GOP’s Lawsuit to Close the Primaries  Secretary of State Jane Nelson filed official responses opposing the Texas GOP’s effort to close the primaries in federal court late Thursday.  Nelson’s filings urge dismissal of the GOP’s lawsuit against the State and directly oppose the joint consent judgment Attorney General Ken Paxton and GOP leaders sought earlier this month to close Republican primaries immediately.  “This lawsuit is about protecting Republicans’ right to choose their own standard-bearers,” said Texas GOP Chair Abraham George when the party filed the lawsuit.  Already implemented in states like New York and Florida, closed primaries would allow only registered Republican voters to select Republican nominees. Currently, Texas operates an open system where any voter—including Democrats—may vote in Republican primary elections.  view article

New Braunfels ISD closed down school libraries for 10 days to review books for sexual content and DEI instruction.
  Trustees from New Braunfels Independent School District have reopened school libraries following a 10-day closure to review books in the district’s system.   The closure began on October 13, when trustees unanimously approved the closure of district libraries to review books and ensure compliance with Senate Bill 13. The measure is intended to protect children from sexual ideology and increase transparency in content accessible to children. During the closure, the district identified 80 books that will be reviewed, with several already having been determined to contain content that is not in compliance with SB 13. Among the titles that are still under review by the district are several that contain radical sexual ideology and sexually explicit content. view article

Texas is growing older faster than the rest of the nation. While the number of young people in the U.S. has shrunk, the population of children in Texas has grown.  The population of Texans age 65 and older grew faster than any other age group since the start of the decade, growing by 3.8% from 2023 to 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. They grew faster than working-age adults and children under the age of 18.  Their numbers show that people are living longer than in past generations. And, as they age, they'll increasingly rely on those of working age, a population that isn’t growing as quickly, said Holly Heard, vice president of data and analytics at Texas 2036.  In Texas, which has the highest levels of people without health insurance, elder Texans will likely face more ailments as they age.   view article

The state House Public Education Committee on Tuesday considered more than 30 bills aimed at making Texas public schools safer, including measures that would put more armed personnel on campuses and give districts money for sweeping security changes. The Legislature has made improving school safety a priority this session after 10 people, mostly students, were shot and killed at Santa Fe High School 10 months ago. The shooting spurred roundtable discussions and studies among policymakers, lawmakers and Gov. Greg Abbott in the immediate aftermath. “Out of that loss, we have an opportunity to devote ourselves and commit ourselves to seeing that their loss was not in vain and that future students, future teachers, future families in this state will, if at all possible, not have to experience what these individuals experienced,” said Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, during Tuesday’s hearing. view article

Property tax reform has been a top priority for Texas lawmakers from the start of the 86th legislative session. The early filing of identical, wide-reaching bills in the House and Senate in January—Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2—sparked debate on the topic and earned pushback from many local entities that could be affected by the proposals. The twin bills propose to lower the cap for local entities’ annual tax revenue growth from 8 percent to 2.5 percent and to improve efficiency and transparency in the tax system. The proposals were fast-tracked for debate in both chambers after Gov. Greg Abbott declared property tax an emergency item in February, and dozens of related bills have been filed in their wake. view article

Hillary Clinton and Helen Keller are back on the lesson plan after a vote by the Texas State Board of Education. The committee voted 12-2, with one abstention, on Tuesday to continue teaching students about Clinton in high school history classes, according to State Board of Education Director Debbie Ratcliffe. The board also voted to keep Keller on the curriculum. The vote reverses a September preliminary decision to cut the women, along with 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater and several other historical figures, from the required curriculum. The board said then that the change was intended to streamline the curriculum for its 5.4 million students at the recommendation of volunteer work groups. view article

School finance was the big-ticket item this legislative session, said Emett Alvarez, Victoria Democrats Club president. "Education should be important to everyone," Alvarez said. "We are all taxpayers and are affected by it one way or the other." The Victoria County Democratic Party will host its club meeting Tuesday at VeraCruz Restaurant, 3110 N. Navarro St. Guest speakers will be Dwight Harris, former president of the Victoria chapter of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, and Ray Thomas, who is running for chief justice of the 13th Court of Appeals. view article

Will there ever come a day when our state leaders and lawmakers want to make Texas as good a place for children as it is for business? The 85th legislative session didn't seem often inclined in that direction, particularly in matters related to educating the state's schoolchildren. A massive funding failure for prekindergarten students. The state Senate's defeatist response to a solid House attempt at school finance reform. Out-of-proportion talk about vouchers for those attending private schools. But let's not overlook a couple of bright spots. Thanks to skillful work by three North Texas lawmakers, the state's youngest learners should eventually get the gift of better-prepared teachers. view article

Back in March, James Dickey, then the chairman of the Travis County Republican Party, showed up at the state Capitol to testify in support of House Bill 1911 — a proposal known as constitutional carry, or the ability to carry firearms without a license. It was a top legislative priority for the state GOP, and Dickey brought a message tailored for the Republicans on the House panel considering it: Don't forget the platform. "The plank which said we should have constitutional carry scored a 95 percent approval rate, outscoring over 80 percent of the other planks in the option," Dickey said, referring to the party platform — a 26-page document outlining the party's positions that is approved by delegates to its biennial conventions. Constitutional carry, Dickey added, "is something very clearly wanted by the most active members of the Republican Party in Texas." view article