As the clock struck midnight, the Texas House reached one of the last major deadlines of the 2025 legislative session: the opportunity to give initial approval to Senate legislation.
Any Senate bills that failed to receive second reading—the stage where members debate, amend, and tentatively approve legislation—are now procedurally dead. But the process isn’t over yet.
Legislation that was passed on second reading before the deadline still must be approved on third reading, which will take place Wednesday.
As the clock ticked toward the deadline, House Democrats employed a familiar tactic known as “chubbing”—a stalling maneuver where lawmakers drag out debate on bills to run out the clock and kill other legislation waiting in line. Democrats spoke at length on many bills, asked repeated questions, and offered drawn-out remarks to consume as much time as possible.
Those efforts helped stall or kill several Republican-priority Senate measures that hadn’t yet made it to the floor, taking advantage of the rules and the chamber’s tight schedule.
Among the casualties was Senate Bill 18, which would have prohibited libraries from hosting Drag Queen Story Hour events on taxpayer-funded property. The legislation passed the Senate earlier this session but never received a vote in the House, effectively dooming it for the session.
With the second reading deadline behind them, lawmakers now shift their focus to the final stage of the session: conference committees. These are groups of five members from each chamber, appointed by the Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor, tasked with reconciling differences between House and Senate versions of bills. If both chambers sign off on the committee’s final version—called a conference committee report—the bill heads to the governor’s desk. If not, it dies.
Lawmakers have until Monday, June 2, to finish their work before the 88th regular session adjourns.
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