Texas House reads scores of bills, refers SB 1 to Appropriations; adopts multiple ceremonial resolutions

The Texas House on March 26 read dozens of measures on first reading and referred them to standing committees, including SB 1, the general appropriations bill, which the clerk sent to the Committee on Appropriations.

During the session the House also suspended the rules to take up a number of commemorative and recognition resolutions and adopted them without recorded objection. Those adopted items included recognitions for retired teachers, county days, public-service professions, student athletic champions, and observance months.

Clerk and referrals: the clerk read many filed bills by bill number and sponsor. The clerk opened the series by reading, “SB 1 by Hoffman, general appropriations bill. Refer to the committee on appropriations.” After the suspension and other procedural motions, the clerk continued with a long series of House bills (HB 3701 through HB 3850, and related resolutions and constitutional amendment proposals) and referred each to the committees named in the reading.

Votes at a glance (adoptions on the floor that day)

- HR 618 (Lambert) — Recognizing March 26, 2025, as Texas Retired Teachers Day at the State Capitol. Motion to suspend rules and adopt moved and explained by Representative Lambert; adopted with no objection. - HR 517 (Allcott) — Recognizing March 25, 2025, as Parker County Day at the State Capitol. Moved by Representative Allcott; adopted with no objection. The sponsor cited Weatherford attractions and noted the Parker County Peach Festival draws more than 45,000 attendees. - HR 485 (Hefner) — Recognizing Texas Pharmacy Day and acknowledging roughly 450 pharmacy technicians and pharmacy students in attendance; adopted with no objection. - HR 669 (Patterson) — Recognizing Upbring Advocacy Day; adopted with no objection. - HR 629 (Turner) — Congratulating Summit High School boys basketball team on the 2025 UIL 5A Division II state championship; adopted with no objection. The sponsor noted Summit’s 33–7 season and named the championship game MVP. - HR 623 (Luhan) — Viva San Antonio Day at the State Capitol; adopted with no objection. - HR 596 (Simmons) — Recognizing March 2025 as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month; sponsor cited screening guidance and her personal family history; adopted with no objection.

Each of the above resolutions was explained briefly on the floor by its sponsor and then adopted after the chair announced no objection.

Selected bill referrals and topics: beyond SB 1, the clerk read and referred bills covering a wide range of subjects, including higher education governance, public education rules for innovation districts, notary public matters, prohibitions on vaccination mandates for National Guard members, tenant electric-vehicle charging installations, oil and gas penalties, charity care at health-care facilities, electronic-voting systems, tax certificates and property transfers, open-meetings enforcement, drought and water-management matters, criminal-justice reforms including solitary confinement studies, transportation projects, and proposals to create or expand programs at Texas Southern University. A full list of bills read on first reading and their committee referrals was entered into the floor record.

What the House did not do: the floor action on March 26 was limited to first readings, committee referrals, ceremonial recognitions, and procedural motions (including the grant of permission for committees to meet while the House is in session). No substantive floor debates on the merits of the referred bills, nor final passage of substantive bills, are recorded in the transcript for that day.

The House adjourned pending the reading and referral of bills and will reconvene at 10 a.m. Thursday.