AUSTIN, Texas — On Saturday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed more than 300 bills into law, including 16 he described as “critical legislation.”
Time is running out for Gov. Abbott to sign or veto the more than 1200 bills state lawmakers sent to his desk during the 89th legislative session.
Any bill the governor doesn’t veto or sign by Sunday will become law without his signature.
Here is a look at some of the major bills Gov. Abbott signed into law on Saturday.
Senate Bill 31
Senate Bill 31 clarifies when doctors can perform an abortion under the state’s near-total ban.
The bill, authored by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), took effect on Saturday and became law of the land upon the governor’s signature. Dubbed the “Life of the Mother Act,” it does not expand abortion access or change any exceptions to the law, but aims to clarify the existing law. It makes it clear when doctors can intervene to save a pregnant patient’s life.
Texas has some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the nation. Currently, doctors can only perform abortions if a woman’s life is in danger or she’s at risk of losing a major bodily function. Doctors who perform abortions can lose their medical licenses or face up to 99 years in prison or a $100,000 fine if they don’t comply with the law, leaving many doctors afraid to perform the procedure.
State lawmakers acted to clarify the language this legislative session because confusion and vague language in the near-total abortion ban have led doctors to delay care until the patient’s condition worsens and they are closer to death or choose to pursue other procedures.
ProPublica has reported that at least three pregnant women in Texas have died as a result of not getting care, and multiple women have sued the state, saying they were denied abortions even though their lives were at risk because the law is too vague. Medical experts whom the publication spoke to said their lives could have been saved if doctors had performed abortions.
SB 31 still requires patients to be having a medical emergency, but it clarifies that doctors don’t have to delay care if doing so would increase the pregnant woman’s risk of death or loss of bodily function like fertility. It also reiterates that doctors can remove ectopic pregnancies or the remains of a fetus after a miscarriage.
The bill would require doctors and lawyers to get training about the abortion law. The Texas Medical Board would offer the course. The bill clarifies that a doctor or lawyer can talk with a patient about a medically necessary abortion without fear of legal repercussions or being considered to be “aiding and abetting.”
Senate Bill 17
Senate Bill 17 would ban people from certain countries from owning land in Texas. The legislation, which was authored by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), would block people from designated nations that “pose national security threats” from purchasing land in Texas.
Supporters argue this is a matter of national security and protecting natural resources, but critics argued SB 17 creates a slippery slope and targets immigrants and communities of color under the guise of national security.
SB 17 would restrict people or entities from countries designated as national security threats from buying property in Texas. It would apply to governmental entities and organizations headquartered in or directly tied to those countries.
The ban applies to countries based on designations made by the Director of National Intelligence. The latest annual threat assessment lists China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as countries “engaging in competitive behavior that directly threatens U.S. national security.” The “designated country” has to be identified on “one of the three most recent” Annual Threat Assessments.
People and companies from countries on that list would be banned from purchasing Texas real estate. The governor’s office has the power to add countries or a transnational criminal organization, such as the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, to the list.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are not affected. However, there cannot be any ownership connection to any prohibited person or governmental entity. Those lawfully present or asylum seekers can buy a homestead of up to ten acres inside the city limits and up to 20 acres in rural areas.
The bill will go into effect Sept. 1, and would only apply to purchases or acquisitions made after that date.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office would enforce the law through court action. If a district judge finds evidence of an illegal purchase, an owner would have to divest. They could also face civil penalties and fines of whatever amount is larger, $250,000 or 50% of the market value of the real interest in the property.
Senate Bill 11
Gov. Abbott signed Senate Bill 11, authored by State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), which would require school boards to vote on allowing designated prayer time. The bill would allow schools to designate time during the school day for prayer and Bible reading.
School boards would have to vote to allow prayer time. It is voluntary and parents would have to opt their children in. It would not interfere with instruction time, and parents would have to sign a consent form before a student would be allowed to participate.
School boards will be required to vote on whether to allow prayer time within six months of the bill becoming law on Sept. 1. It applies starting in the 2025-2026 school year.
The law requires the Texas attorney general to defend school districts from lawsuits arising from the legislation.
While critics said the bill will erode the separation of church and state, supporters argued SB 11 is strictly crafted to make sure it does not infringe on anyone’s religious beliefs, or lack of belief. Students of all religions can participate and parents would have to opt-in to allow their kids to pray in school.
Senate Bill 965
Gov. Abbott signed Senate Bill 965 on Saturday, which codifies into law the right of a public school employee to engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty.
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Joseph Kennedy, a high school football coach from Washington State, who knelt and prayed on the field after games. The high court ruled that the First Amendment protected the coach’s prayer. State lawmakers said that the decision paved the way for the acceptability of religious practices in public school settings.
House Bill 46
Gov. Abbott signed House Bill 46, authored by State Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian), which deals with the state’s medical cannabis program, the Compassionate Use Program.
House Bill 46 expands and improves the program, making more ailments eligible for treatment with low-THC cannabis. Those include chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, Crohn’s disease and patients in hospice or palliative care. It also permits more dispensing licenses and satellite stores to reach more patients.
Senate Bill 34
Gov. Abbott signed a bill to help the state fight wildfires. Senate Bill 34, authored by State Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Midland), would create a database of wildfire firefighting equipment in Texas, establish a council to oversee how that equipment is shared and build a strategic plan to fight wildfires. It will also require additional inspections of power lines to make sure equipment doesn’t spark a wildfire like similar to the one that occurred in the Texas Panhandle in 2024.
Senate Bill 36
Senate Bill 36, authored by State Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), creates a new division to oversee border security operations within the Texas Department of Public Safety. The new division of DPS would be responsible for intelligence gathering and the protection of critical infrastructure.
The newly formed unit would manage Operation Drawbridge, the state’s program for installing and monitoring of cameras and surveillance equipment along the U.S.-Mexico border. It would also be tasked with coordinating with law enforcement, local governments and private entities to enhance border security and emergency preparedness.
It would establish new programs for public-private collaboration on homeland security risks, technology research and grants for security infrastructure projects.
The bill also transfers management of the Border Security Operations Center and Joint Operations and Intelligence Centers to the new Homeland Security Division. Senate Bill 36 would make Texas’ immigration enforcement efforts a permanent part of the state’s criminal justice system
Senate Bill 6
Senate Bill 6 aims to make the state’s electric grid more reliable. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the state’s grid operator, predicts the state’s energy needs will nearly double in six years. That is driven by expected population growth and demand from large facilities such as data centers.
Senate Bill 6 addresses electricity planning and infrastructure costs specifically for large energy consumers like data centers and Bitcoin miners. More of those businesses have moved to Texas in recent years, and SB 6 would require large consumers to shut down their operations or have a backup power supply off the main grid in the event of a weather emergency that could cause blackouts.
Improving the infrastructure for the state’s power grid has been a priority for state lawmakers over the past few years following the February 2022 winter freeze, when the grid almost failed and left many cold and in the dark.
SB 6 would require customers that use plenty of energy to disclose to ERCOT their backup generator capabilities and if they can meet at least 50% of their power. ERCOT may require them to use those backup generators during energy emergencies going forward. ERCOT would be able to shut off a facility’s power in an emergency, with just a day’s notice given to the facilities.
Companies would have to pay an electric, municipal utility or a cooperative at least $100,000 to study the transmission work necessary to transport electricity to their facilities. They would also demonstrate that they can afford to contribute to the construction of transmission lines and purchase any equipment or services.
The bill also directs the utility commission to determine how to better allocate transmission costs, including looking at peak demand, the point at which supply meets demand.
Gov. Abbott also signed Senate Bill 75, authored by State Sen. Bob Hall, which creates the Grid Security Commission to evaluate and provide recommendations to address all hazards to the ERCOT grid.
Senate Bill 1596
Gov. Abbott signed Senate Bill 1596, authored by State Sen. Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton), which would remove short-barreled guns from a state list of prohibited weapons.
Currently in Texas, legally possessing a short-barreled firearm comes with restrictions. They must be registered with the federal government, which involves a background check and paying $200, or must be classified as a curio or relic. The new law is set to take effect on Sept. 1.
Senate Bill 20
Senate Bill 20, authored by State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton), would give police in Texas more tools to crack down on child pornography generated by artificial intelligence.
It would create a new criminal offense for possessing offensive material that depicts a child under 18, whether the child in the material is real or not. The offense is a state jail felony, but it can be elevated to a third-degree felony if the person has a prior conviction on similar charges, or a second-degree felony if there are two or more previous convictions.
Lawmakers said it is an important step to keep up with advancing technology and close any loopholes to ensure that AI-generated images, videos and deepfakes can’t be shared with impunity.
Senate Bill 1621
Senate Bill 1621, authored by State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), essentially rewrites the state’s current child pornography statute to better factor in AI-generated content.
It makes it a crime to possess or view visual material that contains a visual depiction of a child engaging in sexual conduct. It is a third-degree felony if depictions are of a real child and a state jail felony if it is a computer-generated child. There are steeper penalties if a depicted child is under 10 years old and for increased quantities of the illicit material.
Senate Bill 21
Senate Bill 21, authored by State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown), creates the Texas Bitcoin Reserve.
The bill to make the state’s cash reserves more digital makes Texas one of the first states in the country to have its own cryptocurrency reserve. SB 21 would create a special investment fund outside of the state treasury, using Bitcoin as its primary currency.
It recognizes Bitcoin as a valuable digital asset, similar to gold, which has long been a financial safeguard.
The bill would require the currency invested in with state funds to have a market capitalization of at least $500 billion over a 12-month period, essentially the value of the mined coins. Currently, only Bitcoin has a market cap above that number.
Senate Bill 33
Senate Bill 33, authored by State Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels), would stop cities and counties from supporting abortion funds and nonprofits that help people travel out of state for abortions. Campbell said it closes a loophole she believes towns like Austin and San Antonio are exploiting.
Last year, Austin’s City Council set aside $400,000 to help residents get abortions out of state. Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit over the policy, arguing that it violates state law.
The San Antonio City Council also allocated $500,000 for a reproductive justice fund. While it was originally earmarked for out-of-state travel, it ended up going to address reproductive and sexual health gaps. None of that Reproductive Justice Fund money is being distributed to help women travel out of state to get an abortion.
Senate Bill 38
Gov. Abbott signed a bill that would make it easier for property owners and landlords to evict squatters.
Senate Bill 38, authored by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), aims to stop people from living on property they don’t own or rent without permission.
Under the bill, property owners can file an affidavit with the courts to prove ownership and that the occupants are trespassing. The courts would then need to act within 10 to 21 days of that filing.
The legislation also introduces criminal penalties for squatters, including potential fines and jail time. Property owners must provide an affidavit proving their ownership and that the occupants are trespassing.
However, it does include some safeguards to protect tenants with valid leases or legitimate claims to a property from being wrongfully removed.
While tenants could still appeal an eviction, they would only have five days to do so. Some Democratic state lawmakers expressed concerns that for those served with an eviction petition, the five days can include weekends, federal holidays or other days when the courthouse is closed, which they argued is unfair to the person being evicted.
House Bill 120
House Bill 120 aims to expand career training for students statewide.
Gov. Greg Abbott named this issue one of his seven emergency items for this legislative session during his State of the State Address in February. It expands access to dual credit and career and technical education (CTE) programs, especially for rural and military pathways. The bill also strengthens college and career advising.
Here are some other notable bills Gov. Abbott signed on Saturday:
