Gov. Greg Abbott signs bipartisan 'Make Texas Healthy Again' package restricting additives and some SNAP purchases

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a package of bipartisan health bills in Austin that he said aim to reduce chronic disease by changing school food, consumer labeling and SNAP eligibility.

The centerpiece, identified in the remarks as Senate Bill 25 and described as the "Make Texas Healthy Again Act," requires expanded nutrition education across K–12 and higher education and requires clearer labeling on packaged foods that contain ingredients banned in other countries. Abbott said another bill, Senate Bill 314, will prohibit schools that participate in the national school lunch and breakfast programs from serving foods with additives he and supporters link to disease and obesity. Senate Bill 379, he said, would prohibit use of SNAP benefits to buy sweetened drinks and candy.

"And now Texas is doing his part to make Texas healthy again by the laws I'm signing today," Abbott said during the event, which he framed as a bipartisan achievement involving multiple state lawmakers.

Secretary Kennedy, who attended and spoke at the signing, framed the package as part of a national movement to reverse rising childhood chronic disease. Kennedy attributed higher rates of diabetes and other conditions to diet and environmental exposures and cited specific prevalence figures in his remarks: "38 percent of our teens are diabetic or pre diabetic" and autism rates "1 in 25," statements he used to press the urgency of legislative action. He also said roughly 10% of SNAP spending goes to sugary drinks and 8% to candies and argued taxpayer-funded purchases are contributing to long-term health costs.

Kennedy praised state leaders and advocacy groups for pressuring industry changes, saying many food manufacturers had agreed to remove certain synthetic dyes. He also said the CDC will be used to track the effects of the laws and criticized prior CDC data handling as "chaos." When asked how long results would take, Kennedy predicted "dramatic changes" in many disease rates within the current presidential term and pointed to forthcoming announcements on autism tracking.

The bills were presented at the signing as measures that combine new education, procurement limits for school meal programs and SNAP purchase restrictions. The event included brief questions from reporters on implementation and timing; Abbott and Kennedy said tracking and enforcement mechanisms would follow through state and federal data systems and through state implementation channels.

The signing does not, in itself, include detailed enforcement language or implementation timelines in the remarks. Journalists and stakeholders will need to consult the final enrolled bills and accompanying agency rules for specifics on labeling standards, which additives are covered in school meals, and how SNAP transactions will be monitored and enforced.

Supporters at the event described the measures as bipartisan steps to reduce the long-term costs of chronic illness; critics (not quoted at the event) may raise questions about access to certain foods for low-income households and the administrative feasibility of policing SNAP purchases. Abbott and Kennedy characterized the package as an early test of wider state and national efforts to change food environments.

The event concluded after a short question-and-answer period; speakers referenced ongoing litigation on unrelated map changes and other legislative matters but did not announce additional, immediate votes or rule changes at the event.