School discipline, property taxes, water funding: Texas lawmakers wrap up regular legislative session

Lawmakers also approved Senate Bill 12, which seeks to expand parents’ access to their children’s education and ban diversity, equity and inclusion practices in K-12 schools; and Senate Bill 13, which would give parents and school boards more oversight over school library books.

House Bill 1481, which lawmakers sent to the governor’s desk on May 28, would mandate that districts adopt policies banning the use of cellphones and other personal communication devices during the school day.

“We want our kids to focus on academics, such as math, science and reading, and the reality is, these phones are a distraction. ... Schools cite growing incidents of cyberbullying due to these phones. My generation is more anxious, [more] depressed, less focused and more distracted than ever before,” bill author Rep. Caroline Fairly, R-Amarillo, said during a March 18 committee hearing.

Senate Bill 2, the first bill Abbott signed this session, will set aside $1 billion in public funds that families can spend on private school tuition and other educational expenses, such as textbooks or transportation. The program will launch at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year, and most participating families would receive about $10,330 per student, estimates show.

Property taxes

In mid-May, lawmakers approved a trio of bills that would reduce property taxes for homeowners and businesses, although Texas voters will have the final say this fall. Three proposals to enshrine the tax cuts in the state constitution will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Senate Bill 4 would raise tax exemptions on all Texans’ homes to $140,000, up from $100,000 under current law. Senate Bill 23 would give homeowners who are over 65 years old or have a disability a $200,000 exemption from school taxes. Both exemptions would apply only to taxes levied by public schools.

In November 2023, 83% of Texas voters approved a 2023 constitutional amendment raising the statewide homestead exemption by $60,000, per previous Community Impact reporting.

House Bill 9 would exempt up to $125,000 of businesses’ personal property, such as equipment, furniture and vehicles, from taxation. Texas business owners currently receive a tax exemption on property worth $2,500 or less.

THC and medical cannabis

Lawmakers moved to ban most hemp-derived THC products while expanding the state’s low-THC medical cannabis program.

Senate Bill 3 would outlaw the possession, sale and manufacture of all products, shutting down Texas’ multibillion-dollar consumable hemp industry. Proponents of the ban said it would close a “loophole” state lawmakers inadvertently created in 2019, when they legalized hemp sales in an attempt to boost the agricultural industry.

The Texas Hemp Business Council, which advocates for hemp retailers, launched a petition urging the governor to veto the bill. If SB 3 becomes law, it would “harm veterans, senior citizens, patients and consumers across the state,” according to the petition.

House Bill 46 would expand prescription access to medical cannabis through the state’s Compassionate Use Program, putting the state on track to build out an existing program that some Texans have said does not currently help enough people.

“Texans still struggle to get access to the medicine that they are legally allowed to receive,” bill author Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, said May 12.

The bill seeks to increase the number of conditions eligible for the program, allow 15 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries to open statewide and give physicians the authority to prescribe a wider variety of products.

Abbott had not taken action on either bill as of press time.

Bail restrictions

Abbott signed three bills aimed at tightening Texas’ bail laws on June 3. Senate Joint Resolution 5, which will appear on the ballot in November, proposes amending the Texas Constitution to require judges to deny bail for certain felony offenses, keeping more defendants in jail as they await trial.

Senate Bill 9 expands a list of offenses for which defendants cannot be released on low-cost bonds, while Senate Bill 40 prohibits local governments from giving public money to nonprofits that help cover bail costs.

Proponents have said tightening restrictions on bail will improve public safety by keeping violent offenders behind bars, while critics have said the bills could unfairly punish poor Texans and violate defendants’ right to due process.

Nearly everyone currently has the right to be released on bail under the Texas Constitution, except for those charged with capital murder or people accused and convicted of multiple violent felonies. The state constitution also prohibits “excessive bail or fines” and guarantees defendants’ rights to a speedy jury trial.

Dementia prevention

Senate Joint Resolution 3 will also appear on Texas voters’ ballots this November. If approved by voters, it would amend the state constitution to create a Texas-based dementia research institute.

The proposed institute would be similar to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which lawmakers established in 2009. The institute would receive $3 billion in initial state funding, with an additional $300 million in annual grants for dementia-related research projects and groups, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

“One disease that I think so many families sadly know about, because maybe they have family or friends, is Alzheimer's. ... We want to attract the best and brightest people [not only] to do research to hopefully find a cure one day, but also to find prevention and hopefully research on medication that delays it as long as we can,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Community Impact in an April 2 interview.

Other legislation

Amid growing electric demand, Senate Bill 6 would increase regulations on data centers and other large electric consumers. Lawmakers have said the tighter standards would make the grid more reliable and ensure large consumers are held accountable, while opponents argued SB 6 could negatively affect public safety and hinder new economic development in Texas.

Senate Bill 7 seeks to prevent what bill author Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, has called a “long-term water supply crisis.” The bill would help communities create new water supplies and repair aging water systems alongside House Joint Resolution 7, a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a dedicated funding stream for water supply projects.

Senate Bill 15 is aimed at making housing more affordable in large Texas cities by allowing property owners in new neighborhoods to construct single-family homes on lots as small as 3,000 square feet without approval from local officials.

The bill would apply to cities with at least 150,000 residents located in counties with populations of at least 300,000—including Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Williamson counties.

For the next 10 years, Senate Bill 22 would set aside $300 million every two years for film and television production grants.

Texas’ 2024-25 budget includes $200 million for film incentives, up from $45 million in the previous biennium. Actors, filmmakers and other proponents of the plan have said expanding how much Texas spends on film incentives will help production companies tell Texas stories in the Lone Star State and benefit people who live here.

The governor had not taken action on the above bills before press time.