The Texas House and Senate have approved a bill that mandates sheriffs in counties with jails to partner with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for immigration enforcement. The bill, Senate Bill 8, requires these sheriffs to enter into agreements with ICE, allowing local deputies to carry out certain federal immigration duties. It now heads to Governor Greg Abbott for his signature.  view article

LUBBOCK — Texas lawmakers approved a series of bills this year that aim to better prepare Texas for wildfires and to mitigate their damage.  The legislation includes a study on wildfire risk zones, increasing funding for rural volunteer fire departments, and creating a statewide inventory of firefighting equipment that is accessible to all fire departments in Texas.  The legislative package was inspired by the state’s largest wildfire in history. The Smokehouse Creek fire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle and killed three people. A special House committee was formed following the fires to investigate the cause and make legislative recommendations. view article

State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a six-term member of the Texas House, announced Monday he will not seek re-election.  “The 89th Legislative Session marks my 6th Legislative Session in this chamber representing House District 94,” Tinderholt told members in an emotional floor speech. “There have been ups and downs, amendments and points of order, disagreements and achievements. It’s been one of the highlights of my life.”  A veteran lawmaker and former military officer, Tinderholt has been a prominent figure in the Texas House’s conservative wing. In 2023, he mounted a challenge to then-Speaker Dade Phelan—a move that underscored growing dissatisfaction among grassroots Republicans with House leadership. He has also served as a mentor to many of the chamber’s newly elected conservatives. view article

Texas lawmakers voted to ban consumable THC products. Will Gov. Greg Abbott sign — or veto — the bill?  Gov. Greg Abbott is facing intense political pressure over a bill that would ban products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, as hemp industry leaders mount a full-court press urging the governor to veto the measure while Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and his allies urge Abbott to sign it into law.  The issue has sparked backlash from both sides of the aisle, including from conservatives ordinarily supportive of Patrick’s hardline agenda. An April statewide survey by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin found that 55% of Republicans believe Texas’ marijuana and cannabis laws should be less strict or left as they are now, compared to 40% who said they should be stricter. view article

An agenda driven by conservative priorities, schools’ financial duress and teacher needs led to an $8.5 billion boost, new discipline rules, more Christianity in classrooms and a DEI ban.  Texas’ 2025 legislative session will likely be remembered for its education agenda. From private school vouchers to a public school funding boost, through a heavier emphasis on Christianity and student discipline, to bans on cellphones and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, lawmakers advanced bills that will have a lasting impact on students, teachers and parents for years to come.  One proposal that would have scrapped the state standardized test fell through in the final days of session, while the much-awaited school funding package changed drastically from an earlier version school officials favored more.  When signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, much of the legislation approved by lawmakers will take effect in September, right around the time schools get going for the 2025-26 academic year. Here is a recap of the most significant legislative developments this session. view article

Texas lawmakers signed off Saturday on a $338 billion two-year spending plan that directs billions toward hiking teacher pay, cutting property taxes and shoring up the state’s water infrastructure, after House and Senate budget writers ironed out their differences and won approval from both chambers on their final draft.  The budget now heads to Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who is expected to verify there is enough revenue to cover the Legislature’s planned spending — the last step before the 1,056-page bill reaches Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk  The spending plan doles out the money to run the state’s business for the next two years, from September through the end of August 2027. It includes the underlying funding for some of the biggest bills passed this session, much of it paid for with general revenue, Texas’ main source of taxpayer funds used to cover core services.  A large chunk of the budget — more than one out of every seven dollars — is devoted to maintaining and providing new property tax cuts, a tab that has grown to $51 billion. For the last several years, lawmakers have tried to rein in Texans’ property tax bills by sending billions of dollars to school districts to reduce how much in property taxes they collect from homeowners and businesses. view article

The Texas House on Thursday gave the final stamp of approval to legislation authorizing roughly $8.5 billion in funding for public schools, sending the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk where it is soon expected to become law.  Final passage of House Bill 2, which will give schools additional money for teacher and staff salaries, educator preparation, special education, safety requirements and early childhood learning, comes on the heels of extensive negotiations between the House and Senate over how the final version of the bill would look.  Abbott has already said he intends to sign the bill, a notable difference from two years ago when he and the Legislature withheld billions from public schools following a failed attempt to create a private school voucher program. This year, lawmakers vowed to approve vouchers and new public school funding in tandem. The Legislature finalized the education finance package on a 122-13 vote nearly a month after vouchers officially became law. view article

So touching to see Faizan's dad go and pat/hug the first runner up before moving towards his son. What a fine show of character! Hats off to him for setting a fine example for his son and for every other child and parent watching.  New property tax relief for homeowners and businesses is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk and onto the November ballot. The proposal raises the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 for most homeowners, effectively reducing the taxable value of a home. The Texas Senate gave final sign-off on the tax cuts Thursday, days after the House view article

House Bill 6, which now heads to the governor, targets the increase in violence that has plagued schools since the pandemic Texas schools will be able to use harsher punishments to discipline students after the Texas Legislature passed a sweeping package on Wednesday — part of their efforts to stem student violence after the pandemic .“Disruptions are impeding both the ability of teachers to teach and the ability of students to learn,” said state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock.  House Bill 6 would extend how long schools can place students in in-school suspensions from three days to as long as they see appropriate. Principals would need to review the placement every 10 days. Students facing in-school suspension still complete schoolwork in a different classroom on school grounds. view article

House Bill 186, approved by the lower chamber in May, never received a vote in the Senate.  A bill that would have banned minors from having a social media account has missed a deadline to pass in the Texas Senate.  House Bill 186, filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, sailed through the House 116-25 in May, but never received a vote in the Senate several days after a slew of teenagers spoke against it during a Senate committee hearing. The contents of the bill could still be attached to another as an amendment or as part of a budget stipulation, but it is unlikely this late into the legislative session, which ends Monday. view article

The Texas Legislature has passed a bill that strictly defines man and woman based on reproductive organs. The bill has no civil or criminal penalties attached, but instead will take these new definitions and apply them across state records.  When Gov. Greg Abbott signs House Bill 229, Texas will become the 14th state to implement one of these so-called “sex definition” laws in recent years. Supporters of the legislation say it’s necessary to protect women’s rights and spaces, and the immutable differences between the sexes. view article

The Texas House approved a bill Wednesday that would give Texas parents and school boards a bigger role over what books students can access in public school libraries. view article

East Texas will benefit from $8.5 billion in new state money once House Bill 2 is signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. “The new legislation is a huge win for East Texas,” Tyler ISD’s Superintendent of Schools, Marty Crawford said after HB2 passed the Texas Senate on Friday. The district will be able to get more money for teacher incentive payments to make sure that their students are getting the very best educators once HB2 becomes law. view article

The legislation includes new pots of money for teacher raises and other school costs like insurance and transportation. It now heads to the House, where leaders say it will pass. view article

Currently there are over 59,000 illegal aliens enrolled in colleges and universities across the state. view article

The Texas House late Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that would ban all products containing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, likely spelling the end for the state’s short-lived hemp industry.  Under the legislation, which is nearing the governor’s desk for approval, adults would face up to a year in jail for possessing hemp products with any amount of THC — a stricter penalty than what is on the books for possessing up to 2 ounces of marijuana. view article

Providing bigger tax breaks to homeowners is a key component of a deal brokered by Republicans in the Texas Legislature to lower tax bills for Texans.  Texas homeowners are one step closer to a bigger tax break after the Texas House gave unanimous final approval to a set of legislative proposals Wednesday.  House members approved bills aimed at giving homeowners relief on the property taxes they pay toward school districts, the biggest chunk of a property owner’s tax bill. Senate Bill 4 by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, would change the state’s homestead exemption, which reduces how much of a home’s value can be taxed to pay for public schools, from $100,000 to $140,000.  Senate Bill 23, another Bettencourt proposal, would raise a separate homestead exemption for homeowners who are older or have disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000. view article

Texas House Committee Advances Bill To Abolish Lottery Commission and Overhaul State Lottery view article

A bill filed by former Uvalde mayor, State Rep. Don McLaughlin (R-Uvalde) aimed at improving law enforcement responses to active school shootings is heading to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. The Uvalde Strong Act would require municipal, county, school, and campus police to implement standardized active shooter response policies. If departments do not participate in multi-agency drills at least once a year, they could jeopardize their accreditation. The law would also create a grant program for first responders and telecommunicators to train. In addition, the bill would mandate every school district to have at least one breaching tool, such as a sledgehammer, and a ballistic shield. view article

The legislation would give ERCOT the ability to turn off power to major consumers in an emergency. view article

This week, the Texas House took historic action by finally eliminating the STAAR test. House Bill 4 would replace the high-stakes, one-time STAAR tests with shorter, more meaningful progress checks throughout the year. As the joint author of this bill, I’m so proud of the comprehensive reforms House Bill 4 makes to assessing student outcomes by putting timely data in the hands of teachers and parents, reducing classroom stress, and creating a smarter, fairer accountability system for our schools.  I greatly appreciate the support of countless parents, teachers, students, administrators, and other members of the public education community who wholeheartedly support this bill that finally alleviates the burden of high-stakes testing in Texas schools. I look forward to seeing HB 4 pass through the Senate and arrive on the governor’s desk very soon.  With that, here’s an update from your state Capitol. view article

The Texas Legislature has already passed a bill requiring age verification to download apps and is seriously considering another to ban children from social media.  The Texas Legislature is poised to impose sweeping restrictions on how minors use social media, from banning them from signing up for accounts and requiring parental consent to download applications, to placing warning labels about their dangers.  House Bill 186, filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, has already passed with bipartisan support in the House, and a Senate panel has indicated its support as well. The proposal, the most far-reaching of the bills lawmakers have filed to address online dangers this session, would prohibit minors from creating accounts on social media sites, such as Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and more, and require users to verify their ages. Companies would have to comply with the ban by April 2026. view article

The legislation would prevent schools from using materials that do not use the terms “Before Christ” and “Anno Domini.” Many historians have moved away from them to be more inclusive.  A bill greenlit by the Texas Senate on Monday would block school districts from purchasing instructional materials that do not use the terms “Before Christ” (B.C.) and “Anno Domini” (A.D.) when referring to historical time periods, marking the latest effort by lawmakers to emphasize Christianity in public schools  Senate Bill 2617 passed the chamber on a 22-9 vote, sending the proposal to the Texas House for further consideration just two weeks before the legislative session is set to end. view article

Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford presented an update on the 89th Legislative Session to the Board of Trustees Monday, which included conversation on school finance, school vouchers, and more. The Senate’s school finance proposal would increase the basic allotment by $55 per student, hundreds less than the version that passed the House. view article

Texas is one of eight states without universal online voter registration. A lawmaker pushing for it says he’ll continue the fight.  Texas lawmakers held their first hearing in a decade on legislation that would allow people to register to vote online, a step that would revamp the current paper-based system, reduce costs, and bring Texas in line with most other states.  But the legislation missed key deadlines and has no clear path to passage this session. At least five similar bills filed this session by Democratic lawmakers did not get committee hearings. view article

Trustee June Davis scoured the numbers as she listened to Crowley ISD’s chief financial officer walk the school board through the budget.  One question was top of mind: Will the Texas Legislature deliver on increased public education funding?  The Crowley ISD school board reviewed current and future finances during a May 13 meeting. The Legislature took center stage as leaders detailed possible outcomes for closing the 2025 budget and teed up priorities for 2026.  And it all depends on Austin.  Davis brought up House Bill 2, the lower chamber’s $8 billion proposal to increase per-student funding from $6,160 to $6,555 — a $395 bump. view article

House Bill 3006 would require the installation of climate control in state prison facilities by 2032. view article

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found nearly three dozen school districts were missing required campaign finance reports online. Now lawmakers are pushing to impose steep penalties on local governments that fail to abide by the law. view article

Texas’ governor joins other Republican governors making similar requests to ban purchases of candy and soda through the SNAP program.  Gov. Greg Abbott is requesting a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prohibit the use of SNAP benefits to purchase unhealthy and highly processed foods in Texas. In a Wednesday letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Abbott asked for the waiver — which would give the state the ability to restrict these food purchases — to ensure taxpayer funds are used for only “healthy, nutritious food.”  “I look forward to the opportunities this approach will bring to improve the health and quality of life for low-income Texans,” Abbott wrote. view article

Juvenile detention, imported shrimp, forever chemicals among hundreds of bills cut off by House deadline view article

The proposal would heavily invest in teacher pay and special education. It includes a modest $55 increase to schools' base per-student funding, significantly lower than what the House had sought.   view article

The bill would cap out-of-state political donations to a candidate or lawmaker to $5,000 for a statewide election, $2,500 for a district office and $1,000 for a county office. view article

The Texas Lottery Commission has referred a high-profile investigation into alleged fraud and criminal activity surrounding the state lottery to the Federal Bureau of Investigation following a detailed complaint and mounting public scrutiny.  The referral, included in a previously undisclosed investigative report, is the latest escalation in a scandal that has rocked the Texas Lottery, implicating former executives and ticket reseller companies and raising questions about the integrity of multi-million dollar jackpots.  In a letter dated February 26, 2025, then-Executive Director Ryan Mindell informed state lawmakers that the agency had completed an initial review of allegations raised in a letter sent to the agency in January.  John Brier submitted a 20-page letter and 32 supporting exhibits detailing years of alleged criminal conduct by principals of Lottery.com—a so-called lottery courier company—and former Lottery Commission Executive Director Gary Grief. view article

The bill would bar those under 18 from checking out books with sexually explicit material without parental permission. view article

The agency did not offer details about the types of crimes or immigration violations the majority of the people were accused of.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday said it has deported more than 500 people and arrested more than 400 suspected undocumented immigrants as part of a weeklong operation in the Houston area. “This initiative will save taxpayers millions of dollars each year by significantly reducing the time that aliens who have exhausted due process and been ordered removed from the U.S. need to be in ICE custody,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford. view article