.png)
Less than a week remains in legislative session
With the legislative session ending on Monday, June 2, lawmakers are scrambling to pass or kill bills, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Among the bills passed or likely to soon pass:
• All handgun licenses issued in other states will be honored in Texas if, as expected, Gov. Greg Abbott signs the measure. This would end the requirement that the governor must negotiate agreements with other states.
• The Texas Bitcoin Reserve with a market capitalization of at least $500 billion will be created and administered by the Texas comptroller. The two chambers must work out some minor differences in the two versions of the bill.
• A bill providing more protections for migrant workers being forced to live in substandard housing has been sent to the governor’s desk. The powers of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will be strengthened to investigate and penalize “violations of provisions governing migrant labor housing facilities and by providing for increased accountability and enforcement of those provisions.”
• A bill to outlaw AIgenerated child pornography has passed both chambers with a single House amendment awaiting approval by the Senate. It criminalizes possession of material appearing to depict a child, “regardless of whether the depiction is an image of an actual child, a cartoon or animation, or an image created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.”
HOUSE PASSES INCREASE IN HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION
Homeowners will see further cuts in their property taxes under a House bill passed last week that increases the state’s homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 and boosts additional exemptions for older Texans and those with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000. The Dallas Morning News reported the bills have already passed in the Senate and await consideration of minor changes.
Voters in November will have to approve two constitutional amendments before the raised exemptions would take effect.
The measures contain provisions guaranteeing that school districts would not lose funding because of higher exemptions, with the state making up the difference.
BAN ON THC GUMMIES AND OTHER CONSUMABLES PASSES HOUSE
Legal sales of consumable gummies and other edibles made from hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, may soon be coming to an end. The News reported the House passed a blanket ban, 95-44. Under the leadership of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is pushing for criminalizing THC products, the Senate passed the ban in March.
Hemp products that don’t include THC, such as the popular CBD, would be exempted from the ban.
There are more than 8,500 hemp license holders in the state, operating in vape stores, convenience stores, and other venues. Sales of THCA and delta-8 consumables, which contain THC, have become a $8 billion business in the past five years, The News reported.
“We are not banning hemp,” said Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, who carried the ban language in the House. “We are banning high. If it gets you high, it is not legal anymore” under this legislation, he added.
Democrats argued against the ban, saying it won’t be effective.
“Bans don’t work,” said Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas. “We’ll return to a completely unregulated black market where these products will find their way to young people today. If anybody’s to blame about the state of affairs, it’s us, in underregulating this marketplace.”
The ban would not affect those who obtain medical marijuana legally. The state’s Compassionate Use Program is administered by health professionals.
BILL CLARIFYING ABORTION BAN HEADS TO ABBOTT
A bill that aims to clarify when doctors can perform emergency abortions has passed both chambers and is headed to the governor’s desk, the Texas Standard reported. The Life of the Mother Act was sponsored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who authored the state’s 2021 abortion ban.
The 2021 law said abortions are illegal except when a medical emergency threatens a woman’s life, but doctors said the language wasn’t clear enough. Previous reporting indicates that confusion led to the deaths of at least two women and rising rates of sepsis in women who have miscarriages.
“This is not a choice bill,” said Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, who carried the bill in the House. “This bill addresses the life and health of the mother — period. That’s it.”
SB 31 received bipartisan support this session and passed the House by a 134-4 margin.
‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ CONTAINS BORDER ENFORCEMENT REIMBURSEMENT
The Republican spending megabill passed narrowly in the U.S. House last week includes $12 billion for border security spending reimbursement for Texas and other states, The Texas Tribune reported. Abbott and Texas congressional Republicans have been pushing for the reimbursement since President Trump took office in January.
Texas has spent $11.1 billion on Operation Lone Star since 2021.
The funding bill still must pass the U.S. Senate before it becomes law.
TAXPAYERFUNDED ABORTION TRAVEL FACES BAN
Texas cities will no longer be able to fund out-of-state abortion travel with taxpayer money as a result of a bill sent to the governor last week. The Statesman reported the bill’s House sponsor, state Rep. Candy Noble, R-Lucas, said the legislation ensures tax money isn’t “spent on an activity that is illegal in Texas.”
The Austin City Council last September allocated $400,000 to provide money for lodging and travel expenses to residents who travel out of state to terminate their pregnancies. That prompted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sue the city, a case that remains unresolved.
ANOTHER ACTIVE HURRICANE SEASON PREDICTED
The nation’s top weather agency is predicting 13 to 19 named storms during this year’s hurricane season, which officially begins on June 1. The Houston Chronicle reported the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts this season has a 60% likelihood of being busier than normal.
NOAA, like many federal agencies, has been hit with job reductions that it says could stretch its resources and forecasting ability.
Once again, unusually warm water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and other factors led to the prediction of increased hurricane activity.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email:[email protected]
