www.thecentersquare.com – By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-15 13:13:00
The Texas House is nearing its deadline to vote on over 400 bills, with many set to die if not voted on by Thursday. Among those failing are bills prohibiting carbon taxes and establishing a Mexican guest worker program. A constitutional amendment to prevent a carbon tax, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Alders, was defeated by seven votes. Despite support from Democrats representing oil-reliant districts, the bill failed along party lines. Similarly, a proposal to create a temporary Mexican guest worker program was narrowly killed after Republicans and Democrats disagreed. Both bills received significant pushback but reflected ongoing debates over Texas’ energy policies and immigration.
(The Center Square) – As the Texas House enters the last stretch to vote on more than 400 bills ahead of a Thursday deadline, they’re also killing bills in the process.
Under House rules, bills that aren’t voted on by midnight Thursday will effectively die. Thousands of bills are expected to meet their end by then.
Some aren’t making it that far, including bills prohibiting the imposition of a carbon tax and creating a Mexican guest worker program. Both failed largely along party lines.
House Joint Resolution 138, filed by state Rep. Daniel Alders, R-Tyler, proposed a constitutional amendment to prohibit the legislature “from imposing a tax on the carbon content of a fuel or on the emission of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas that results from the use, production, or consumption of any good or service.”
With Texas leading the U.S. in oil and natural gas production and other states and countries implementing carbon taxes, Alders wanted to ensure that no carbon tax is ever imposed “in the future” as such a tax “could deter the oil and gas industry from producing as much as it has in Texas,” the bill analysis states.
HJR 138 had multiple authors, including Democrat Reps. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass and Josey Garcia of San Antonio, who represent districts heavily reliant on oil and natural gas development. It also had 58 cosponsors, including seven Democrats.
It was read for a third time on May 6, then postponed twice until May 12. It needed a two-thirds vote to pass and failed by seven votes. Eight members were absent, two voted present, not voting; 47 Democrats voted against it, effectively killing it. If it had passed, it would have been presented to the voters on a November ballot to approve or reject.
Alders made the case for the resolution arguing the tax prohibition was needed to ensure Texas doesn’t become California. As a result of California energy policies, refineries are closing, restrictions have increased and costs have exponentially gone up, The Center Square reported. In Texas, the oil and natural gas industry has broken records by both expanding production and reducing emissions, The Center Square reported.
“Our free market approach to energy policy in Texas is substantially better for the people of Texas and the global economy as a whole,” Alders argued. The resolution would “enshrine that approach in our constitution.” Democrats disagreed and killed it.
Texas voters have already approved multiple constitutional amendments banning taxation, including a constitutional ban of a state income tax, wealth tax, and real estate transaction tax. This session, a capital gains and stock exchange transactions tax and occupation tax ban championed by Gov. Greg Abbott are being presented to the voters, The Center Square reported.
Another bill that failed was barely killed by Republicans.
HB 2858, filed by state Reps. Ray Lopez, D-San Antonio, and Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, proposed establishing a temporary Mexican guest worker program “if a waiver or other authorization can be obtained from the appropriate federal agency.” After receiving federal authorization, the governor would then “negotiate and enter into a memorandum of understanding with the government of a state in Mexico to create the program” and “facilitate the migration of legal Mexican temporary guest workers to fill jobs in Texas businesses identified as being most in need of skilled and unskilled migrant labor,” according to the bill language.
Abbott has already entered into MOUs with four Mexican governors to implement border security, The Center Square reported. He did not need the legislature’s approval to do so. He also facilitated the removal of illegal foreign nationals from Texas by providing voluntary transportation to other states.
Under the Biden and Obrador administrations, the greatest number of Mexican illegal border crossers were reported of nearly three million, The Center Square reported. Under the Trump administration, criminal Mexican nationals are continuing to be deported, including through major enforcement operations out of Houston, The Center Square reported.
The measure was filed after Darby also filed a bill addressing oil field theft in West Texas, which has largely been facilitated by Mexican cartel operatives and illegal border crossers from Mexico, The Center Square reported.
The measure got pushback from Republicans, but not all of them. Nine voted with Democrats. After an initial vote of 70-73 was recorded, a verification of the vote was requested. The final verified vote tally was 65 for, 76 against, two present (not voting), according to the House Journal.
Republicans who joined Darby in voting for it included Charlie Geren, Ryan Guillen, Ken King, Stan Lambert, Janie Lopez, John Lujan, Candy Noble and Denise Villalobos.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article primarily reports on legislative actions and partisan splits regarding specific Texas bills without overt editorializing or emotive language that champions one side. It presents factual details about bill proposals, votes, and the political context, offering background such as Texas’s energy industry prominence and referencing opposition and support by party lines. However, the article’s choice of topics (blocking a carbon tax, emphasis on border enforcement, opposition to immigration reform) and the framing—highlighting Republican positions as protective of Texas’s industries and free markets, and Democrats as opposing these measures—reflect a subtle center-right perspective. The sourcing from The Center Square, a site known for conservative-leaning news, and the mention of Governor Abbott’s actions in positive terms further support the center-right leaning. Still, the content refrains from expressing judgments or persuasive rhetoric and mainly documents legislative developments, thus maintaining a largely factual tone despite the ideological context described.
SUMMARY: Texas Governor Greg Abbott will visit Amarillo to ceremonially sign House Bill 1481, authored by local State Representative Caroline Fairly, which restricts phone use in public and charter schools starting in the 2025-2026 school year. The law mandates schools to implement policies that either store students’ phones and devices during the day or ban them on campus, aiming to improve focus, mental health, and social engagement. Abbott’s signing event will include officials like Representatives Fairly, Dustin Burrows, Jared Patterson, Amarillo ISD Superintendent Dr. Deidre Parish, and teacher Mellessa Denny. The law mirrors similar bans in other states but faces opposition from parents concerned about emergency communication. Fairly also championed the App Store Accountability Act requiring age verification and parental consent for app downloads by minors.
www.kxan.com – Christopher Adams – 2025-08-01 07:00:00
SUMMARY: KXAN presents its top 10 favorite viewer-submitted photos from Central Texas for July 2025, featuring scenes like a black-bellied whistling duck in Leander, a sunset reflected in a car mirror in Dripping Springs, and flooding with a rainbow over Cow Creek in Bertram. Other highlights include a great blue heron over Lake Georgetown, a sunrise with a longhorn in Mason, and a butterfly among flowers in Pflugerville. Viewers are invited to vote for their favorite photo to represent July in the yearly contest and to submit photos for August taken in Central Texas. Voting ends August 8, 2025.
Rural Texas communities face worsening health outcomes and limited access to medical marijuana, leading many to turn to hemp-derived THC products for relief from chronic pain, mental illness, and addiction. The state’s restrictive Compassionate Use Program offers limited dispensaries and costly treatments, making hemp products a vital alternative. Senate Bill 5, which would ban most THC products except CBD and CBG, threatens this access. Supporters argue the ban would devastate rural economies and cut off a safer option for those recovering from alcoholism and opioid addiction. Opponents cite concerns over regulation, child safety, and unknown long-term effects.
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MIDWAY — Some who live in Texas’ small towns say that if someone looks close enough, they will see why hemp-derived THC has taken root in rural regions.
Faded crosses on the side of the road and faces of once-promising teens on “Don’t drink and drive” and fentanyl overdose billboards reveal the scars left behind in the isolated parts of Texas, where tight-knit communities have been permanently changed.
Anti-drug hardliners can argue rural Texas’ struggle with substance abuse is why THC has proliferated there and why it needs to be banned, but many cannabis users in the state’s small communities say it has spared them from spiraling further into the destruction of alcoholism and drug addiction.
“I spent over 10 years in the fire service, and I can tell you have seen more fatality and messed up accidents because of alcohol than any other drug,” said Timothy Mabry, a hemp proponent from Canyon Lake. “Also, the difference between someone who is violently drunk and someone who is happily high is drastic. And many of us here have seen it firsthand.”
Hemp supporters say a ban on THC, which lawmakers are mulling, would be catastrophic to rural Texas.
The lack of access to the Texas Compassionate Use Program, the state’s tightly regulated medical marijuana program, and other traditional forms of medical care in those communities has steered users — even those who qualify for prescription drugs — toward consumable hemp products. This has unfolded as rural areas are home to some of the state’s sickest and oldest populations, many of whom are looking for relief from mental illness or chronic pain and find an antidote in cannabis use.
Amid growing addiction problems that hit rural communities harder than their urban peers, some have used hemp products to wean off alcohol or opioids, and farmers and small-town retailers are eager to meet those needs in hopes of boosting their downtown economies.
“My family lives in Belleville in Austin County, a big farm community with maybe 4,000 people total. That little town has maybe 30 storefronts, and three of them are hemp CBD shops. It’s a big part of the economy in these rural areas,” Andy “Doc” Melder, a Navy veteran and founder of Warriors Integrating Possibilities, a group aimed at ending veteran suicide and the opioid epidemic, especially in rural Texas.
On Wednesday, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 5 by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, which would criminalize products containing any “detectable amount of any cannabinoid” other than cannabidiol and cannabigerol, better known as CBD and CBG, non-intoxicating components of cannabis. This bill would eliminate the majority of hemp products, including those that are legal under the federal definition.
Hemp opponents have given various reasons for a ban, saying the industry is unregulated, caters to children, and that the long-term health effects of cannabis use are still unknown.
The effort by Republican lawmakers who support a ban has spurred blowback from their usual ardent political allies: rural Texans, from farmers to veterans, and the older generation.
Zach Lindeen pets Ruger, one of Romana Harding’s dogs, as he listens to his mom, Piper Lindeen, speak about how cannabis quiets Zach’s seizures. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune
Limited access to medical marijuana
Texas has one of the largest rural populations in the country, with about 5 million of its approximately 31 million people living in rural areas. The health outcomes of Texans who live in these regions are significantly worse than their urban peers, partly due to the lack of physical and mental care access.
The inability to find help has driven some people to seek relief elsewhere.
“The funny thing is, my parents sent me to rehab when I was 15 for my cannabis use, and they hated the thought of it. Now they are using cannabis themselves for pain relief,” Melder said.
Some lawmakers have insisted the Texas Compassionate Use Program is the best route for cannabis users with mental illness and chronic pain. However, those who live in rural parts of the state don’t have access to those dispensaries, and if they do, products are expensive and limited.
“We don’t have additional options,” said Ramona Harding, a Navy veteran who lives on a 10-acre farm in Midway.
Currently, the state has two medical marijuana dispensaries, both of which are based in Central Texas, and a third one that has been deactivated, according to lawmakers. Because state law requires those dispensaries to drive products they sell in other parts of Texas back to a designated storage site every day, overhead costs are high, which has contributed to the expensive medical marijuana products.
A $15 bag of hemp-derived THC gummies purchased online could be more effective than a $75 bag of medical marijuana gummies, hemp supporters have said.
Many rural Texans also don’t have insurance to pay for the doctor’s visits required to sign up for the program and medical marijuana usually isn’t a covered benefit under most plans. The costs to participate start to add up, Mabry said.
“There is only a select number of doctors who can do it, so you have to travel, and anytime something touches a doctor’s hand, it costs more,” he said.
Legislation passed earlier this year expanded the medical marijuana program by increasing the number of dispensaries and satellite locations while offering more types of products to users and removing the storage restriction. Medical marijuana producers say the law will help drop prices and increase accessibility but that it could take a few years to happen, including in rural Texas.
Even when the dispensaries expand, some families are unsure if it will still meet their complicated needs.
When Piper Lindeen’s son Zach became the second child to be accepted into the state’s medical marijuana program, she felt pride. After fighting for several years, she and her husband finally had legal access to medical cannabis products that could slow down their son’s severe seizures.
At least that’s what they thought.
Although the Lindeens remain in the program to support it, Zach doesn’t use medical marijuana because some of the chemicals removed from it under state regulations are needed to stop their son’s seizures. They order hemp products from Oregon, which could become illegal if lawmakers approve a ban.
“There is no hope to control his seizures, and we tried,” the Sugar Land resident said of the medical marijuana program.
Amy Harper and Romana Harding embrace during an interview on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, outside of Midway. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune
Combating alcohol and opioid addiction
In June, the Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas, the Andrea’s Project in Amarillo, the Sheriffs Association of Texas, along with other anti-drug groups, sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking him to ban THC due to concern for children and the risk of impaired driving increasing.
Perry has said multiple times that cannabis might be responsible for veteran suicide, not preventing it, and has questioned the medical benefits since studies he has seen show long-term use causes dementia.
With all those risks and the lack of resources in rural communities to address them, some rural lawmakers like Perry fear THC could wreak havoc in the neighborhoods they represent.
Research has yet to definitively show what long-term impacts of THC use in a community can be, but rural users said they envision safer environments free from more dangerous addictions like alcoholism and opioid abuse.
“I know so many people who have used [hemp-derived THC] to get off tobacco, alcohol, or other pills… and I think that is one of the biggest things it could be used for,” Harding said.
All 177 rural counties in Texas are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for Mental Health, meaning there are not a lot of addiction treatment options in these regions.
A 2022 study by UT Health San Antonio’s substance use disorder response program, Be Well Texas, found that more opioid prescriptions are dispensed to rural Texas residents per capita than to urban residents, contributing to increasing overdose rates and illegal drug markets.
For Harding, cannabis is how she can function each day, as she bears the physical and mental scars from a rape she endured while in service. If cannabis is taken away, she said her only other options are either the pills that were killing her liver slowly or alcohol, which killed her mother, father and brother.
“I have run into so many people and lawmakers who are like, ‘Well, go have some whiskey’. No. It killed my family, and it almost killed me. Alcohol isn’t the answer for everyone in Texas,” she said
Rural Texas farmers told The Texas Tribune earlier this year that banning THC would mean they would have to stop growing hemp altogether. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune
The economic costs of a ban
While there isn’t specific data on how many THC shops have opened in the rural parts of the state, a 2025 report by Whitney Economics, which studies data and does economic reports on global hemp and cannabis industries, found the number of physical locations had increased from 5,072 in 2022 to 7,550 in 2024 and was steadily growing all around Texas.
Hemp-related licenses have increased steadily since 2022 for both retailers and manufacturers, the latter of which are usually located in the rural parts of the state. The $5.5 billion industry is estimated to employ more than 53,000 workers, receiving $2.1 billion in wages.
Rural Texas farmers told The Texas Tribune earlier this year that banning THC would mean they would have to stop growing hemp altogether, even if it’s not going to be consumed, because there’s no way to have or manufacture this plant with no detectable THC in it.
Whitney Economics estimated a complete THC ban would shift $10.2 billion in economic activity out of the state, and it would disrupt the hemp supply chain throughout the United States.
“The worst part is if this ban goes through, it’s going to send thousands of farmers, workers, retailers, and more around here and all over the state, belly-up, and for what? No reason,” said Mabry.
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The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This article largely highlights the struggles of rural Texans with substance abuse and limited medical options, emphasizing empathy for cannabis users and advocating for their access to hemp-derived THC products. It critiques restrictive legislation supported by conservative lawmakers and stresses the potential harm a ban could cause both economically and socially. The presentation leans toward supporting cannabis use as a harm reduction tool and addresses public health needs, reflecting a perspective more aligned with center-left viewpoints that favor drug policy reform and expanded healthcare access.
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