Texas Special Session: Historic flooding, THC, redistricting on priority list

AUSTIN - The special session of the Texas Legislature began Monday afternoon.

Governor Greg Abbott shared that there are 18 agenda items he wants lawmakers to discuss over the next 30 days. 

Lawmakers will report to Austin for the start of a special session, and topping the list are regulations to upgrade flood warning systems, provide relief funding for flood damage, and streamline natural disaster preparation and recovery.

Top Priorities

Historic Flooding

Governor Abbott said his top priority is the historic flooding in Central Texas, and figuring out solutions to ensure there are proper warnings in place for natural disasters.

This comes after more than 100 people died in Kerr County in the July 4 floods.

This is expected to be the easiest part of the session.

What they're saying:

"To make sure we leave this disaster in a way that puts Texas in a better position going forward than we were before this devastating storm hit our state," Governor Greg Abbott said.

"Anything else that the governor or the legislature tries to focus on, I think, would really be an egregious slap in the face of those Texans in that flooding area," Reproductive rights activist Amanda Zurawski said.

Redistricting

The legislature will also tackle redistricting.

What they're saying:

David Froomkin is an expert in election law from the University of Houston. He says a change in districts could threaten incumbent lawmakers.

"In the administration's view, the existing Texas map constitutes an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Meaning that the legislators who drew the existing map, in the view of the administration, improperly relied on race as a criterion in drawing that map," Froomkin said.

"This special session should be focused on rebuilding, not on redistricting," U.S. Representative Greg Casar said.

Changing the state’s congressional districts might work in favor of republicans by giving the party an additional five seats.

"Inserting gerrymandering into a session meant for emergency aid actively threatens our democratic norms. It weaponizes a crisis to reshape electoral districts in an attempt to dilute the voices of the people," Black Austin Democrats Vice President Pam King said.

Regulating THC

Regulating THC is another hot-ticket item that could spark debate. Governor Abbott vetoed the bill backed by his Lieutenant Governor.

It was passed during the regular session and would have essentially banned the sale of all THC products. The Governor did not believe the ban would hold up if challenged in court.

Lawmakers have 30 days to accomplish all their business in a special session. But if they don't get everything done, the Governor is able to call them back again. 

What they're saying:

"The best way to protect adults and children is to ban the product. You cannot regulate 8-9,000 locations. We do not have enough law enforcement to do so," Lt. Dan Patrick said.

Other hot topics

Other topics on the agenda include banning cities and counties from hiring lobbyists to advocate for them in the capitol, cracking down on the manufacturing and distribution of abortion pills, eliminating STAAR testing in schools, and requiring people to use bathrooms that align with the sex they were assigned at birth.

"The fear of our caucus and our members and our communities, is that the legislation and the money that is actually needed to help Texans and to prevent future disasters and to save lives will be buried, will be buried by all the political mess that they are pouring down," U.S. Representative Gene Wu said.

Full agenda for the special session

Here is the full agenda for the special session, as listed by a release from Gov. Abbott's Office:

• FLOOD WARNING SYSTEMS: Legislation to improve early warning systems and other preparedness infrastructure in flood-prone areas throughout Texas.
• FLOOD EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS: Legislation to strengthen emergency communications and other response infrastructure in flood-prone areas throughout Texas.
• RELIEF FUNDING FOR HILL COUNTRY FLOODS: Legislation to provide relief funding for response to and recovery from the storms which began in early July 2025, including local match funding for jurisdictions eligible for FEMA public assistance.
• NATURAL DISASTER PREPARATION & RECOVERY: Legislation to evaluate and streamline rules and regulations to speed preparedness for and recovery from natural disasters.
• ELIMINATE STAAR TEST: Legislation to eliminate the STAAR test and replace it with effective tools to assess student progress and ensure school district accountability.
• CUT PROPERTY TAXES: Legislation reducing the property tax burden on Texans and legislation imposing spending limits on entities authorized to impose property taxes.
• PROTECT CHILDREN FROM THC: Legislation making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to children under 21 years of age.
• REGULATE HEMP-DERIVED PRODUCTS : Legislation to comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning a lawful agricultural commodity.
• PROTECT UNBORN CHILDREN: Legislation further protects unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion.
• BAN TAXPAYER-FUNDED LOBBYING: Legislation prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying, including the use of tax dollars to hire lobbyists and payment of tax dollars to associations that lobby the Legislature.
• PROTECT HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 1278 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that protects victims of human trafficking from criminal liability for non-violent acts closely tied to their own victimization.
• POLICE PERSONNEL RECORDS: Legislation that protects law enforcement officers from public disclosure of unsubstantiated complaints in personnel files.
• PROTECT WOMEN’S SPACES: Legislation protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.
• ATTORNEY GENERAL ELECTION POWERS: Legislation proposing a constitutional amendment allowing the Attorney General to prosecute state election crimes.
• REDISTRICTING: Legislation that provides a revised congressional redistricting plan in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• TITLE THEFT & DEED FRAUD: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 648 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that provides strengthened protections against title theft and deed fraud.
• WATER PROJECT INCENTIVES: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 1253 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that authorizes political subdivisions to reduce impact fees for builders who include water conservation and efficiency measures.
• STATE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT: Legislation, similar to Senate Bill No. 2878 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, relating to the operation and administration of the Judicial Department of state government.

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