Texas lawmakers start a 30-day special session addressing flooding response, THC regulation, and redistricting.
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers returned to the Capitol Monday after Governor Greg Abbott called a special legislative session to tackle a packed 18-item agenda, including a response to deadly flooding in the Hill Country, THC regulation, and redistricting.
The special session will run for 30 days, giving legislators a limited window to address key issues still lingering after the regular session ended.
Among the top priorities is the state’s response to recent devastating floods. Representative Christian Manuel, who represents District 22, emphasized the importance of early warning systems in rural areas to prevent further tragedies.
“I think having sirens in rural Texas, an advanced weather program… would have basically given at the very least 2 hours of notice,” Manuel said.
Manuel noted that several bills aimed at improving communication systems and severe weather forecasting failed to pass last session.
“This was something that I was very big on because I just believe that areas like ours, city areas, we deserve to have real data on what’s happening,” he said. “We deserve to have protections.”
Lawmakers will also revisit legislation surrounding THC products. Senate Bill 5 would ban the sale of THC to anyone under 21.
“There’s so many aspects to be able to deal with regulating something like this,” said Rep. Pat Curry of District 56. “I think it could take certainly more than one or two sessions to do that.”
Another controversial topic on the agenda is redistricting. Governor Abbott included it after the U.S. Department of Justice challenged the constitutionality of four districts.
“I believe the state of Texas should be doing everything we can to lock arms with President Trump and further his agenda down here,” said State Representative Brian Harrison of Midlothian.
Representative Manuel urged Texans to attend redistricting hearings scheduled around the state, including one set for July 26 at the University of Houston.
“If you can, please come out,” he said in a Facebook post. “Make sure that you let people know how you feel about this redistricting — not even how unfair this is, just how wrong this is.”
Lawmakers have 30 days to work through the agenda, but Abbott could call more special sessions. In 2023, he called four.