John C. Moritz

3 weeks ago | statesman.com | John C. Moritz |Bayliss Wagner

Sunday was the second to the last day of the 2025 legislative session, and more importantly, the final day to push legislation over the finish line and onto the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott. Much of the action in both chambers focused on measures not identified as priorities of either Abbott or legislative leaders. But a few pieces of significant legislation were debated and a couple of priorities of top state leaders fell by the wayside.

3 weeks ago | statesman.com | John C. Moritz

Day 138 of the 140-day session of the Legislature resembled a volleyball game where the ball was the scores of bills trying to make through the process and the net was the Capitol rotunda that separates the House from the Senate. Here are some of the highlights from Saturday's action. Both chambers agree on a $338 billion budget for 2026-27Both Houses signed off on the $338 billion spending plan to fund state government for the two-year cycle that begins Sept. 1.

4 weeks ago | statesman.com | John C. Moritz

A sweeping proposal to provide up to $350 million to private companies to help them build advanced nuclear power generation plants in Texas is one step away from reaching Gov. Greg Abbott's desk after the House author said Thursday that he expects the chamber to accept tweaks made by the Senate. "Yessir," state Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, told the American-Statesman in a text message response to a question about whether he'll recommend sending the Senate's version of the bill to the governor.

4 weeks ago | statesman.com | John C. Moritz

With the end of the 2025 Texas legislative session approaching Monday's finish line, the House and Senate are engaging in legislative ping pong across the rotunda with bills approved by both chambers. In this version of ping pong, each chamber decides whether to accept the changes made by the other or escalate the debate by settling differences via a conference committee. Here are some of the highlights from Thursday's floor sessions.

1 month ago | statesman.com | John C. Moritz |Bayliss Wagner

With the 2025 legislative session heading into its final week, lawmakers spent much of the Memorial Day weekend in the Capitol in the homestretch push to either pass the hundreds of bills waiting in the queue or risk seeing them die when the final gavel falls on June 2. Here's a roundup of some the weekend's top action.