Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week:
House Voucher Support
The Texas Senate has passed a voucher – or school choice bill – in every regular and special session since 2021. This session is no different. In early February, the Senate swiftly passed SB 2, a bill to establish Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in Texas. On Wednesday, a narrow majority of Texas House members demonstrated their support for the House counterpart, HB 3, by signing on as coauthors. Just days after Rep. Brad Buckley filed HB 3, 75 Republican lawmakers joined as coauthors. If all 75, along with Buckley, support the final version, they would form the necessary 76-member majority in the 150-seat House to pass the legislation.
While both bills allocate $1 billion for ESAs, they differ in salient areas, including per-student funding, applicant priority, and provisions for students with disabilities. Most notably, HB 3 ties ESA funding to public school funding, ensuring both rise or fall together based on state education budgets.
None of the 62 House Democrats have signed on as coauthors of the bill. Only 11 of the 88 House did not sign onto the bill. Notable Republicans absent from the coauthor list, including six—Reps. Drew Darby, Jay Dean, Charlie Geren, Ken King, Stan Lambert, and Gary VanDeaver—are those who opposed the House voucher proposal in 2023. The remaining five who did not sign on were Reps. Jeffrey Barry, Ryan Guillen, Sam Harless, Brian Harrison, and Dade Phelan.
The first hearing on the bill will be Tuesday in the House Public Education Committee. If the bill eventually passes the House, then the bill will go to a conference committee to see if the House and Senate can resolve their difference between the two measures before sending it to Gov. Abbott for his approval.
Senate Passes Teacher Pay Raise
On Wednesday, the Texas Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 26, which provides a significant boost to teacher salaries statewide. Authored by Senator Brandon Creighton, the bill allocates $4.3 billion for pay raises and now moves to the Texas House.
SB 26 structures pay raises by experience and district size. In districts with over 5,000 students, teachers with 3–4 years of experience would get a $2,500 annual raise, while those with 5+ years would receive $5,500 per year. In smaller districts (5,000 or fewer students), the raises are larger: $5,000 for teachers with 3–4 years and $10,000 for those with 5+ years. An amendment passed during floor debate ensures that districts initially classified as small will retain the higher funding levels even if their enrollment later exceeds 5,000 students.
The bill also expands the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), raising the cap on eligible teachers from 33% to 50%. Additionally, it allows teachers to enroll their children in free pre-kindergarten programs.
SB 26 closely mirrors House Bill 2, a similar measure filed in the lower chamber seeking to increase the basic allotment and teacher pay
Proposal to Ban DEI in Public Schools
One last note on public education. Senate Bills 12 and 1565, were filed this week which aim to extend the state’s ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts to K-12 schools. These bills, sponsored by Senator Brandon Creighton, would prevent schools from incorporating DEI in policies, hiring, and training, and restrict discussions on gender identity and sexual orientation. However, under the proposed legislation, schools would still be allowed to observe commemorative holidays and months, including Black History Month. Similar measures passed the legislature last session that banned DEI activities in the state’s public universities.
SB 12, deemed the “Parental Bill of Rights,” would make it illegal for schools to create programs or policies involving race, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation. It would also require districts to establish disciplinary measures for staff who assign DEI-related tasks.
SB 1565 expands on this by allowing parents to file complaints about alleged DEI violations and requiring schools to respond. If parents are unsatisfied, they can escalate the complaint to the Texas Education Commissioner, who would assign an arbitrator to review it.
While the bill’s captions introduce funding penalties for noncompliance, the specifics of enforcement are unclear, and the bill would not withhold funding from a school district that may violate the law.
Lottery Commission Remains Under Fire
Texas Lottery Commissioner Clark Smith has resigned just over a week after he and several other Texas Lottery Commission officials were grilled at a state Senate Finance Committee hearing over ticket couriers, which lawmakers worry might be allowing people to game the lottery system — potentially illegally.
Couriers, third-party services allowing players to buy tickets over the internet or through apps, have come under fire by lawmakers after a $95 million jackpot was won by several companies — one of which a courier service — by printing nearly every possible combination of winning tickets. Senators at the Finance Committee also expressed concern the couriers could be used by out-of-state residents or minors to buy tickets illegally.
The latest jackpot, won in February for $83.5 million, was also won by using a courier, prompting Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to further investigate the practice.
To make the point even more emphatic, the Texas Senate earlier today passed SB 28, which bans online lottery ticket sales through third-party services. The bill was co-authored by 28 of the 31 members of the Senate and passed the body unanimously.
As passionate as the Senate is regarding the third-party couriers, the fate of the bill remains uncertain in the Texas House. A similar measure passed the Senate last session but never received consideration in the House. There are similar measures filed in the House this session, but there is also a House proposal that would seek more stringent regulations on the courier services, as opposed to banning them outright.
Lt. Governor Patrick has indicated that if the legislature does not fully ban the practice of the courier services, then he will seek to eliminate the entire Lottery Commission through the Sunset process.
House Files Property Tax Bills
The Texas House has introduced a property tax cut plan led by Rep. Morgan Meyer, a Dallas-area Republican. The proposal allocates $3.5 billion to local school districts, allowing them to lower tax rates for both homeowners and business owners. Additionally, Meyer has filed a separate bill providing business owners with larger tax breaks on essential personal property, such as furniture, computers, tools, and vehicles. House Speaker Dustin Burrows highlighted that the initiative aims to ease Texans’ property tax burdens while supporting business growth.
While both the House and Senate plan to allocate at least $3 billion to school districts over the next two years, their approaches differ. The Texas Senate unanimously approved raising the homestead exemption on school district taxes from $100,000 to $140,000, offering homeowners an annual savings of $363. To prevent funding gaps, the measure includes provisions to reimburse school districts for lost revenue, ensuring no impact on school funding.
These competing plans have set the stage for a legislative debate over property tax relief. While both chambers are committed to significant tax cuts, lawmakers are expected to spend at least $51 billion over the next two years to maintain existing cuts and introduce new ones. As the session continues, lawmakers must agree on a plan that meets the needs of homeowners, businesses, and the state’s finances—amidst warnings that balancing current and future tax cuts could be problematic during an economic decline.
Colony Ridge Immigration Crackdown
In coordination with the Trump administration, the state of Texas is participating in an investigation into Colony Ridge, a community northeast of Houston that is suspected of housing illegal immigrants. The operation involves federal and state agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Department of Public Safety, with the stated goal of apprehending “criminals and illegal immigrants.”
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reported arresting more than 100 people after an operation with local law enforcement to sweep the area in an attempt to bolster public safety. ICE reported the number of arrests through social media and highlighted one arrest of a resident that had been deported three times.
Colony Ridge has been a focal point of political and media scrutiny, with accusations that developers market land to undocumented immigrants–accusations include the use of predatory loan practices and exclusive ads in Spanish. The controversy intensified when the U.S. Department of Justice sued the developers in December 2023, alleging predatory business practices that targeted Latino homebuyers, many of whom lost their homes, land, and savings. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton later filed a similar lawsuit.
Cruz Cleared of Campaign Finance Allegations
In April of 2024, two campaign finance watchdog groups filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that US Senator Ted Cruz violated campaign finance rules by allowing his associated PAC’s to accept contributions from iHeart Media, the conglomerate that produces and distributes his weekly podcast.
iHeartMedia, a radio distribution and marketing giant, picked up Cruz’s podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” in 2022. The company gave $961,435 to Truth and Courage PAC through a series of seven donations between March 2023 and August 2024.
A spokesperson for an iHeartMedia subsidiary has said the payments to Truth and Courage PAC were associated with the revenue it received from selling ads on Cruz’s podcast, for which Cruz himself is not paid. The watchdog groups, End Citizens United and the Campaign Legal Center, argued in a complaint that the “most reasonable and logical inference to be drawn from these circumstances” is that Cruz “requested or directed” iHeartMedia to donate to the super PAC “either directly or through his agents.”
In the end, the FEC ruled that there was “no available information to indicate that Cruz solicited, directed, received, transferred, or spent the funds iHeart paid to the PAC.”
Measles Outbreak Grows
The first measles death in Texas this year has been reported in Lubbock, involving an unvaccinated school-aged child, according to state officials on Wednesday. Since last week, the number of infected individuals has risen from 58 to 124.
Two counties – Dallam and Martin – are now reporting their first cases. The cases in Dallam County, located near the Oklahoma border, are the first instances of the measles cases being reported several counties away from the hot point of Gaines County.
Measles primarily affects young people and is especially dangerous to immunocompromised children and infants who typically aren’t vaccinated until 12 months of age. 39 cases are children under the age of 5, and 62 are between 5 and 18 years old.
This is the largest outbreak of measles in the state in the last 30 years and has spread from 2 cases in January to include nine counties, mostly in the rural areas of the South Plains. The Department of Health Services is warning people in the affected areas that since the virus is highly contagious, the number of infections will continue to grow. The measles vaccine is widely available and has been proven to be 97% effective. Immunity can be experienced within 2 weeks of receiving the first shot. The measles vaccine has been a requirement in Texas to attend public schools since 1980.
UT Names Interim President
In a surprise move Wednesday, the University of Texas System’s leadership named Jim Davis, the University of Texas at Austin’s chief operating officer, as the interim president of the flagship university. Davis will begin serving in the new role immediately. The move ended UT-Austin president Jay Hartzell’s tenure a few months earlier than originally anticipated, as he said he planned to leave the university at the end of the academic year.
As COO, Davis led the legal work to develop the Moody Center, an arena that hosts concerts, basketball games and other events; the Innovation Tower, a 14-story office building for startups and established companies that want to collaborate with the university; and UT-Austin’s entry into the Southeastern Conference.
Political Notes
US Senator John Cornyn is trying to fend off rumors of his retirement at the end of his current term that expires at the end of 2026. Also, Attorney General Ken Paxton has publicly said he is seriously considering a challenge to the four-term incumbent in next year’s Republican primary. Cornyn reportedly raised $100,000 at a campaign kick-off fundraiser in Washington this week, and has several other events planned in Texas in the coming months. Several polls released recently show Paxton leading Cornyn among Republican primary voters.
At the state level, the rumors of opponents in next year’s Republican primary against incumbents that supported current Speaker Dustin Burrows over the Republican Caucus choice of Rep. David Cook continue to simmer.
Rep. Jared Patterson of Frisco, Rep. Cecil Bell of Magnolia, and Rep. Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant have recently drawn would be opponents. All three have seen challengers appoint campaign treasurers, the first step in mounting a campaign. Filing for state offices does not officially begin until November, but the filing of a treasurer allows a potential candidate to start raising money.
What’s Next??
The Senate has adjourned until 10AM Friday to refer bills and then will adjourn until 11AM Tuesday.
The House is adjourned until 10:30AM Friday for bill referrals and then will adjourn until Tuesday at 2PM.
Next week, the Senate State Affairs Committee will hear Senate Bill 3, which places a prohibition on all consumable products related to the manufacture of hemp.
The House Public Education Committee will hear House Bill 3 – the education voucher proposal – on Tuesday.
The House Ways and Means Committee will meet on Monday to consider the House property tax reduction legislation.
A listing of all committee hearings can be found here: https://www.legis.state.tx.us