88th Texas Legislature Results

How Did They Do?

The Texas Legislature wrapped up its regular session on Monday, May 29, 2023. Did they live up to voters’ expectations on the topics that are important to Republicans? 

The Montgomery County Republican Party (MCRP) Legislative Committee followed significant bills in the eight priority issues chosen by Republican delegates to the state convention. Those priorities are:

Bills Followed and Results

Passed  or Died  X

Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids

HB 900 - The Reader Bill, bans sexually explicit books in school libraries.

X  HB 1655 - Creates mandated library standards regarding sexually explicit books in schools.

X  HB 1507 - Prohibits celebrations and programs related to sexual preferences in our schools.

X  HB 3570/SB 2021 - Requires websites with pornographic content to implement age restrictions.

X  SB 417 - Requires cell devices default to a porn filter.

X  HB 5251 - Requires parents to have rights to all school records for their children and the option to be notified of materials obtained from libraries; establishes standards for library materials and creates library advisory committee with majority parents participation.

  SB 12 - Bans drag queen performances for children.

X  SB 1601 - Denies funding to libraries that host drag queen story hours. 

X  SB 13 - Requires that parents have access to all school records for their children, including those related to school libraries.

X  SB 163 - For courses on human sexuality, changes requirement from an opt-out to an opt-in, placing the burden on parents who are interested in the class for their children. 

X  SB 1031 - School districts may not permit third parties to conduct studies or surveys of children’s sexual behavior.

X  SB 1072 - Gives parents a say in curriculum involving human sexuality.

X  SB 1562 - Creates a criminal offense for ‘child grooming.’ 

  HB 1769 - Changes statute of limitations for certain offenses against children.

Other bills that were tracked by the Republican Party of Texas and passed may be found on our Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids Bills List.

Ban Gender Modification of Children

  SB 14 - Bans gender modification procedures for children.

X  HB 23 - Only biological females may compete in women’s sports.

  SB 15 - Requires that higher education athletes compete based on biological sex. 

X  HB 888 - Extends statute of limitations from 2-10 years for health care liability claims involving gender modification of children.

X  HB 1029 - Prohibits state funding of gender reassignment surgery.

X  HB 1102 - Legalizes changing name and sex on birth certificates.

X  SB 162 - Prohibits changes to gender on birth certificates.

X  HB 1686 - Protects children from the transgender industry.

X  HB 3883 - Codifies into law the reality of biological sex.

X  HB 4754 - Prohibits gender transition procedures for people under 26 years.

View our Ban Gender Modification of Children Bills List.

Border Security

X  HB 7 - Financing public services needed to address illegal immigration.

X  SCR 23- Urging the federal government to declare foreign drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

X  HB 20 - Creation of Border Protection Unit.

X  HB 65 - Increasing criminal penalties for unlawful entry.

X  HB 82 - Interstate Compact for Border Security.

X  HB 800 - Punishment for criminal conduct involving human smuggling, operating stash houses, or evading arrest or detention.

X  SCR 29 - Declaring an invasion by narco-terrorists, opening the door to accelerated wall construction and demanding that Congress deploy the military to the southern border. 

Other bills that were tracked by the Republican Party of Texas and passed may be found on our Secure the Border Bills List.

 

Election Integrity

X  HB 2020 - Allows the Secretary of State to intervene when counties won’t replace failed elections administrators.

X  SB 1039 - Creates a procedure that requires response to complaints of election irregularities.

X  SB 1911 - Increases penalties for failing to deliver election supplies, obstruction of the distribution of supplies, and revealing election results before polls close. 

  SB 1933 - Authorizes the Secretary of State to conduct random election audits in smaller counties with recurring problems.

X  SB 1907 - Increases the penalty for failing to deliver returns by the deadline and allows the Secretary of State to supervise completion of the returns.

X  SB 1950 - Prohibits election officials from suspending any mail-in ballot acceptance requirements. 

X  SB 260 - Clarifies process for registrars to confirm residence of voters who register at non-traditional addresses or haven’t voted in last two federal cycles. 

X  HB 2728 - The Secretary of State may not certify voting machines incapable of updating in real time every 10 minutes. 

X HB 4329 - Requires voters to declare their address as the place they habitually sleep.

X  HB 4548 - Registrars must provide the range of ballot serial numbers provided to voters, including spoiled ballots.

X  HB 4719 - Requires that the Secretary of State appoint a dedicated cybersecurity expert to protect election data and prohibits use of electronics capable of an internet connection.

X  HB 4733 - Prohibits ballot scanners from being connected to storage devices capable of modifying scanned ballots. 

  SB 1661 - Prohibits the state from buying or using scanners unless they can only be used as a storage device, cannot be overridden, or have the dates changed once entered.

X  HB 3611 - Bans ranked choice voting in Texas.

  HB 5180 - Requires general public to be able to view anonymously voted ballots, cast vote records, and ballot images within 61 days of an election.

X  SB 2/HB 4198 - Returns to a felony the crime of illegal voting.

X  SB 1938 - Extends the ability of the Secretary of State to withhold Chapter 19 funds if registrars fail to clean voter rolls.

  SB 1070/HB 2800 - Bars Texas from participating in ERiC, a controversial voter roll interstate cross check program.

X  SB 1927 - Creates a special prosecutor to deal with election crimes. 

Other bills that were tracked by the Republican Party of Texas and passed may be found on our Protect Our Elections Bills List.

 

Defend Our Gun Rights

  HB 2837 - Prohibits financial institutions from coding and reporting firearms and ammo purchases unless as part of a criminal investigation or prosecution.

Other bills that were tracked by the Republican Party of Texas and passed may be found on our Defend our Gun Rights Bills List.

 

Abolish Abortion

No bills passed.

View our Abolish Abortion Bills List.

  

Parental Rights and Educational Freedom

  SB 17 - Eliminates Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education institutions.

X  HB 1149 - Bans school surveys of children regarding thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and opinions.

X  HB 1804 - Moves control of some education issues from federal to state control.

X  SB 8 - School Choice Bill.

X  SJR 29 - Constitutional amendment to establish a parent’s right to direct their child’s education. 

X  SJR 70 - Constitutional amendment to protect our rights to raise our own children.

X  SB 1557 - Allows children who are abuse targets to transfer schools or receive funds for private or home schooling.

X  SB 2089 - Requires the State Board of Education to use instructional materials that avoid biases. 

Other bills that were tracked by the Republican Party of Texas and passed may be found on our Parental Rights and Educational Freedom Bills List.

 

Other Important Legislation that Died

X  SB 330 - Legislation to protect our vulnerable electric grid.

 

Bad Bills That Died

X  HB 3418 - Green New Deal policies.

X  HB 4636 - Centralizes the power of county precincts into the seat of the chairman.

X  HB 1635 - Changes how political parties can qualify their own candidates.

More Information