LEGISLATURE WRAPS 89TH SESSION
(AUSTIN) — The Senate adjourned sine die on Monday, closing out a 140-day regular session that saw, for the first time, passage of legislation that would allow the use of state revenue for private school tuition. While school choice was the marquee issue heading into the session, lawmakers tackled other key issues including the future of water in Texas, THC consumables, bail reform, and historic new funding into public education. “This is the finest session any Texas Senate has ever had,” Lt. Governor Dan Patrick told members before bringing down the final gavel. Governor Greg Abbott received bills relating to all five of his emergency priorities for the session: school choice, bail reform, teacher pay, water, and property tax cuts.
Public education led the headlines, with the legislature approving and Abbott signing a bill that would spend $1 billion in state funds to create about 100,000 education savings accounts, that parents can apply for and use to pay for private school costs. This came with $8.5 billion in new public education funding, most of which will go towards teacher compensation increases, including an across-the-board raise for teachers and other school employees. Authored by Education Committee chair and Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton, these bills will change the landscape of public education in Texas permanently, he said. “This is not just a funding bill, it’s a long-term commitment to the future of public education,” Creighton told members when they passed HB 2 on May 23rd.
Lawmakers also approved billions more in property tax relief. As in past sessions, the Senate approved another increase in the homestead exemption, raising the deduction from $100,000 to $140,000 for most homeowners and $200,000 for disabled or senior homeowners. That will translate, according to author and Houston Senator Paul Bettencourt, into about $500 in annual savings for the first group and nearly $1,000 for the second. Businesses will also see about $2,500 trimmed off their annual tax bill via a measure that increases the business personal property exemption to $125,000.
The legislature also delivered on a plan to meet the water needs of Texans through the end of the century in the form of legislation written and shepherded through the process by Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee chair and Lubbock Senator Charles Perry. Those bills will ask voters to approve a permanent, $1 billion annual infusion of general revenue into the state’s water fund, which looks to create new water supply and repair old leaky infrastructure.
After multiple sessions of trying, the Senate at last got a major bail reform bill to the governor’s desk. Because such bills require constitutional amendments, they require a supermajority vote in both chambers. Passed multiple times by the Senate in previous sessions, these bills got close, but never past the 100-vote threshold in the House. This session, lawmakers finally found agreement on SJR 5, by Houston Senator Joan Huffman. That measure, if approved by voters in November, would require the denial of bail for those committed of the most serious crimes should the state be able to prove the person represents a significant flight risk or an on-going threat to public safety.
The last two sessions ended with special called sessions looming due to the failure of key bills in the final days: election security in 2021 and school choice in 2023. Though the governor hasn’t signaled one way or the other, there don’t appear to be any outstanding issues that could call the legislature back into Austin soon. Unless an unforeseen issue arises in the intervening months, the House and Senate will stand adjourned sine die until the next regular session of the legislature convenes in January of 2027.
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