A special session of the Texas Legislature will gavel in at noon on Monday. While some topics up for discussion are issues that were left unaddressed after the regular legislative session, others are new. Here’s what you need to know:
📋 Flooding Is on the Agenda
Gov. Greg Abbott sets the agenda for special sessions, which can last up to 30 days.
Abbott added agenda items about flood warning systems, emergency communications, relief funding, and natural disaster preparation and recovery after catastrophic flooding led to the deaths of more than 130 people this month in Central Texas and the Hill Country.
“There is more work to be done, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating floods in the Texas Hill Country. We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,” Abbott said in a statement.
As of Wednesday, no bills related to flooding have been filed.
✔️ Other Agenda Items Include Abortion, THC, and Redistricting
A total of 18 items are on Abbott’s agenda. He wants lawmakers to work on bills that will, as Abbott said:
- Eliminate the STAAR Test
- Cut property taxes
- Protect children from THC
- Regulate hemp-derived products
- Protect unborn children
- Ban taxpayer-funded lobbying
- Protect human trafficking victims
- Protect police personnel records from public disclosure
- Protect women’s spaces
- Changing the Attorney General’s election powers
- Revise congressional districts
- Address title theft and deed fraud
- Incentivize water conservation and efficiency measures
- Change operations in the state’s judicial department
📂 Dozens of Bills Have Been Filed
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have already filed dozens of bills for the special session. Here’s a few items that have been submitted so far:
- A resolution to congratulate Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin for being Texas Monthly’s No. 1 barbecue restaurant on its 2025 list.
- House Bill 32 would allow civil penalties for using certain spaces that do not match a person’s biological sex.
- Central Texas Rep. Ellen Troxclair filed House Bill 70, which would prohibit people from funding or transporting an unemancipated minor for an abortion.
