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TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION
STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
With the legislative session ending on June 2, lawmakers are scrambling to pass or kill bills, the Austin American- Statesman reported. Among the bills passed or likely to soon pass:
• All handgun licenses issued in other states will be honored in Texas if, as expected, Gov. Greg Abbott signs the measure. This would end the requirement that the governor must negotiate agreements with other states.
• The Texas Bitcoin Reserve with a market capitalization of at least $500 billion will be created and administered by the Texas comptroller. The two chambers must work out some minor differences in the two versions of the bill.
• A bill providing more protections for migrant workers being forced to live in substandard housing has been sent to the governor’s desk. The powers of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs will be strengthened to investigate and penalize “violations of provisions governing migrant labor housing facilities and by providing for increased accountability and enforcement of those provisions.”
• A bill to outlaw AI-generated child pornography has passed both chambers with a single House amendment awaiting approval by the Senate. It criminalizes possession of material appearing to depict a child, “regardless of whether the depiction is an image of an actual child, a cartoon or animation, or an image created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.”
House passes increase in homestead exemption Homeowners will see further cuts in their property taxes under a House bill passed last week that increases the state’s homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 and boosts additional exemptions for older Texans and those with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000.
The Dallas Morning News reported the bills have already passed in the Senate and await consideration of minor changes.
Voters in November will have to approve two constitutional amendments before the raised exemptions take effect.
The measures contain provisions guaranteeing that school districts would not lose funding because of higher exemptions, with the state making up the difference.
Ban on THC gummies and other consumables passes House Legal sales of consumable gummies and other edibles made from hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol — or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — may soon be coming to an end. The News reported the House passed a blanket ban, 95-44. Under the leadership of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is pushing for criminalizing THC products, the Senate passed the ban in March.
Hemp products that don’t include THC, such as the popular CBD, would be exempted from the ban.
There are more than 8,500 hemp license holders in the state, operating in vape stores, convenience stores and other venues. Sales of THCA and delta-8 consumables, which contain THC, have become an $8 billion business in the past five years, The News reported.
“We are not banning hemp,” said Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, who carried the ban language in the House. “We are banning high. If it gets you high, it is not legal anymore” under this legislation, he added.
Democrats argued against the ban, saying it won’t be effective.
“Bans don’t work,” said Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas. “We’ll return to a completely unregulated black market where these products will find their way to young people today. If anybody’s to blame about the state of affairs, it’s us, in underregulating this marketplace.”
The ban would not affect those who obtain medical marijuana legally. The state’s Compassionate Use Program is administered by health professionals.
Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email:gborders@texaspress. com
