At an Oct. 15 meeting, Sugar Land City Council approved the city’s legislative agenda for the 89th session of the Texas Legislature slated to begin in early 2025.

Zooming in

Intergovernmental Relations Manager Spencer Gutierrez said the city has added legislative priorities including:
  • Public safety
    • Supporting legislation to increase state funding for mental health
    • Supporting legislation to strengthen current laws to discourage bank jugging
  • Land use
    • Opposing legislation to lessen licensing retirement for plumbing, mechanical and electrical work
    • Opposing legislation that would limit the city’s ability for building codes
    • Opposing legislation that would allow property owners to circumvent the city’s inception process
  • Redevelopment
    • Supporting legislation that promotes planning efforts to identify housing needs and solutions
    • Supporting legislation that allows local jurisdictions to enforce minimum housing standards
  • Animal services
    • Supporting legislation to increase funding for animal welfare issues
Additional legislative focuses have carried over from previous sessions, including positions on municipal powers, economic development, transportation, open meetings and records, transparency and ethics, and elections, Gutierrez said.

Looking back

Council previously approved the creation of a Legislative Citizen Task Force in March and appointed 13 community representatives including home and business owners, school district representatives and board members in June.


The task force members will continue to serve as community advocates during the legislative session.

What’s next?

The 89th Texas Legislature is set to begin its regular session on Jan. 14 and will wrap up June 2, according to the Texas Legislative Council’s website.