Texas House reads and refers hundreds of bills on first reading

A long list of bills was read on first reading and referred to House committees during the March 18, 2025, session of the Texas House of Representatives, the clerk announced on the floor.

The action followed a motion by Representative Garen to move further reading and referral of bills until the end of the day's calendar, which the chair adopted without objection. After the clerk's reading, the House stood adjourned pending the reading and referral of bills until 10 a.m. Wednesday, following a motion by Representative Lawson that was adopted without objection.

The measures read and referred covered a broad set of policy areas. Examples included: HB 2601 (transportation qualifications for commercial motor vehicle operators), HB 2602 (mobile food unit permitting and inspection), HB 2604 (expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act), HB 2612 (establishment of a Texas carbon dioxide sequestration policy council), HB 2619 (electronic voter registration), HB 2621 (recording and archiving a live video feed by the Department of Transportation), and HB 2664 (maternal mental health and related services). The clerk read many additional bills on topics such as public safety, education, county governance, environmental permitting and health care reimbursement.

The clerk's reading assigns each bill to the committee named in the clerk's announcement; referral to committee is the next step for each measure unless the House later suspends the rules or otherwise changes procedural status. No debate on the merits of the listed bills occurred on the floor during the reading; the session's action was procedural referral to committees.

The House concluded the session by adopting the adjournment motion and leaving the clerk's desk clear. The clerk's reading and referrals set the committee dockets that will determine which measures receive hearings and votes going forward.