AUSTIN, Texas – Governor Greg Abbott has formally announced the legislative agenda for an upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature. Scheduled to commence on July 21, 2025, the session is being convened to tackle a range of critical and pressing issues confronting the state, signaling the governor’s priorities for immediate legislative action outside of the regular biennial schedule.
The decision to call lawmakers back to Austin underscores the urgency the administration places on addressing diverse challenges, from natural disaster recovery to long-standing debates over taxation, education, and regulation. Special sessions in Texas are limited in scope, focusing exclusively on subjects designated by the governor, making the announced agenda a clear roadmap of key policy battles to come.
Responding to Recent Disasters
A primary impetus for convening the special session appears to be the aftermath of recent deadly floods that have impacted various parts of the state. Governor Abbott has prioritized measures directly related to mitigating the impact of such disasters and improving the state’s preparedness and response capabilities.
Key items slated for legislative action in this area include efforts aimed at improving flood warning systems across Texas. This initiative seeks to enhance the state’s infrastructure and technological capabilities to provide timely and accurate alerts to residents in flood-prone areas, potentially saving lives and reducing property damage in future events.
Furthermore, the agenda explicitly calls for the allocation of crucial flood relief funding. This funding is intended to support recovery efforts in communities affected by the recent deadly floods, assisting individuals, businesses, and local governments in rebuilding and recovering. The specific mechanisms for distributing these funds and the total amounts involved will likely be subjects of significant debate among lawmakers.
Education and Testing Reform
Moving beyond disaster response, the governor’s agenda delves into significant policy shifts in education. One of the most notable items is a proposal centered on eliminating the STAAR test.
The STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test has been a cornerstone of Texas’s public school accountability system for years, but it has also been a subject of considerable criticism regarding its effectiveness, impact on teaching methods, and student stress. The proposal to eliminate it suggests a potential fundamental shift in how Texas measures student performance and school accountability, which could trigger extensive debate among educators, parents, and policymakers.
Fiscal Priorities: Property Taxes
Fiscal policy remains a perennial concern in Texas, and the special session agenda includes a direct focus on taxpayers. Governor Abbott has included the objective of cutting property taxes as a key item.
Texas relies heavily on local property taxes to fund schools and local government services, often leading to high tax burdens for homeowners and businesses. Efforts to reduce property taxes have been a consistent legislative priority in recent years. This inclusion on the special session agenda indicates a renewed push to provide tax relief, though the specific mechanisms for achieving cuts – such as compression of school property tax rates or changes to appraisal methods – are yet to be detailed but will be central to the legislative discussions.
Regulatory Matters: THC and Hemp
The agenda also touches upon regulatory frameworks for emergent industries. Specifically, it includes the task of regulating THC and hemp.
The legal status and regulation of products containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and hemp derivatives have evolved rapidly in recent years, creating complex legal and market landscapes. This agenda item suggests a legislative effort to clarify, establish, or modify regulations surrounding these substances, which could impact various industries, including agriculture, retail, and healthcare, as well as addressing public safety and health considerations.
Addressing Redistricting
Finally, the special session agenda includes the politically charged task of addressing redistricting. This item is particularly significant as redistricting – the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries – shapes political representation for the coming decade.
Redistricting efforts can be highly contentious, involving intricate negotiations and often leading to legal challenges regarding fairness and compliance with voting rights laws. Including this on the special session call indicates that new district maps may need to be drawn or revised, potentially for specific state or federal offices, a process that will likely involve intense political maneuvering and scrutiny.
Path Forward
The announcement of these diverse and impactful agenda items sets the stage for a potentially busy and consequential special session starting July 21, 2025. Lawmakers will face the challenge of navigating complex policy debates on disaster response, education, taxation, regulation, and political boundaries within the compressed timeframe of a special session, testing their ability to find consensus and enact significant legislation on matters critical to the future of Texas.
