The Blast- May 30, 2025

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The Blast | Texas Tribune
May 30, 2025

By Renzo Downey and The Texas Tribune Politics Team

2 days until the conference committee report adoption deadline
3 days until sine die

IN TODAY’S BLAST

  • One last showdown to the nuclear verdict duel

  • $7.5 million more for ESA implementation

  • The silent Senate stream

ONE LAST SHOWDOWN TO THE NUCLEAR VERDICT DUEL

Senate Bill 30, the “nuclear verdicts” bill that became a proxy battle between Texans for Lawsuit Reform and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, has gone to conference.

The bill, a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, has been watered down since it left the Senate under the stewardship of Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown. In a statement the day after the Senate rejected the House’s version, TLR called on lawmakers to undo a House floor amendment that they say undercuts the bill’s effectiveness.

“If the amendment is not removed, lawyers collaborating with doctors and chiropractors will continue to engage in a fraud on the legal system, manufacturing medical bills to support meritless lawsuits,” TLR said in a statement. “This abuse must stop.”

The amendment would apply rules on the admissibility of evidence, which proponents said would let judges determine what is relevant evidence to a trial.

Democratic Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso carried the floor amendment on Monday, although he was backed by a bipartisan team of 13 co-signers. It was an amendment to an overarching amendment by Republican freshman Rep. Mitch Little of Lewisville, who was one of the co-signers.

The vote on the amendment was initially split 65-65 but passed 72-70 after a vote verification. However, two aye-voters wrote in the House journal that they’d intended to vote no — even after the verification. One of those was Rep. Janis Holt, a Republican from Silsbee who had signed onto Moody’s amendment.

In its statement, TLR pointed out the flips.

“The amendment should have failed if their votes had been cast as they intended,” it said.

Here are the conferees, along with how much their campaigns have received from TLR, TTLA and their organizations since the 2019 session.

Senate conferees:

  • Schwertner (chair) — $62,500 from TLR, $7,5000 from TTLA

  • Brent Hagenbuch, R-Denton — $575,000 from TLR, $10,000 from TTLA

  • Joan Huffman, R-Houston — $80,000 from TLR

  • Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola — $90,000 from TLR

  • Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston — $107,500 from TLR

House conferees:

  • Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood (chair) — $94,350 from TLR

  • Harold Dutton, D-Houston — $11,000 from TLR, $3,500 from TTLA

  • Ann Johnson, D-Houston — $50,500 from TTLA

  • Jeff Leach, R-Plano — $1.7 million from TLR, $37,500 from TTLA

  • Little — $25,000 from TLR, $10,000 from TTLA

As for the vote on the Moody amendment, Dutton, Johnson and Little voted aye while Bonnen and Leach voted nay.

But already, it sounds like they’ve reached an agreement. Schwertner posted a photo of senators’ signatures on social media within minutes of TLR putting out their statement today.

“The Senate conferees on SB 30 have signed the Conference Committee Report,” he wrote. “I look forward to the House conferees signing it so we can get significant tort reform done in Texas!”

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$7.5 MILLION MORE FOR ESA IMPLEMENTATION

The House voted to concur with the Senate amendments to the supplemental budget for the remainder of this fiscal year, but not without questions about its implications for school vouchers.

Under the upcoming budget, Senate Bill 1, and the voucher bill, Senate Bill 2, the Comptroller of Public Accounts will get $1 billion the next two years to implement the education savings account program. However, the supplemental budget for the current fiscal year, House Bill 500, contains nearly $7.5 million for the program, including 28 FTEs.

When House Appropriations Committee Chair Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, laid out the amendments to HB 500, Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, pressed Bonnen about the $7.5 million. Bonnen assured Hinojosa that these are administrative costs for the program.

“We were led to believe — definitely as the Public Education Committee, but I believe as House members — that the administrative costs would come out of the billion dollars that were authorized for the next biennium,” Hinojosa said, calling it a loophole. “I think it didn’t occur to us to foreclose this biennium’s money for this spending on the voucher program.”

After a gavel break — on a gavel with the new glue — the House voted 112-24 to adopt the amendments, with hardline conservatives and a handful of progressives voting nay, including lieutenant governor candidate Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin. Hinojosa voted aye.

THE SILENT SENATE STREAM

Besides the apparent time mismanagement in the Senate this week, there appeared to be a glitch on the Senate livestream yesterday that shut members of the public out of some Senate floor action.

Just before 2:30 p.m. yesterday, the Senate feed showed that the chamber was still “at ease.” Yet, freshman Sen. Adam Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, Senate Parliamentarian Karina Davis and Secretary of the Senate Patsy Spaw appeared to be at work advancing bills.

While the Senate feed was silent with the “at ease” chyron, the digital screen above the “In God we trust” on the Senate dais seemed to show the chamber take up and refuse to concur with the House amendments to Sen. Angela Paxton’s Senate Bill 13 and Sen. Charles Schwertner’s Senate Bill 30.

You can see it go down around the 39:30 mark of the day’s live feed. The audio cuts back in as Hinojosa is announcing conferees to Sen. Paul Bettencourt’s Senate Bill 15.

So, for those like our intrepid Tribune reporters who were surprised when TLO showed SB 13 and SB 30 headed to conference when the Senate had not reacted to them yet, that’s what happened.

Anybody know what the Texas Open Meetings Act has to say about situations like this?

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Some highlights from today:

  • The House refused to concur with the Senate’s changes to the Texas Compassionate Use Program under HB 46. Rep. Tom Oliverson, the Cypress Republican who negotiated the Senate’s language with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is not on the conference committee.

  • Both chambers have now adopted the conference committee report to SB 17, the foreign-owned land bill. Read the story here.

  • The House refused to concur with the Senate’s changes to HB 40, expanding the Business Court.

  • The House voted 118-6 to concur with the Senate’s amendments to HB 14, the nuclear energy bill.

  • The House voted unanimously to concur on HB 20, the Applied Sciences Pathway program bill that got resurrected after Wednesday’s bill deadline. 

The House will convene at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
The Senate has not yet adjourned for the day.

View the House and Senate floor calendars here and here.

The 2025 legislative session has been consequential for Texas schools and libraries. Lawmakers approved a school voucher program, proposed major funding increases for schools and debated sweeping changes to teacher hiring, student discipline and classroom content.

On June 11, after the session concludes, we’ll host a live recording of TribCast, our weekly podcast, at Austin Central Library to explore what it all means for students, teachers and families across the state. Co-hosts Editor-in-Chief Matthew Watkins and women’s health reporter Eleanor Klibanoff will be joined by public education reporter Jaden Edison and other special guests for the podcast recording and audience Q&A.

Doors open at the downtown Austin Central Library Special Event Center at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 11. The podcast recording begins at 7 p.m.

SD-3: Rhonda Ward has announced a Republican campaign for the seat currently held by Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville. [h/t The Texans’ Brad Johnson]

  • In a joint statement with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows, Gov. Greg Abbott said he will sign the property tax bills.

  • Abbott is getting his Texas Cyber Command with the passage of HB 150. “President Donald Trump empowered states to more effectively prepare for cyberattacks and defend our infrastructure, and Texas is ready to harness our assets to protect our power, water, and communications,” Abbott said in a statement. The Cyber Command would get $135.5 million and 38 FTEs under the upcoming budget proposal.

  • In addition to resigning from the Office of the Attorney General, Judd Stone has resigned his role from the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee. U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz appointed Stone to that panel, which advises senators on nominations to the federal bench.

Do you or someone in your office have a new job you’d like mentioned? Email us.

  • University of Texas System regents have named Prabhas Moghe, Rutgers University’s chief academic officer, as UT Dallas’ next president. He’ll likely begin this summer or early fall. Read the story here.

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“Texas Supreme Court gives initial win to Paxton in migrant shelter case” by Alejandro Serrano and Eleanor Klibanoff of The Texas Tribune

“Cornyn calls primary fight against Ken Paxton a ‘test of character’” by J. David Goodman of The New York Times

This kid is probably why Rep. Brooks Landgraf broke his gavel today:

@TXTylerNorris: Put him on permanent gavel duty.

Do you or someone in your office have a birthday you’d like mentioned? Email us.

(May 30) State Rep. Carrie Isaac, R-Dripping Springs
(May 30) State Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston

SPONSOR MESSAGES 

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Disclosure: Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, The New York Times and the University of Texas System have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.