Flood relief, THC regulation and more in limbo after House Democrats leave Texas

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After dozens of Democratic Texas House members fled the state on Sunday to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass new congressional maps aimed at securing more GOP seats, many other bills are now at risk of dying.

State GOP leaders, under pressure by President Donald Trump to push through congressional redistricting, revealed the first draft of their proposed maps last week, and four days later, most Democratic members of the state’s lower chamber boarded planes to Chicago and other cities.

As long as the Democrats are out of the state, redistricting and the rest of Gov. Greg Abbott’s 18-item agenda for the 30-day special session, ranging from regulations on hemp products to a controversial bathroom bill, are in limbo.

Many of the proposed bills this special session are conservative proposals that failed in the regular session that ended earlier this year. Here are some of the top issues they’re debating:

• Hill Country flood response and relief: Following the deadly floods over the July Fourth weekend, Abbott directed lawmakers to look at flood warning systems, emergency communications, natural disaster preparation and relief funding for impacted areas.
• Regulating THC: Abbott vetoed a bill during the regular session that would have banned hemp-derived THC products, then instructed lawmakers to regulate the industry. The Senate last week passed its second attempt to ban most hemp products, including some that are legal under federal regulations, setting up another potential standoff with the governor.
• Limiting property taxes: Lawmakers are considering a bill that would further restrict how much more cities and counties can collect in property taxes without asking voters. Critics of the bill argue that it would place local governments in a financial bind.
• Bathroom bill: The proposed legislation would require people to use bathrooms aligned with the sex they were assigned at birth in government and school buildings. The bill also proposes a $5,000 fine for a first-time violation and $25,000 for subsequent violations.

• Cracking down on abortion pills: The proposed legislation seeks to allow anyone who manufactures, distributes, prescribes or provides abortion pills to be sued for $100,000. It also expands the wrongful death statute and authorizes the attorney general to file lawsuits on the behalf of “unborn children of residents of this state.”
• Eliminating STAAR: Lawmakers are pushing to scrap the state’s standardized test following concerns about the pressures students face taking the hours-long exam given at the end of the school year. Scores are used to determine whether a student can advance to the next grade level, and is also used to grade their school’s performance.

This isn’t the first time Texas Democrats have used breaking quorum as a strategy to slow down Republican priorities they found objectionable. In 2021, House Democrats left for Washington, D.C. in an effort to block Republicans from passing new voting restrictions. Abbott later called a second special session in which new, stricter state election laws passed.

Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to questions about whether he plans to call additional special sessions later this year if Democrats run out the clock on the current session, scheduled to end on Aug. 19. The governor is authorized to call as many special sessions as he wants.

In 2023, the Republican-led Legislature passed rules penalizing lawmakers who flee the state during regular and special sessions with a $500-per-day fine and the threat of arrest.

Abbott on Sunday sent a letter to each of the departed members saying the “derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025.” He threatened to have them removed from office if they didn't.

Although the House is on pause, the Senate has a quorum and can continue drafting and passing bills, but they need the House’s approval before any bills make it to Abbott’s desk.

Among the other legislation that’s on hold during the quorum break are a push to bar local governments from spending public money on lobbyists; a proposal to empower the attorney general to prosecute state election crimes; and bills that would seal records accusing police officers of wrongdoings that are not substantiated.

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