Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week:
Special Session Looming?
The New York Times reported this week that the Trump administration is pressuring state leadership to examine the possibility of redrawing the state’s Congressional districts to try and increase the Republican’s slim majority in Congress. The Republicans currently hold a 25-12 partisan advantage in the state’s 38-member Congressional delegation, with one solidly blue seat vacant due to the death of Sylvester Turner, who passed away in March.
According to the report, officials in the Trump administration believe there is a possibility of picking up as many as five new seats in Texas for Republicans. To accomplish that, all seats would have to be redrawn, and the newly targeted seats would have to take in more Democratic voters to make them competitive in a November election. This will undoubtedly make the Republican incumbents very uneasy heading into the midterm elections when the party in power has historically lost seats in Congress.
Any redrawing of the Congressional districts would have to be done in a special session, which can only be called by Gov. Abbott. And, it would have to be done fairly quickly. The filing period for the 2026 elections begins in early November.
Texas Republicans in Congress met privately to discuss the issue earlier this week, with the only comments from the group centering on the need to thoroughly study this possibility and the potential impact on the delegation.
Gov. Abbott said in an interview on Wednesday that he has not “found a reason to call a special session.”
If a special session were to happen on this issue, it would set up an ugly, highly partisan battle. One other thing to consider is whether the Democrats in the legislature would even show up for a special session that would ultimately benefit President Trump. The same scenario occurred in 2003 when then Congressman Tom DeLay urged Governor Perry to redraw the state Congressional districts to achieve a Republican majority within the delegation. House Democrats fled to Oklahoma to avoid the session. But eventually they returned, and the new maps were drawn to favor the Republicans.
Stay tuned on this one…
Session Over – Sign/Veto Period
The regular session ended on June 2nd. Lawmakers filed 8,719 pieces of legislation this session, which is the most filed in over 30 years. Of those bills filed, lawmakers finally passed 1,183 bills, which translates to about 14% of the bills filed. As a sidenote, the legislature averages about a 20% passage rate.
Gov. Abbott now has until Sunday, June 22nd to either sign or veto the bills into law. Or he can simply let a bill go into effect without signature. After the 2023 session Abbott vetoed 76 of the 1,246 bills sent to his desk. This period of time is the apex of Abbott’s power. He has the deciding vote on whether or not to allow the bills passed by the legislature take effect and become law in the state of Texas.
What Passed
Here’s a look at some of the accomplishments this session:
State budget – lawmakers approved a $383 billion two-year spending plan (2026-2027 biennium) which focused on property tax relief and increased funding for public schools. Highlights include $51 billion to offset lost revenue from measures to reduce property taxes; $75 billion total for public schools — an $8.5 billion increase over the budget from the current biennium; and $2.5 billion for water infrastructure projects.
Private school vouchers – lawmakers established a $1 billion fund to create educations savings accounts to allow families to use towards private school tuition
Increased public school funding and teacher pay raises – the largest increase in funding for public schools in the state’s history was approved this session, sending an additional $8.5 billion into our public schools. Half of which will go towards teacher pay raises and the remainder is divided up for operating expenses, and special education programs.
Abortion clarifications – in what was called the “Life of the Mother Act”, lawmakers clarified for doctors when they are allowed to provide abortions to treat a medical emergency. This is now the only exception to Texas abortion laws and passed with near unanimous support.
Ban on hemp products – One of the more contentious issues, the legislature has established a ban on all intoxicating hemp related products including drinks, gummies, smokes, and vapes. A priority of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, the law targeted businesses that took advantage of a loophole to sell these products in an unregulated market. As of September 1st, all cannabis and hemp related products will be illegal to sell or possess, affecting roughly 8,500 retail establishments in the state.
Gov. Abbott is receiving heavy pressure to veto this legislation, but he is expected to sign or at least allow the law to go into effect without his signature.
Public school policy – In addition to increased funding for public schools, lawmakers also established several policies that will affect the daily activities of the state’s 5 million public school students. New laws to take effect include a requirement to place the Ten Commandments in every classroom; a daily prayer period for all students; the allowance of school districts to ban cell phone use during school hours; and the prohibition of any clubs or organizations in schools that promote LGBTQ policies.
Bail reform – A measure that will ultimately have to be decided by the voters due to the proposed change in the state constitution, lawmakers are asking voters to approve additional offenses that will allow judges to deny bail to the accused. The new offenses include murder, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, and repeat violent offenses.
Water infrastructure – Lawmakers approved a 20-year plan to divert part of the state’s sales tax revenue to support water supply and infrastructure projects. The money will be split equally between the supply side and infrastructure side including pipelines and aging infrastructure repair.
Lottery Reform – After the revelation of a rigged jackpot scheme that awarded $95 million to a group of individuals was aided by officials at the Lottery Commission, the legislature gave serious consideration to completely doing away with the lottery. But since the games bring in $2 billion annually to the state, lawmakers instead made significant reforms including the banning of ticket sales through third party online apps and moving regulation of the lottery and bingo to the Department of Licensing and Regulation. The Lottery Commission –the agency itself – will be abolished. The lottery games will now be under tight scrutiny and review by lawmakers who will now decide by 2029 if the games are worthy of continuing.
What Failed
Several high-profile issues came down to the wire, with lawmakers ultimately not being able to agree on a final form for passage, including:
Home Insurance Premium Relief – Despite massive rate hikes in their homeowner insurance policies over the last several years for Texans, the legislature did nothing to try and provide relief for the continuing increases in premiums. As a matter of fact, the issue was given very little priority or attention during the legislative session. Home insurance rates have risen nearly 44% statewide since 2023.
One key proposal was introduced to establish a fund of $500 million to provide grants to homeowners to upgrade their roofs which in turn requires the carriers to provide discounts. The budget writers never allocated any funding for the program. Another proposal required carriers to get approval for any rate increase in excess of 10% which passed the Senate, but did not receive consideration in the House.
Abortion Pill Crackdown – A proposal to prohibit the manufacturing, distribution, or mailing of abortion pills failed in the House. A similar version passed the Senate.
Stricter Voting Rules – Two measures to further restrict voting rights in Texas failed at the last minute as well. First, a proposal to require documented proof of citizenship when registering to vote or when updating voter registration information died in the House after passing the Senate. Another proposal to give the state Attorney General authority to prosecute local election related offenses failed after differing versions passed both Houses.
Ban on Social Media for Minors – A proposal to ban anyone in the state under the age of 17 from using or opening a social media account – without parental consent – failed in the Senate after passing the House.
Abbott Deploys National Guard
Gov. Abbott is deploying the National Guard ahead of planned demonstrations this weekend throughout the state to protest the latest immigration policies and activities from the Trump administration. In a news conference this week Abbott did not say specifically where the troops would be deployed, but did say they would be providing a “robust response where needed.” Local officials in Austin and San Antonio are expecting the troops in their cities over the weekend. A protest at the state Capitol is planned for 5PM on Saturday.
Guard troops have already been deployed in Austin when protestors took to the streets to show solidarity for the protestors in Los Angeles who have been demonstrating for several days against federal immigration raids. The Austin protests were largely peaceful, but tear gas was used on a smaller group that painted graffiti on downtown buildings and threw rocks at officers. A total of 12 protestors were booked into the Travis County jail on Monday evening for disorderly conduct.
The so-called “No Kings” demonstrations will be part of a “nationwide day of defiance” on Saturday to protest not only the latest immigration policies, but also the planned military parade in Washington and other US cities on Saturday. Predictably, the move by Abbott has brought swift and critical response from Democrats, saying Abbott is trying to intimidate those protesting against Trump and putting the safety of the protestors at risk. Abbott previously deployed the National Guard in 2020 after protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd and in conjunction with protests surrounding the 2020 election.
Texas Ends In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students
Immigration policies have once again made their way to the top of the headlines this week. We have all witnessed the events throughout the country, with Los Angeles receiving the most attention.
The state of Texas made headlines last week when the US Department of Justice announced it would sue the state of Texas over its policy allowing undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition rates at the state’s public universities. In 2001, Texas passed a law to allow “dreamers” to become eligible for in-state tuition. The DOJ recently declared that law to be unconstitutional saying “Texas cannot provide benefits to illegal aliens that they do not provide to all US citizens.” The state immediately agreed and filed a brief in federal court in Wichita Falls stating that the Texas law is in direct conflict with federal law. The US District Court agreed and entered a final judgement declaring the state law unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction against its application. The state will obviously not appeal the ruling.
The unusually quick surrender by the state caused several groups to immediately call for further legal action to restore the program. Other criticized the actions as a way for Texas to abandon the program since the legislature has declined to revisit the issue and pass legislation to abolish the policy.
Cornyn Losing Ground in New Poll
Incumbent US Senator John Cornyn appears to be losing even more ground to his challenger in a recently released poll. Cornyn is being challenged in next year’s Republican primary by Texas AG Ken Paxton, who is a favorite of the far right despite his past legal and personal troubles. The poll conducted by Educational Freedom Institute – a nonprofit group that advocates for school choice programs — from May 27th-28th among 600 Republican primary voters shows Paxton leading Cornyn by 22 points. Paxton was the choice of 50% of the respondents compared to 28% for Cornyn.
What should concern Cornyn even more is that only 27% of those polled think Cornyn deserves to be reelected, compared to 54% who believe a change is needed.
Cornyn was first elected in 2002 and is seeking a 5th term in the US Senate. In a recent television interview with WFAA TV in Dallas, he attributed his low polling numbers to “primarily name identification”, explaining that since he had not been on the ballot since 2020, his name identification was not as high as Paxton’s. However, only 7% of the respondents in this poll had not heard of Cornyn.
You can check out the full poll here: https://punchbowl.news/wp-content/uploads/EFI-Texas-GOP-Primary-Statewide-Survey-Interview-Schedule.pdf?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6/3/25%20%20AM:&utm_term=Punchbowl%20AM%20and%20Active%20Subscribers%20from%20Memberful%20Combined
Gina Ortiz Jones Wins SA Mayor Race
In a hotly contested and very closely watched mayoral race, Air Force veteran Gina Ortiz Jones defeated former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos to become the next mayor of San Antonio.
Ortiz Jones won the runoff with 54% of the vote in what became a bitter and partisan race. The race was forced into a runoff due to a large number of candidates – 27 — incumbent Ron Nirenberg could not seek reelection due to term limits.
Ortiz Jones is a native of San Antonio and becomes the city’s first openly gay mayor. She did not make LGBTQ issues central to her campaign, instead focusing on her experience serving in the military and being a city hall outsider. Pablos is well connected Republican primary circles and spent over $1 million in the runoff, drawing national interest from the outside groups on both sides of the aisle. In the end, San Antonio proved to still be a Democratic stronghold. Ortiz Jones will be sworn in on June 18th to begin her four-year term.
Democrats Renew Efforts in Texas
The Democrats are once again starting a new PAC aimed at turning Texas from red to blue. According to a report this week in the Wall Street Journal, Democrats have launched a new initiative called “Blue Texas”. The program will be funded by Texas Majority PAC and will be supported financially by billionaire George Soros. The initiative will partner with the Texas Democratic Party and local county parties to try and recruit volunteers with the goal of boosting turnout for the 2026 elections.
This is the latest effort from national Democrats to try and turn Texas away from it reliably red status. Similar previous efforts such as Battleground Texas – started over a decade ago – have failed. Republicans control every statewide office and both Houses of the legislature. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.
Political Notes
The first retirement from the legislature this year came in the form of four-term Republican Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington. He announced on Sine Die that he would not return to the House. A day later, he announced he would be running for a seat on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court. Incidentally, that court had just adopted a map of commissioner precincts setting up Tinderholt to run in a favorably Republican precinct.
Former House District 97 candidate Cherly Bean of Fort Worth – who lost to current Rep. John McQueeney in a runoff in 2024 – has announced she will pack up and move to Tinderholt’s district and seek his open seat. Tinderholt has endorsed Bean to be his successor.
Houston Democratic Rep. Jolanda Jones announced last week that she will be running in the special election for Congressional District 18 to succeed former US Rep. and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. The district is currently open due to Turner’s death in March. This is the same district that was represented for many years by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee who passed away last July. Jones is in her second term in the Texas House and will not have to give up her seat to run. She was also a member of the Houston City Council from 2008-2012. Other announced candidates are Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards.
Former state House candidate Aaron Reitz of Austin announced this week he will be seeking the Republican nomination for state Attorney General. State Senator Mayes Middleton is already in the race. Incumbent AG Ken Paxton is running for the US Senate in 2026. Reitz recently resigned his position as assistant attorney general in the US Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy to make the run for Texas AG. Reitz ran for the state House in 2020, finishing fourth in a five-person Republican primary race for an open seat in the Austin area. Trey Trainor – a Trump appointee to the Federal Election Commission – is also considering a run for AG. He is also a former legislative staffer.
Austin area Democratic state Rep. James Talarico has said he is considering a race for US Senate for the seat currently held by incumbent John Cornyn. No Democrat has declared for the seat, but former US Reps. Colin Allred and Beto O’Rourke have expressed interest in running. Both have lost bids for the US Senate in previous elections. Talarico is serving in his fourth term representing a district in north Austin and frequently gains media attention through his vocal opposition to Republican legislative priorities. He is a pastor and former schoolteacher. US Rep. Joaquin Castro of is also said to be interested in running on the Democratic side. He is a former member of the state House and twin brother of former San Antonio Mayor and Housing Secretary Julian Castro.
Republican state Senator Bryan Hughes of Mineola – rumored to be considering a run for higher office in 2026 – announced this week he will seek reelection to the state Senate in 2026. Hughes chairs the powerful Senate State Affairs Committee and is a top lieutenant of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
And finally, former Houston mayor Annise Parker announced this week she will challenge two-term incumbent Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in next year’s Democratic primary. Parker served as mayor from 2010-2016, making history as the first openly gay mayor of a major US city. Parker said a county the size of Harris County needs a competent leader, touting her experience in leading the nation’s fourth largest city. Since leaving the mayor’s office, Parker worked as CEO of the Victory Fund, a PAC that primarily funds LGBTQ candidates. Hidalgo has not announced her plans regarding reelection. Piney Point Mayor Aliza Dutt – a Republican – is the only other announced candidate for Harris County Judge in 2026.
What’s Next??
Once the veto period ends, members and statewide officials can once again begin raising funds – there is a moratorium on collecting campaign contributions from 30 days before the session begins until the end of the veto period.
So, on June 23rd, members will be trying to replenish their campaign coffers in preparation for the June 30thdeadline when they will have to report cash on hand for the upcoming campaign season.