Texas state representatives in this two-part series have filed bills in the 89th legislative session, including workers’ compensation, public education, criminal justice and maternal mortality.
The Defender has compiled an overview of some key proposals formulated by legislators who represent Houston in some way (at the time of publication).
Bills filed by Houston-area representatives
Rep. Ron Reynolds, District 27, has filed 63 bills, including:
1. HB 812: This bill proposes raising the minimum wage in Texas to $15 per hour, ensuring that employers pay workers the greater of $15 per hour or the federal minimum wage. If passed, it would significantly increase wages for many low-income workers across the state. If the bill is enacted, the law will take effect on September 1, 2025.
2. HB 894: This bill aims to protect the voting rights of transgender individuals in Texas by ensuring that election workers are properly trained to accept identification that may not match a voter’s gender expression or identity. It mandates that all election worker training include information on transgender voters and their historical disenfranchisement. Additionally, it explicitly states that a gender marker mismatch on an ID cannot be used as grounds to reject a voter.
3. HB 2533: This bill seeks to limit the authority of the Texas Education Commissioner by requiring the immediate return of control to a school district’s elected board of trustees once all campuses that led to state intervention receive an acceptable performance rating. Under current law, a state-appointed board of managers must oversee a district for two consecutive years of acceptable ratings before local control is restored. This bill would remove that waiting period, ensuring that once schools improve, the district regains self-governance without delay.
4. HR 171: The bill recognizes February 2025 as Black History Month in Texas and encourages all Texans to celebrate, learn about and reflect on the contributions of African Americans throughout history.
Rep. Jolanda “Jo” Jones, District 147, has filed 29 bills, including:
1. HB 824: This bill requires high school government courses to include civics instruction, covering government roles, election laws, running for office, Robert’s Rules of Order and elected representatives.
2. HB 275: This resolution honors Judge Zinetta Arceneaux Burney’s life and legacy, recognizing her trailblazing legal career, community service, and lasting impact on Houston.
3. HB 1455: This bill requires Texas law enforcement agencies to collect and report data on individuals with suspected mental illness or intellectual disabilities who are arrested or detained, with an emphasis on tracking mental health jail diversion efforts and use of force.
Rep. Charles Cunningham, District 127, has filed 26 bills, including:
1. HB 1176: This bill makes it harder for the State Board of Education to block new open-enrollment charter schools by requiring a two-thirds majority vote (instead of a simple majority) to reject a charter proposed by the commissioner.
2. HB 1178: This bill creates a temporary educator certificate for teachers certified in other states, allowing them to work in Texas while their credentials are reviewed, with expiration after one year (or three years for military spouses).
3. HB 1532: This bill creates the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District to oversee sediment removal and upkeep of Lake Houston. The district will be funded through state appropriations (up to $25 million per year until 2027). The maintenance district may also not impose a tax or charge a fee.
Rep. Charlene Ward Johnson, District 146, has filed 15 bills, including:
1. HB 3339: This bill directs the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee to conduct a study on maternal mortality and morbidity among Black women, assess health disparities and develop recommendations to address them, with a final report due by Sept. 1, 2026.
2. HB 3342: This bill requires the Texas Education Commissioner to adjust a school district’s average daily attendance if an unforeseen event, like a power outage lasting over an hour, creates unsafe conditions on campus.
3. HB 3549: This bill requires Texas school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to report data on disciplinary actions and law enforcement interventions involving students, including demographic information, to the Texas Education Agency, while maintaining confidentiality and complying with federal privacy laws.
Rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons, District 146, has filed 53 bills, including:
1. HB 1878: The bill prohibits open-enrollment charter schools in Texas from using state funds to support out-of-state schools, and mandates a penalty of three times the misused amount if violated, along with potential revocation of the charter for spending over $100,000 in violation.
2. HB 1879: The bill provides a franchise tax credit for businesses that establish grocery stores or healthy corner stores in food deserts, with specific qualifications and conditions, including accepting WIC and SNAP benefits and being open year-round, effective from Jan. 1, 2026.
3. HB 1989: This proposed bill, to be known as Tomara’s Bill, addresses maternal mortality and morbidity in Texas by making several changes to the Health and Safety Code. Key points of the bill include defining “pregnancy-associated death” and “pregnancy-related death” to ensure broader reporting, including deaths up to one-year post-pregnancy, the confidentiality of data related to pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-related deaths, allowing health professionals and family members to voluntarily report deaths under specified conditions and provides exemptions for healthcare providers from certain reporting obligations. It also establishes a mortality and morbidity data registry that would collect and report data related to maternal health and outcomes, including demographic data from the provider’s patient admissions records, including age, race and patient health benefit coverage status.
Rep. Gene Wu, District 137, has filed 7 bills, including:
1. HR 184: This bill commemorates Bone Marrow, Blood, and Organ Donation Registry Day on Feb. 26, 2025, encouraging Texans to donate blood and register as organ and bone marrow donors to help save lives.
Rep. Christina Morales, District 145, has filed 34 bills, including:
1. HB 231: This bill requires the Department of State Health Services to study food deserts in Texas, examining their causes, health and financial impacts, and disproportionate effects on communities of color, with a final report and recommendations due by September 1, 2026.
2. HB 178: This bill adds ethnic studies as a required social studies course in Texas public high schools and allows students to choose between ethnic studies, world geography, or world history to fulfill graduation requirements.
Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, District 148, has filed 23 bills, including:
1. HB 1144: This bill enhances Texas’ disaster preparedness by requiring local and state emergency plans to better address the needs of vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities, low-income households and the homeless. It also improves emergency notification systems, strengthens regional crisis response planning and mandates inclusive disaster recovery strategies.
2. HB 1578: This bill creates exceptions to Texas’ abortion ban by allowing abortions in cases where a doctor determines there is a risk of serious harm to the pregnant patient’s health or well-being or when the pregnancy resulted from sexual assault. It also requires the Texas Medical Board to publish a list of medical conditions that qualify under the health exception.
3. HR 232: This resolution honors Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s life and legacy, recognizing her decades of public service, advocacy for social justice, and dedication to her constituents. It highlights her legislative achievements, including the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, leadership in criminal justice reform and commitment to civil rights and disaster relief efforts.
Rep. Mano DeAyala, representing District 133, has filed 21 bills, including:
1. HB 650: This bill gives school districts a 4% discount on their required attendance credit payments under the public school finance system if they prepay the full amount by Feb. 15 of the school year.
2. HB 910: This bill allows felony election offenses to be prosecuted in an adjoining judicial district and misdemeanor election offenses in an adjoining county, while also establishing exclusive jurisdiction periods for counties to handle election-related offenses.
3. HB 2259: This bill requires the Texas Secretary of State to standardize the instructions for early voting ballot applications, specifying font type, size, formatting and multilingual accessibility to ensure clarity and readability.
Rep. Suleman Lalani, District 76, has filed 81 bills, including:
1. HB 514: This bill establishes a maternal health care workforce campaign to increase the number of maternal health professionals in Texas, focusing on women in rural areas and underserved racial or ethnic minority groups through training, outreach and investment in maternal health resources.2. HB 846: This bill requires school districts to provide up to 12 weeks of parental leave for classroom teachers who have worked at a school district for fewer than 12 months or 1,250 hours but have worked at least 12 months and 1,250 hours across any Texas district. Paid leave is limited to accrued vacation and sick days.
