Good morning, 

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, July 31, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Patrick-Backed THC Ban Clears Senate, Again

• For the second time this year, the Texas Senate has passed legislation banning the sale of THC products. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• During the regular legislative session, members of the Senate and House voted to ban THC-infused products. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed that legislation, and then put on the agenda of this special session a call to regulate those products. The governor has since said he only wants "nonintoxicating hemp" on the market.
       
• Yesterday, the Senate voted to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and possession of consumable hemp products that contain any form of THC while still allowing products that contain only CBD or CBG. This legislation, authored by State Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), essentially mirrors what was passed in the spring.
      
• Perry portrayed the legislation as necessary to eliminate products that were never intended to be legal under a 2019 law permitting hemp cultivation in Texas. He dismissed concerns about widespread economic disruption, noting that only a small portion of Texas farmland has been used to grow hemp and that many stores selling these products already had existing business models before the 2019 law.
       
• The Texas House, where an essentially identical measure has been filed, has not yet taken up the issue in this special session. 

OTHER SENATE NEWS

• As State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) noted in the debate, the attorney general was given the power by the Texas Legislature in 1985, when Democrats controlled both chambers. That law was not challenged, despite prosecutions, until the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared it unconstitutional in 2021.
       
• During the regular session earlier this year, similar legislation died in conference committee after the House and Senate passed sharply different versions. The issue was placed on the call for the special session by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has called for a constitutional amendment to address the issue. But that path would require two-thirds support in both the House and Senate—making Democrat support necessary and the odds steeper.

MORE SENATE NEWS

Proposed Map Could Add 5 New GOP Congressional Seats

• Following a first round of public hearings on mid-census congressional redistricting, Erin Anderson reports Republican lawmakers have proposed new district maps that could increase the number of GOP-held U.S. House seats in Texas by five.
       
• The map, authored by State Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), creates seats that Donald Trump won in the 2024 election by at least 10 points, including two Hispanic-majority districts in South Texas.
      
• Release of the new map comes on the heels of several often-raucous public hearings hosted by special House and Senate committees formed to consider congressional redistricting during the ongoing special legislative session. If the new map is adopted, Republicans could win 30 of the state’s 38 U.S. House seats in the 2026 mid-term elections, up from their current 25.
      
• Texas Democrats responded by saying they would use “every available method” to oppose the redistricting plan, including fleeing the state for another quorum break.

Trump Administration Halts Controversial Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge Expansion

• In a move celebrated by Texas lawmakers and land rights advocates as a major victory for private property rights, the Trump administration has officially ended a Biden-era plan impacting thousands of acres. Sydnie Henry has the story. 
      
• Originally finalized under the Biden administration, the Muleshoe Land Protection Plan would have allowed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge by more than 10,000 percent. This would have been accomplished by purchasing land or acquiring conservation easements from willing sellers across a vast area of Texas and New Mexico.
      
• House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Lubbock) had described the Biden plan as an “outrageous land grab” that threatened the property rights and livelihoods of West Texans. American Stewards for Liberty has described the Muleshoe push as part of a broader plan to bring 30 percent of American land and water under federal control.
      
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the withdrawal of the plan on Wednesday, explaining it is “consistent with the priorities of the Trump administration” by “reducing regulatory burdens, strengthening partnerships with state and local stakeholders, and ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources.”

Houston ISD Nearly Fully Staffed

• Heading into the 2025-26 academic year, Houston Independent School District announced it has just 19 open teaching positions. As Joseph Trimmer reports, this marks a sharp decline from the 358 vacancies reported in late June.
       
• Since state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles took over in 2023, the district has made it a goal to begin each school year with as few vacancies as possible. Just before the 2023–24 school year, HISD had 47 open teaching positions—already a notable reduction from prior years.
       
• Houston ISD is the largest school district in the state. To maintain staffing levels, Houston ISD hired approximately 850 uncertified teachers for the 2024–25 school year.

Other Houston News

• Houston Mayor John Whitmire said 11 of the newly approved trucks should be on the road within two days of the purchase order.

Three Men Arrested in Dallas County Have Immigration Detainers

• Three men arrested in Dallas County this month for serious—but separate—crimes have now been issued immigration detainers by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. McKael Kirwin has the report.
      
• Most recently, Rafael Yanez was arrested and booked after being charged with the murder of another man. Earlier in the month, Miguel Hernandez Rodriguez was arrested for solicitation of a minor while Sergio Reyes Hernandez was booked for robbery. 
      
• An ICE detainer is a request to a local law enforcement agency to hold an individual in custody for up to 48 hours beyond their release date, giving ICE time to potentially take them into federal custody for removal proceedings.

Texas Father Files Suit Against California Doctor for Prescribing Abortion Drugs

• A Texas man is suing a California-based doctor for prescribing and mailing abortion drugs to his girlfriend, resulting in the deaths of their unborn children. As Addie Hovland reports, the federal lawsuit alleges that the woman was pressured to take the drugs by her estranged husband.
      
• Jerry Rodriguez is accusing Dr. Remy Coeytaux of illegally mailing abortion drugs into Texas, aiding in illegal abortions, and prescribing abortion drugs without a Texas medical license—a felony offense according to Texas law.

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