2025 Texas Lege

[Winehole23]

"we investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing"

voters tossed him out on his ass

https://abc13.com/cleveland-texas-ma...tion/14496667/

[Winehole23]

as an anti-bias measure, the State of Texas will create political appointees to oversee curriculum and staffing

https://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlod...pdf#navpanes=0

Senate Bill 37 passed in an 83-53 vote Saturday. It would create a state-level committee that would recommend courses that should be required for graduation and how to condense the number of those courses. Meanwhile, each public university system’s board of regents, who oversee the school’s operations and are appointed by the governor, would be charged with creating a committee to review curricula and reject any course deemed ideologically charged or that doesn’t align with the workforce demands. Specifically, the committees would ensure curricula do not “advocate or promote that any race, sex, ethnicity or religious belief is inherently superior to any other.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05...enate-bill-37/

[Winehole23]

Governor Greg Abbott has signed a law that allows oil and gas companies to treat and sell fracking wastewater — also known as produced water — for reuse. That could include discharging it into rivers and streams or even applying it on farmland for crop irrigation.

The move comes as the state faces a growing water shortage due to population growth, aging infrastructure, and prolonged drought conditions. Supporters say the law is a way to supplement water supplies and promote recycling. Critics say it could contaminate the very land Texans depend on for food and survival.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller believes the concept has potential — if it’s done right.

“Well, we need water," Miller said. "We don’t really care what the source is as long as it’s good, clean water that we can grow crops with. Fracking water would be fine."

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/lo...8-d651f94013ae

[Winehole23]

Texas lege putting warning labels on junk food

A new law in Texas will require many popular products to have a label warning consumers that it contains ingredients “not recommended for human consumption.”


It targets M&Ms, Doritos, Mountain Dew, and probably at least one of your grocery store guilty pleasures. The law, which was officially signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, requires any food containing one of more than 40 additives to include the label on its packaging by 2027.

https://katiecouric.com/health/nutri...ned-additives/

[ChumpDumper]

Whoopsie!

https://x.com/TexasTribune/status/1942203950955946320

[Winehole23]

Kerr County doesn't like taxes, so they don't have nice things

apparently the state of Texas doesn't really care either



thoughts and prayers

[Winehole23]

https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB5510/id/3175580

apparently "never got scheduled for review"


https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/HB5510/2025
https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB2880/2025

[Winehole23]

special session upcoming

[Winehole23]

(rumors of mid-stream redistricting, to shore up GOP power before the next census in five years. Texas last did this in 2003)

[Winehole23]

"no talking at night on campus"

Texas lawmakers trying to muzzle campus protests have just passed one of the most ridiculous anti-speech laws in the country. If signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, Senate Bill 2972 would ban speech at night — from study groups to newspaper reporting — at public universities in the state.

Ironically, the bill builds on a previous law passed in 2019 meant to enshrine free speech on Texas campuses. But now, lawmakers want to crack down on college students’ pro-Palestinian protests so badly that they literally passed a prohibition on talking.

We’re not exaggerating. SB 2972 would require public universities in Texas to adopt policies prohibiting “engaging in expressive activities on campus between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.” Expressive activity includes “any speech or expressive conduct” protected by the First Amendment or Texas Cons ution.

The overnight ban on expressive activities is unfathomably broad. Off the top of our heads, here are just a few examples of what such a policy would prohibit on campus between 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.: Meeting with other students to socialize or study, writing an email, working on a research paper, posting on social media, reporting for the student newspaper, wearing a T-shirt with a slogan, dancing, playing music, painting a picture, or praying at a sunrise service.

Wake up in the mood to write about how much you like the First Amendment? You’d better wait till the clock strikes 8. Maybe go to the campus dining hall and get some breakfast first — just make sure it’s self-service, so you don’t need to talk to anyone during the silent hours.

Are universities likely to enforce their statutorily mandated policies banning overnight speech against students engaged in speech like that? Probably not. But they could, and that shows just how sloppy and overbroad this law is.

It’s also possible that universities will use such policies selectively to crack down on disfavored speech. If administrators find out, for instance, that the student newspaper’s editors discussed and wrote an editorial ripping a university policy to shreds while on campus in the wee hours of the morning, the ban on overnight speech would provide a solid tool for retaliation.

It’s unlikely that lawmakers intended to ban students’ talking to each other overnight; that possible outcome may be due to really poor draftsmanship. Based on legislators’ statements, they clearly mean for the university policies required by the law to prohibit overnight protests. But that, too, violates the First Amendment.

In fact, a court in Indiana recently enjoined on First Amendment grounds a similar policy at Indiana University that required prior approval for protests on campus occurring between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The court said the Indiana policy was likely uncons utional because it was not narrowly tailored to avoid burdening more speech than necessary. A total ban on all overnight protests, which is even broader, would be uncons utional for the same reason.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opi...t-20361753.php

[Winehole23]

bathroom bill is back on the menu

When Gov. Greg Abbott initially called for a special session in June, it was to tackle six bills he had vetoed during the regular session, among them a contentious measure that would havebanned hemp products containing THC. But after flash floods overwhelmed parts of central Texas on July 4 — resulting in at least 120 deaths with many more still missing — the intended focus shifted to flood relief.



However, when the governor’s 18-point agenda was released last week, it included far more than flood-related measures. In addition to considering bills that would restrict hemp products, Abbott has also asked lawmakers to consider legislation “further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion” and legislation “protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.”


On Monday, the first day lawmakers were able to file bills for the special session, none of the 82 measures filed mentioned the deadly July 4 floods, according to KXAN-TV, NBC’s Austin affiliate.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna218897

[Winehole23]

here's the 18 point agenda

I, GREG ABBOTT, Governor of the State of Texas, by the authority vested in me by Article III, Sections 5(a) and 40, and Article IV, Section 8(a) of the Texas Cons ution, do hereby call a Special Session of the 89th Legislature, to convene in the City of Austin, commencing at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, July 21, 2025, to consider and act upon the following:

Legislation to improve early warning systems and other preparedness infrastructure in flood-prone areas throughout Texas.

Legislation to strengthen emergency communications and other response infrastructure in flood-prone areas throughout Texas.

Legislation to provide relief funding for response to and recovery from the storms which began in early July 2025, including local match funding for jurisdictions eligible for FEMA public assistance.

Legislation to evaluate and streamline rules and regulations to speed preparedness for and recovery from natural disasters.

Legislation to eliminate the STAAR test and replace it with effective tools to assess student progress and ensure school district accountability.

Legislation reducing the property tax burden on Texans and legislation imposing spending limits on en ies authorized to impose property taxes.

Legislation making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to children under 21 years of age.

Legislation to comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning a lawful agricultural commodity.

Legislation further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.

Legislation prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying, including the use of tax dollars to hire lobbyists and payment of tax dollars to associations that lobby the Legislature.

Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 1278 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that protects victims of human trafficking from criminal liability for non-violent acts closely tied to their own victimization.

Legislation that protects law enforcement officers from public disclosure of unsubstantiated complaints in personnel files. Legislation protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.

Legislation proposing a cons utional amendment allowing the Attorney General to prosecute state election crimes.

Legislation that provides a revised congressional redistricting plan in light of cons utional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 648 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that provides strengthened protections against le theft and deed fraud.

Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 1253 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that authorizes political subdivisions to reduce impact fees for builders who include water conservation and efficiency measures.

Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 2878 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, relating to the operation and administration of the Judicial Department of state government.

https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/...T_07-09-25.pdf

[Winehole23]

cracking and packing

[Winehole23]

in 2003, Dems fled the state, temporarily denying Republicans a quorum for mid-stream redistricting. It could happen again

Congressional District 18 candidate, Isaiah Martin, was released Friday night from the Travis County Jail, more than 24 hours after his arrest at the Texas Capitol.

Martin was arrested Thursday night at around 7:30 p.m. at the Texas Capitol after refusing to yield during his testimony at a redistricting hearing.

Martin was released at around 9:30 p.m. —tired, frustrated, but proudly defiant. He spoke exclusively with CBS Austin.

DPS charged him with disrupting a meeting, resisting arrest, and criminal trespassing but tonight, just hours after those charges were dropped—he’s out and already looking ahead.

"100 percent. I will 100 percent be there and you cannot get rid of me," Martin said.

Martin's arrest came during the first public hearing on redistricting held by the House. The fight over Texas’ political future isn’t just playing out at the Capitol—it’s playing out across state lines.

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/isa...icting-hearing

[Winehole23]

I would tend to trust Harvey Kronberg

[Winehole23]

But while the law in the Fifth Circuit (where Texas is located) now is that you can’t compel creation of coalition districts, Dhillon’s letter seems to go further by suggesting that any district that has a majority non-white population, even if it was not intentionally created to be majority non-white, is uncons utional or at least cons utionally suspect.


Multiple legal experts have testified that this understanding—if that’s what the somewhat ambiguously written letter actually meant to convey—is simply not the law. In fact, dismantling [these districts], in the absence of a legal reason for doing so, starts to look a lot like intentional racial discrimination.

https://boltsmag.org/a-new-cycle-of-...ions-answered/

[Winehole23]

The Texas Democrats, however, face the risk of a $500-a-day fine and even possible arrest for fleeing the state. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the measure in 2023, two years after state Democrats left the state for three weeks to block an elections bill from progressing.

“Democrats have got to stand up at this point and tell every individual in this nation, this is not normal. This is not democracy,” Democratic state Rep. Ann Johnson told NBC News on Saturday.

“You’ve got these Texas Republicans that are just rolling over and giving Trump what he wants because he’s asked for it. It’s an affront to every citizen, not only in Texas but the nation.”

The Texas House is scheduled to convene at 3 p.m. CT Monday. The redistricting bill is so far the only item on the calendar.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...ing-rcna222743

[GAustex]

It’s (D)ifferent when Dems do it

[Winehole23]

It’s (D)ifferent when Dems do it

what's your point, man?

(R)s have been running Texas for 30 years and have gifted themselves midstream reapportionment, twice, as a little treat

[GAustex]

U lost

[Winehole23]

Texas GOP lawmakers released their first draft of the state’s new congressional map Wednesday, proposing revamped district lines that attempt to flip five Democratic seats in next year’s midterm elections.


The new map targets Democratic U.S. House members in the Austin, Dallas and Houston metro areas and in South Texas. The draft, unveiled by state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, will likely change before the final map is approved by both chambers and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Democrats have said they might try to thwart the process by fleeing the state.


This unusual mid-decade redistricting comes after a pressure campaign waged by President Donald Trump’s political team in the hopes of padding Republicans’ narrow majority in the U.S. House.

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07...e-republicans/

[SnakeBoy]

WHEELS

[Millennial_Messiah]

WHEELS

Based!!!

[Winehole23]

^^^wishful thinking

[Winehole23]

“The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped,” Paxton said in a statement. “Today, I stopped his deceptive financial influence scheme that attempted to deceive donors and subvert our cons utional process. They told me to ‘come and take it,’ so I did.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08...-quorum-break/