Texas Legislative Roundup


With a raucus session that ended with Texas state House legislators trying to depose the autocratic speaker, the legislature passed a range of bills, many reversing extreme laws passed in past sessions:

On the energy front, the session was a mixed bag.  SB12 will expand financial subsidies to low- and moderate-income families to replace older, polluting vehicles and mandate more energy efficient appliances, but the legislature also approved corporate subsidies to nuclear power plant companies as well.

And legislators approved a range of other bills:

Notably, the legislature refused to enact any major anti-immigrant bills or a voter ID bill that would have undermined voting rights in the state. This reflects trends in the state towards more progressive leadership, highlighted by the emerging leadership struggle in the House that will dominate politics going into the next session.