Six weeks into the 140-day session, the Texas Legislature’s major priorities are beginning to take shape on issues that will impact most Texans, including changes to education, taxes and criminal justice.
Republicans, who hold firm majorities in the House and Senate, are driving the process, and all legislation currently moving forward fits into the conservative agenda of Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick or House Speaker Dustin Burrows.
The stakes are high. Abbott has invested tremendous political resources into pushing a school choice plan, while Patrick has an ambitious agenda that could get entangled in the House. Burrows, the new speaker, also has goals while accounting for the sometimes disparate demands of the 150-member House.
Here’s a look at some of the major topics that have been addressed so far and their prospects for becoming law. There’s a long way to go before the session ends in June.
School choice
Earlier this month, the Senate approved a plan that would allow families to use tax dollars for private education. That’s not surprising, because senators approved education savings accounts in 2023. The voucher-type plan was stalled in the Texas House.
Things are expected to be different this time around. Abbott says he has 79 votes in the House to approve his school choice plan. He got to that number after a bruising primary season when he campaigned against Republicans who blocked the 2023 proposal.
Burrows has committed to getting a plan through the House. Last week, Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, filed House Bill 3, which includes universal eligibility for roughly $10,000 education savings accounts, with higher amounts available to students with special needs, and with low-income and special-needs families prioritized. The bill also includes the ability to roll over ESA funds and ties future growth of the program to increased public education funding.
Burrows called the voucher-style plan the “defining issue” of the legislative session.
“Our moment has arrived, and we have the momentum on our side to get this done,” Burrows said while addressing a summit staged by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank in Austin.
After a struggle, Texas is on course to approve private school vouchers.
Property tax cuts
With a $24 billion surplus, lawmakers are planning to give Texas property tax payers a robust reduction.
The sticking point, just as it was in 2023, will be how to implement the tax cut.
Earlier this month the Senate approved a plan by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, to cut property taxes by raising the Texas homestead exemption to $140,000. In conjunction, the Senate passed a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution allowing the higher exemption.
The new homestead exemption would save the 5.7 million Texans who live in homes they own an average of $363 annually.
Nearly $3.5 billion in school district tax compression — using state funds to defray maintenance and operations costs — included in the Senate’s budget proposal would save residential and commercial property owners an additional $133.13 on average on their tax bill, according to Bettencourt.
In 2023, voters approved an amendment to raise the school district tax exemption from $40,000 to $100,000 per homestead after a hard-fought battle to enact an $18 billion property tax package that included $12.7 billion in new cuts.
That year the House and Senate clashed on property tax cuts, most notably how to use compression and homestead exemption increases to achieve the goal. A similar debate could occur this time.
Abbott wants to require local taxing jurisdictions to have tax increases approved by a public referendum. That would require a constitutional amendment, and it’s unclear whether there are 100 votes in the House — where Republicans hold an 88-62 advantage — to put that matter before Texas voters.
Bail changes
The Senate is again out front on this issue after senators last week approved legislation to add restrictions to bail.
The proposals would reduce access to bail by people accused of violent or sexual crimes and migrants in America without authorization. The legislation received bipartisan support in the 31-member Senate.
In previous sessions, Senate proposals on “bail reform” have stalled in the House. That could be the case this time as well. The legislative package includes constitutional amendments that require 100 votes in the House. That means 12 Democrats would have to vote for the proposals. That’s unlikely, though Patrick has urged Burrows to lean on the 30 Democrats who serve as vice-chairs on House committees.
If restrictions to bail fail again in the House, expect Patrick to push hard for a special session, though that can only be called by Abbott.
