Down to the wire: Texas lawmakers tackled communism, school prayer, squatters Thursday

Yahoo

23-05-2025

Texas lawmakers are racing to toward the June 2 finish line for the 2025 legislative session. Here are some of the highlights of Thursday's action.
The Texas House voted overwhelmingly to require public school students to learn about 'historical events and atrocities' that took place under communist regimes, putting Texas in line with Florida and other states that have adopted similar policies.
Senate Bill 24 by Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, mandates the state to develop curriculum for fourth- through 12th-grade social studies classes that include 'the oppression and suffering experienced by people living under communist regimes, including mass murder, violent land seizures, show trials, concentration camps, forced labor, poverty, and general economic deterioration.' It would also mandate teaching about the history of communist movements in the U.S.
Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu of Houston expressed concern that the bill could give a false impression about the prevalence of the ideology in U.S. history, saying that in the past, people who fought for worker's rights were often accused of being communists.
More: Bipartisan contingent of Texas senators advance bill to teach 'horrors of communism'
Austin Democratic Reps. Vikki Goodwin and Gina Hinojosa sought unsuccessfully to require students to learn about fascist regimes in addition to communist ones. A proposed amendment from Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, to add education on Nazism and its 'resurgence in the United States and Europe in the present day' also failed to stick.
Republican Rep. Stan Kitzman of Pattison, an army veteran who represents a large, rural area west of Houston, made a rare appearance at the back mic to defend the legislation.
'Communism is responsible for more misery and murder around the planet in the 20th century than any other form of government,' he said Thursday to applause from members.
Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas, gave an emotional address about her family's experience fleeing the communist regime of former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
'When my parents grew up, when the government killed a member of your family, they would send you the bill for the bullet,' Plesa told the lower chamber. 'By passing Senate Bill 24 … we are giving children like the one I once was a chance to see their family's truth reflected in the history we teach.'
The bill passed in a 119-13 vote with five members abstaining. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott.
A bill that would remove sodas from being eligible for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program initially passed the House on Thursday.
The lower chamber voted 88-47 to advance Senate Bill 379 by Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston. It would prohibit the use of SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, from purchasing carbonated, sweetened soft drinks, which proponents of the bill say are contributing to an obesity epidemic in Texas. The Senate passed the measure by a 24-6 vote in late March.
More: Greg Abbott moves to block Texans from using food stamps for soda and candy
Critics have said the legislation could lead to a reduced availability of food for SNAP recipients, causing some small vendors to choose to stop accepting benefits altogether rather than sort through regulatory guidelines.
Abbott last week formally requested a waiver from the Trump administration to prohibit the purchase of 'unhealthy, highly processed food' using SNAP benefits. Although it's not yet entirely clear, the waiver might be required for the state to legally implement Middleton's bill if it becomes law.
The bill is part of a recent conservative movement to "Make Texas Healthy Again," which Republican lawmakers hope will lead the way in a wider movement championed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The House must vote one more time, and the Senate will need to accept minor House tweaks to the bill, before it will head to the governor's desk for a signature.
The House gave its blessing Thursday to Senate Bill 31, which aims to clarify the medical exception to the state's near-total abortion ban and educate doctors on when they can legally terminate pregnancies.
The bill's House sponsor, Republican state Rep. Charlie Geren of Fort Worth, said the proposal aims to prevent maternal deaths that have occurred since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions in 2022.
"We know women have died after care was delayed or denied,' said Geren, who authored the House companion for SB 31. "We know women have left Texas for lifesaving care. We know women have been horribly injured because doctors have refused to provide abortions that could save their bodies. Doctors and hospitals need the clarity that SB 31 can provide."
More: Texas House passes bill clarifying medical exceptions in state abortion ban
Lawmakers in the lower chamber also voted to bar cities like Austin from funding out-of-state abortion travel with Senate Bill 33, authored by Campbell.
That bill's House sponsor, state Rep. Candy Noble, R-Lucas, said the legislation will ensure public money isn't "spent on an activity that is illegal in Texas."
'We don't want to be litigious, but when a city decides to clearly circumvent the intent of a law passed by the Texas Legislature, it's time for us to get stern,' she said.
Several attempts from Democratic lawmakers to kill a bill to expand prayer in public schools failed Thursday when the House initially passed the measure 88-57.
Senate Bill 11 by Galveston Republican Sen. Mayes Middleton would allow a school district or charter school's board to set aside time for "prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text" each day.
Students and school employees would be required to provide consent forms for participation in the prayer period, and the bill would prohibit prayer or reading of religious texts over a loudspeaker. Furthermore, districts would not be required to adopt the policy.
The bill, however, also strikes a provision in Texas law that prohibits educators from encouraging students to pray — a point some opponents of the measure took issue with.
The House passed legislation to give more protections to homeowners whose property is being occupied by anyone who is not invited to be there.
Provisions of SB 1333 include allowing an owner to submit a complaint to the local sheriff or constable of the county in which the property is located, and it requires that complaint to be made under oath. The sheriff or constable upon verifying the complaint, must "without delay to serve notice to immediately vacate on the person occupying the dwelling without the owner's consent and put the owner in possession of the dwelling."
The House made changes to the version passed by the Senate, so the measure will go back to the upper chamber for further consideration. The Senate can accept the changes or request a conference committee to iron out the differences.
At least one chamber, the House, has been advised that floor sessions will be held Saturday and Sunday, notwithstanding the Memorial Day weekend.
That's because scores of bills are backed up, and the Legislature is entering its final full week ahead of the session's must-end date of June 2. No firm word yet from the Senate on its weekend plans, or whether Monday, the actual federal holiday, will be a workday in the Capitol.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas lawmakers tackled communism, school prayer, squatters Thursday