Tracker category
Legislature: tracker entries
This is where the Texas Capitol shows up: bills that passed, bills that died, vetoes, and the governor's executive orders. We also file statewide agency rules here (DSHS and TABC rules, the controlled substances schedule) because they come from the same place: either a statute the Legislature passed or an order from the governor directing agencies to act under one.
The Texas Legislature meets in regular sesh only in odd-numbered years, so most action here clusters in the first half of 2025, 2027 and so on, plus any special sesh the governor calls. The next regular sesh, the 90th Legislature, convenes January 12, 2027, and lawmakers can start filing bills November 9, 2026. How a bill becomes law walks through the calendar.
- In effectLegislature
Texas puts its 2021 THC definitions back on the controlled substances schedule
After the Texas Supreme Court ruled for the state, DSHS reinstated its 2021 definitions of tetrahydrocannabinols and marihuana extract, effective July 31, 2026.
Read the detailsIn 2021 the DSHS commissioner changed the Texas Schedules of Controlled Substances so that THC other than up to 0.3 percent delta-9 THC in hemp stayed controlled. A Travis County court blocked those definitions for almost five years. The Texas Supreme Court reversed that injunction on May 1, 2026, and the case formally ended on June 5, 2026.
DSHS then published a notice in the July 10, 2026 Texas Register reinstating the 2021 definitions, which took effect July 31, 2026. In plain terms, the state treats hemp-derived THC isomers other than delta-9 (delta-8 is the best known) as Schedule I controlled substances, with an exception for naturally occurring trace amounts. Separately, Texas law already lists tetrahydrocannabinols other than marihuana in Penalty Group 2 of the Controlled Substances Act. Lawsuits challenging parts of this are still moving through state court.
- In effectLegislature
New DSHS consumable hemp rules take effect, counting THCA toward total THC
DSHS adopted permanent rules for consumable hemp products, including a 21 and over sales age, ID checks, a total THC test that includes THCA, and much higher license fees.
Read the detailsThese rules came out of the governor's September 2025 executive order (GA-56). DSHS proposed them in December 2025 and adopted them in the March 20, 2026 Texas Register, effective March 31, 2026.
The main legal changes: sales to anyone under 21 are prohibited and ID must be checked; the definition of total delta-9 THC now includes THCA, so a product's THCA counts toward the 0.3 percent limit; testing, labeling, recordkeeping and inspection requirements were tightened; and registration and license fees went up sharply. The rules were briefly blocked by a Travis County court in April and May 2026, then put back in force on June 5, 2026 while the appeal continues (see that entry).
- In effectLegislature
Governor issues Executive Order GA-56 on hemp products
After two special seshes ended without a hemp law, the governor ordered DSHS, TABC and DPS to bar sales of consumable hemp products to anyone under 21 and to tighten testing and enforcement.
Read the detailsGA-56 told state agencies to use the authority they already have under existing law. TABC adopted emergency rules on September 23, 2025 (enforced from October 1) barring its licensees from selling consumable hemp products to anyone under 21 and requiring ID checks. DSHS adopted its own emergency age rules in early October 2025 and then the permanent rules that took effect March 31, 2026.
An executive order is not a statute. It directs agencies, and the agencies then write rules that can be challenged in court, which is exactly what happened in 2026.
- FailedLegislature
Hemp THC ban dies again as the second special sesh ends
The Senate passed SB 5 in the first special sesh and SB 6 in the second. Neither got a vote in the House, and the Legislature adjourned with no new hemp law.
Read the detailsAfter the SB 3 veto, the governor put hemp regulation on the agenda of the first called sesh, which began July 21, 2025. The Senate passed SB 5, a ban similar to SB 3, but the House did not pass it (the first sesh was also swamped by a quorum break over redistricting).
In the second called sesh the Senate passed SB 6, which would have broadly banned consumable hemp products containing a detectable amount of any cannabinoid, with narrow exceptions. It was referred to a House committee and never got a hearing. The second sesh ended September 3, 2025 with no hemp bill, and the governor turned to an executive order a week later.
- VetoedLegislature
Governor vetoes SB 3, the statewide hemp THC ban
SB 3 would have banned consumable hemp products containing THC. The governor vetoed it on the last day he could act and called a special sesh to take up hemp regulation instead.
Read the detailsSB 3 passed both chambers in the regular sesh. Under the Texas Constitution, a bill the governor neither signs nor vetoes in time becomes law without a signature, so the June 22, 2025 deadline was real. He vetoed it that night. In his veto message he argued the ban would face strong constitutional challenges and put state and federal law in conflict, and he asked for regulation instead. Because the Legislature had already adjourned, there was no chance to override.
- In effectLegislature
HB 17 takes effect, letting courts remove prosecutors who refuse to prosecute a class of crimes
The law expanded the definition of official misconduct for district and county attorneys to include adopting a policy of not prosecuting a class or type of offense.
Read the detailsHB 17 lets a resident of the county file a petition to remove a prosecutor who refuses to prosecute an entire category of crime. Low-level marijuana possession was one of the examples discussed during debate. The law exempts pretrial diversion programs, which is part of why Harris County's diversion approach still exists. Researchers and local officials have pointed to this law as one reason prosecutors in big Texas counties have been more cautious about blanket marijuana policies.
- In effectLegislature
HB 1325 legalizes hemp in Texas
The Texas hemp law took hemp (cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC) and the THC in hemp off the state controlled substances list, and set up licensing for growing, making and selling hemp products.
Read the detailsHB 1325 followed the 2018 federal farm bill. It gave the Texas Department of Agriculture the job of licensing growers and DSHS the job of regulating consumable hemp products (Chapter 443 of the Health and Safety Code). It took effect immediately. A side effect hit prosecutors: crime labs now had to tell legal hemp from marijuana by measuring THC, and prosecutors around the state had to rethink how they handled small marijuana cases.
Nothing matches those filters yet. Try another status or category.