Wins scored and losses sustained in Texas Legislature

Moral concerns and church-state issues figured prominently in the 89th Texas Legislative Session that wrapped up June 2.

Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission saw several key legislative priorities advance during the 140-day session, while also suffering a few key losses.

Lawmakers dissolved the Texas Lottery Commission and outlawed lottery couriers. They clarified an exception to Texas’ abortion ban and made incremental progress toward regulating temperatures in state prisons.

“Overall, it was a very successful and exciting session. We saw numerous pieces of good legislation pass which promote a culture of life, human dignity and just treatment,” said John Litzler, CLC public policy director.

At the same time, separation of church and state suffered serious setbacks in the session.

Lawmakers approved an education savings account program that will send public funds to private schools, including religious schools.

They also approved a bill mandating the display of the Ten Commandments—with state-sanctioned wording—in every public-school classroom.

The CLC tracked more than 300 of the 9,000-plus bills filed in the 2025 Texas Legislative Session. They grouped them according to four priorities: religious liberty, sanctity of life, human flourishing, and fair and just financial practices.

Key legislation included:

• Regulating the Texas Lottery

The CLC entered the session hoping to see a bill pass that would prohibit lottery couriers—third-party companies that enable customers to purchase lottery tickets through their websites or mobile phone apps.

Lawmakers exceeded expectations, passing that prohibition in a bill that also dissolved the Texas Lottery Commission, which is the subject of several investigations and lawsuits.

Texas legislators voted to move administration of the lottery to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, where CLC Consultant Rob Kohler said the lottery will be operating “under a bright light.”

The bill to abolish the Texas Lottery Commission and move administration of the lottery game passed in both the Senate and House, advancing to the governor’s desk where it awaits his signature.

Because of the attention focused on the Texas Lottery, efforts to expand legalized gambling in the state never gained traction during the legislative session.

“The fact that the online sports wagering and casino resort bills did not even receive committee hearings was also a great victory,” Litzler said.

• Life of the Mother Act

The CLC supported SB 31, the Life of the Mother Act, which clarifies exceptions to prohibited abortions.

The bill unanimously passed the Senate on April 27. The House approved it May 27, sending it to the governor for his signature.

“The bill clarifies the sole exemption to Texas’ abortion ban by better defining what it means for a pregnant woman to be at risk in a physician’s reasonable medical judgment,” Litzler said.

“It also provides important educational instruction on Texas’ abortion law for doctors’ and hospitals’ attorneys. This protects both pregnant women and their children.”

• Temperature control in Texas prisons

The CLC advocated on behalf of HB 3006, a bill requiring state prisons to have air conditioning and heatingsystems by the end of 2032. The House approved the measure, but it failed to receive a vote in the Senate.

However, HB 500—the supplemental appropriations bill—included $600 million to make improvements to regulate temperatures inside Texas prisons.

That included $226.3 million for “major repair and restoration projects” to install air conditioners, as well as $110 million for the purchase of the Dalby Correctional Facility from Garza County—which already has air conditioning—and $301 million for the construction of new dormitories that will be air-conditioned.

“We are disappointed that HB 3006, which would have required all state prisons to have A/C in them by the year 2032, did not pass. However, HB 500 has over $600 million appropriated to add air-conditioned units,” Litzler said.

“I would score this important issue as still-to-be-determined, but we remain optimistic that every TDCJ prison will have air conditioning in the living quarters by 2032, as HB 3006 sought to require.”

• Electronic Benefit Transfer program

Among the other “wonderful provisions” in HB 500, Litzler noted, is funding for Texas to administer the summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program.

The initiative helps reduce food insecurity by providing low-income families access to grocery benefits.

“Summer EBT is a federal program that provides grocery benefits to low-income families during the summer months when students are not in school and not receiving free or reduced cost lunch,” Litzler explained.

“While Texas will bear half the cost of administering the program, it will also be unlocking access to $450 million in federal funds.”

• Trey’s Law

The CLC supported and legislators approved Trey’s Law. It makes unenforceable any provision of a nondisclosure agreement that would prevent a person from disclosing an act of sexual abuse or revealing facts related to the sexual abuse of someone else.

Pending the governor’s signature, Trey’s Law goes into effect Sept. 1.

Trey’s Law was named for Trey Carlock, who died by suicide. He was traumatized by a restrictive nondisclosure agreement regarding abuse he endured at Kanakuk Kamps in Missouri, his sister Elizbeth Carlock Phillips said in advocating for the bill.

Litzler explained the legislation will ensure “survivors of sexual abuse and their families do not have to choose between restorative justice and the right to share their stories.”

CLC Director Katie Frugé called the measure “a noble and necessary step in returning agency and healing to survivors of sexual abuse.”

• Education savings accounts.

The CLC opposed SB 2, which created a voucher-like system that allows families to direct public funds to private—frequently religious—schools.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law May 3. The $1 billion program—the governor’s top legislative priority—will provide about $10,000 to each participating private school student and up to $2,000 to each participating homeschool student.

It dedicates 80 percent to students with disabilities and—broadly defined—low-income families. The general population, including families with students already in private schools, can apply for the remaining 20 percent.

Litzler expressed disappointment in passage of the bill, noting the CLC’s longstanding opposition to using public funds to advance religious instruction and its commitment to supporting public education.

On the positive side, lawmakers approved HB2, which allots $8.5 million for public schools, including pay raises for teachers.

• Ten Commandments in classrooms

The CLC also opposed SB 10, which requires each public-school classroom to display a poster at least 16 inches by 20 inches with legislatively prescribed wording of the Ten Commandments.

The approved wording—an abridged version of Exodus 20:2-17 from the King James Version of the Bible—replicates the words inscribed in a monument near the Texas Capitol. Jews, Catholics and Protestants number the commandments differently, and their wording varies.

The Texas House of Representatives voted May 25 to approve an amended version of the bill. It requires the Texas Attorney General to defend school districts in any litigation sparked by the Ten Commandments displays.

The Texas Senate agreed to the House version of the bill and voted May 29 to send it to the governor’s desk for signing.

A coalition of civil liberties groups immediately responded by pledging to sue if Abbott signs the bill into law.