Texas bill deadlines, deals, and re-writes dominate headlines: TWITP

AUSTIN, Texas - This Week in Texas Politics started with a race to beat the clock at the Texas Capitol. 

Deadlines, deals, and re-writes made headlines.

FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of analysts discussed the big stories from This Week in Texas Politics.

Local perspective:

RUDY KOSKI: A barn burner is a good way to describe how This Week in Texas Politics wrapped up. Let’s get our headlines from our panel, and we'll start with Brian Smith with St. Edward's University. Brian, what's your headline for the week? 

BRIAN SMITH: With Sine Die approaching, the legislature kicks into high gear. 

RUDY KOSKI: Political analyst Karina Kling, what's your headline for the week? 

KARINA KLING: Hundreds of Texas House Bills sent to the shredder after a critical deadline. 

RUDY KOSKI: And Brad Johnson with The Texan, what's your headline for the week? 

BRAD JOHNSON: Thousands of bills turn into pumpkins at the stroke of midnight. 

Education funding plan

RUDY KOSKI: The 225-page Senate re-write of the Education Funding Plan, HB2, finally got a hearing this week.  The House and Senate versions of HB 2, remain at $8 billion, but differ in how the money is being spent, Brad. Initially, there was outrage about this. 

BRAD JOHNSON: There's a lot of rural R's who are angry about this, and they're very upset because They went out all in support of Greg Abbott's ESA program  as part of a deal. And part of that deal was the House's version of school finance. And now, we're seeing that kind of shifting possibly. 

KARINA KLING: I assume and believe that a lot of House members are not going to be very happy with this, so. They're going to have to hash this out in these final few weeks.

BRIAN SMITH: And it might not be the best Bill, it might be a perfect Bill, but it'll be something that'll go into law. If they don't, then only the Republicans are to blame. 

Removing the STAAR test

RUDY KOSKI: There was another education rewrite that happened this week. A Bill moved forward to end STARR testing and replace it with another exam. 

KARINA KLING: There's still a lot of work to do out there, between the two chambers, but. I mean, some kind of overhaul is inevitable, and this is something that both chambers are pushing for. 

Other Texas bill updates

RUDY KOSKI: Other notable shutdown bills this week included a ban on gun buyback programs.  And a late arrival SB-3070. That cleared the Senate and, if approved by the House, could close down the Lottery Commission. Brian, the Senate Bill, moves the game to a new agency. 

BRIAN SMITH: If you have an agency that's in trouble, sometimes one of the smartest things to do, is bury it within an existing agency. And if you put it in with licensing, the licensing agency, you're in there with like midwives and barbers and speech therapists and a hodgepodge of other industries. It'll take away independence and visibility. But any negative publicity won't escape from that level. And then be a drag on the government.

RUDY KOSKI: Alright, let's take a moment. Pause and remember all those bills that died at midnight, Thursday night.  And there were a lot. Kumbaya and farewell.  Brad, some of these bills could come back to life like zombies. 

BRAD JOHNSON: Most of the bills on this calendar were not top-level, high-profile bills. They were a lot of pet projects by members, because everybody knew they were either on the chopping block or dead as a doornail. And so, the focus has always been on passing these Senate bills, and now we're in that time. 

RUDY KOSKI: A notable Bill in Conference Committee limbo is SB 17. It prevents land purchases by people linked to hostile foreign nations. Bail reform, another round of property tax cuts and bills on gender identity. All were kept alive this week. Karina, give me a bill that you're watching that is on that thin ice situation. 

KARINA KLING: I'm watching closely, the THC measure and what they're going to do with that. The Senate wants a full on ban. The House wants to reform some of that a bit more. 

BRAD JOHNSON: I'll go with the tort reform proposal. This thing has been a massive, massive expensive fight.

BRIAN SMITH: Right, this is the time when those top issues come to the forefront. We've gotten rid of a lot of the bills that had no chance, so now it's time to see how strong the governor is in passing his emergency items? How powerful is the Lieutenant Governor and how unified is that Republican caucus in the House. 

Primary battle between Paxton and Cornyn

RUDY KOSKI: The primary battle between Senator John Cornyn and Ken Paxton is intensifying this week with the bigger social media mud fight going on. Some gasoline added to that mud this week with the report that internal polling has Paxton leading in the primary.  But He could lose the general election. Brad, Politico's headline. Called this the "GOP train wreck" of the 2026 election cycle. 

BRAD JOHNSON: This thing's going to be an absolute mess, and it's going to be fun to watch from the outside. 

BRIAN SMITH: Again, I think people like Politico. When they're bored, they turn out that old, let's turn Texas blue type article. Because it's still too early to make anything out of the race, I think. 

KARINA KLING: But Cornyn is a pro at fundraising. And once he starts inundating the airwaves, the game may change a little bit. We will see how this brutal fight over the airwaves plays out and who can win in that battle. 

This Week in Texas Politics wrap-up

RUDY KOSKI: You can see our full discussion on the FOX 7 YouTube page, but let's wrap things up with one final word. Brian, we'll start with you. What's your word for the week?

BRIAN SMITH: Terminus. 

KARINA KLING: Deadlines. 

BRAD JOHNSON: Funding. 

RUDY KOSKI: And that is This Week in Texas Politics

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