The Texas House of Representatives has once again run out the clock. As of midnight, the deadline for House bills to be passed on second reading has expired, leaving hundreds of pieces of legislation dead for the session.
Despite having months to act, the House spent much of the early session at a crawl, taking frequent long weekends and moving relatively few bills. In the first months of the session, numerous conservative members highlighted the coming logjam by objecting to the early adjournments. The result was a bloated calendar on the final day, with a 30-page document listing hundreds of bills awaiting action.
There was never any realistic chance lawmakers would get to them all. Adding to the backlog, House Democrats employed a time-wasting tactic known as “chubbing”—deliberately extending debate on bills to slow progress and kill legislation further down the list.
One of the more controversial bills that did make it across the finish line was House Bill 3441 by State Rep. Shelley Luther, which passed 99-43. The bill would allow individuals to sue vaccine manufacturers if a vaccine they advertised caused harm. The measure seeks to carve out a state-level exception to federal protections for vaccine makers.
A high-profile casualty, however, was House Bill 3219 by State Rep. Joanne Shofner, which would have required the Texas commissioner of state health services to issue a statewide order allowing pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription.
Other conservative priorities, like those ending in-state tuition for illegal aliens or mandating E-Verify for employers, didn’t even make it to the calendar.
The session is not over, however.
With this deadline now passed, the only House bills that remain alive are those that made it across the second-reading hurdle before midnight. Legislation that originated in the Senate is still eligible to be considered in the House in the coming weeks, giving conservative activists and House lawmakers a last chance to push their priorities.
All bills passed Thursday night will still need final approval on Friday.
