2025 Legislative Regular Session Recap
The 89th Texas Legislature concluded its 140-day Regular Session and adjourned sine die on Monday, June 2. It was a largely successful session which saw the passage of six major TSRA Priority bills, which we have reported on throughout the year:
TSRA Executive Director John Poole and TSRA Board Members Wayne Nunn (TSRA Past President) and Bill Nance (TSRA Military/Veteran Director) offered key supportive witness testimony in House and Senate committee hearings on most of these measures.
The Texas House left one important piece of business unfinished by not passing SB 1065 (Rescind State Fair Gun Ban). The bill was broader than just the Texas State Fair; it would have addressed many other “loopholes” created when third parties lease government-owned property which is not otherwise off-limits to handgun licensees and then attempt to institute their own gun bans on the same premises. It is disappointing that lawmakers who campaigned on this issue in the fall of 2024 failed to get this significant measure across the goal line.
A few other technical and firearms-adjacent bills passed which were supported by TSRA during the session: House Bill 668 by Rep. Cecil Bell, establishing a one-year grace period after expiration of a handgun license, during which the license holder may still renew the license using the abbreviated renewal process; House Bill 1234 by Rep. Ryan Guillen, allowing individuals who are denied a carry license based on a medical advisory board panel recommendation to have an opportunity to review or respond to the decision before it is finalized; and Senate Bill 2284 by Sen. Adam Hinojosa, adding archery equipment to the state law which preempts restrictive local firearms regulations.
Governor Abbott has already signed SB 2284, and he has until June 22nd to sign the remaining measures into law. The new laws will take effect on September 1.
TSRA’s Legislative Team tracked 270 firearm and hunting-related bills this legislative session. Nearly 9,000 bills and joint resolutions were filed in the 2025 Regular Session overall between November 12-March 14, and the Team reviewed them all to determine if and how they impacted our Second Amendment rights or sporting traditions in Texas.
Roughly 40 percent of the measures we tracked were “anti-gun”, ranging from red flag gun confiscation bills to legislation denying firearm rights to law-abiding young adults, to bans on private firearms transfers -- at gun shows and universally. We ensured that none of these anti-2A bills came close to surviving the legislative process. Only 25 percent of legislation we tagged to follow was considered “pro-gun”, and it included both the major and technical bills mentioned above. The remaining 35 percent TSRA remained neutral on, but we monitored it closely to make sure that if language were added, it didn’t move into the “support” or “oppose” category. Examples would be legislation creating special carry privileges for certain judges or district attorneys, or mental health evaluation or detainment bills with no immediate nexus to firearm purchase or ownership rights as introduced.
The conclusion of the Legislative Session is not the end of the work for the TSRA PAC.
Our team works year-round for Texans' gun rights, not just when the Legislature is in session.
Contribute to TSRA PAC Today
Story by TSRA PAC Legislative Team
June 3, 2025
