The Texas Legislature will gavel in at noon January 14, 2025, kicking off the first day of the 140-day 89th Texas legislative session. All eyes will be watching the race for the position of Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives after current Speaker Dade Phelan announced in December that he was withdrawing from the race. The three House members who have tossed their hats in the ring to date include, Rep. Dustin Burrows (R- Lubbock), Rep. David Cook (R- Mansfield), and Ana Maria Rodriguez Ramos (D-Dallas).
Major issues slated to be debated this session include education savings accounts (vouchers), school funding and teacher pay, property tax relief, affordable housing, accessible childcare, water infrastructure needs, and the state’s power grid among other issues.
Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced January 13 during his Biennial Revenue Estimate that the state will have $194.6 billion in available General Revenue for the 2026-27 budget cycle. This includes $23.8 billion left over from the current budget cycle, which includes $4.5 billion left unspent when the Legislature failed in 2023 to agree on an education savings account bill. In addition, the state’s Rainy Day Fund is expected to be at $28.5 billion by the end of the 2027 fiscal year.
Bill filings for this session began back in November, and to date, TASA is tracking approximately 600 bills. Legislators can file bills until March 14. Bills related to school funding, education savings accounts, civics courses, property tax relief, taxpayer-funded lobbying, and library books, are among some of the bills filed thus far.
Watch today’s opening ceremonies of the Texas House and Senate.