Texas Legislature Ends Second Special Session with GOP Victories

• The Texas Legislature adjourned its second special session late Wednesday in the House and shortly after midnight in the Senate, concluding a contentious six-and-a-half-week period of overtime lawmaking. The session followed a two-week Democratic walkout over redistricting, which prompted the early end of the first special session and the immediate start of this one.

• Lawmakers accomplished many of Governor Abbott’s legislative priorities:

  • Passed a highly favorable congressional map, viewed as a gerrymander designed to give Republicans up to five additional U.S. House seats.

  • Enacted a series of socially conservative bills, restoring previously stalled measures. These included:

    • Restricting transgender individuals from using certain restrooms in public buildings and schools

    • Cracking down on the distribution of abortion pills

    • Empowering the Attorney General’s office to independently prosecute election-related crimes

    • Allowing ivermectin to be sold without a prescription

• On the bipartisan front, the session also saw progress in key areas:

  • Strengthened flood infrastructure and disaster response, addressing the devastating July 4 Hill Country floods that tragically killed over 130 people.

  • Passed House Bill 8, replacing the STAAR standardized test with three shorter assessments administered throughout the school year.

• Areas left unresolved included:

  • Regulating the hemp industry—efforts to tighten restrictions on consumable THC products failed, leaving the industry largely intact.

  • Property tax reform also stalled, as conservative lawmakers criticized compromise proposals for not going far enough.

• Partisan tensions ran high throughout:

  • Floor debates frequently devolved into shouting matches, with accusations that new penalties against quorum breaks disenfranchised voters.

  • Despite the friction, Republicans largely left town celebrating a legislative session filled with accomplishments to highlight in the upcoming primaries—including maps, conservative laws, and strengthened party unity.

The second special session wrapped up with major wins for the GOP—especially on redistricting and conservative social policy—while bipartisan wins in disaster preparedness and education reform offered a softer counterpoint. High-stakes issues like hemp regulation and property tax relief remain unresolved amid deep partisan divisions.