Texas Special Session may end early; these big bills are being pushed through
Special Session may end early, big bills to Gov. desk
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick posted to social media Wednesday saying the Senate will adjourn sine die by the end of the night, despite there being unfinished business.
AUSTIN - Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick posted to social media Wednesday saying the Senate will adjourn sine die by the end of the night, despite there being unfinished business.
Patrick blames an impasse over a total ban on products that contain THC, something he and the Senate still support, but which Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed in favor of regulation.
The Special Session could run through Sept. 13, so it's not clear why the upper chamber is adjourning now, 10 days shy of the mark.
STAAR testing to be eliminated
Wednesday night, the lower chamber passed House Bill 8, which, in part, completely eliminates the STARR Test for students across the state of Texas.
Instead of a single exam to test a child's academic competency, three shorter tests will be given at the beginning, middle and end of the year.
The House passed the bill on final reading, sending it to Abbott to sign.
3 new exams would replace STAAR under bill passed by Texas House
After passing the House on a party-line vote, House Bill 8 would replace the end-of-year STAAR test with three shorter exams administered throughout the school year.
That will be implemented for the 2027-2028 school year once signed.
"Chair Brad Buckley’s leadership was so important to the bill’s passage," said Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston). "What gets measured gets fixed, and HB 8 measures what matters, student success. HB 8 will restore classroom time, end wasteful lawsuits, and prepare Texas students for real-world achievement. And tests on History are important too!"
Camp cabin flooding changes near finish line
The House also advanced Senate Bill 1 to a third and final reading.
The legislation was written in response to the deadly July 4th Central Texas flooding, and could deny camps licenses if they have housing in a river flood plain.
Texas camps push back against pending laws banning cabins in floodplains
Three camps sent lawmakers a letter, saying they can't afford to make the changes the legislature is considering.
There are other safety components included, as well.
Lawsuits for abortion pills passes Senate
The Senate also passed House Bill 7, which gives regular citizens the authority to file civil lawsuits against anyone who ships abortion pills into the state or anyone caught distributing the medications.
Texas bill allowing citizens to sue over abortion pills advances
State lawmakers are trying to put an end to abortion pills entering the state. The Senate passed a bill allowing private citizens to sue corporations or people who mail abortion medication to women in Texas.
What they're saying:
"Senators, because we care about that little baby growing inside her mother’s womb, because we care about that mom who has been vicitimized, lied to and is often alone going through this horrible process – and because we will not, we will not allow big pharma pad its bottom line, sending these poisonous pills to Texas – for all these reasons, I move final passage of House Bill 7," said Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola).
"This is another, another, another, another, another – abortion bill in the endless series of assaults on abortion and women’s rights that we have session after session after session. It’s little more than a rhetorical weapon in the war for political power," said Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas).
What's next:
Lawmakers have until Sept. 13, when the special session ends, to get all of this done, but the lieutenant governor hoped to be finished by tonight.
Today, Abbott hinted about calling a third Special Session if his priority legislation does not make it through, which does include flood and campground safety measures.
The Source: Information in this article came from FOX 4 coverage of Texas Legislature proceedings.