REAL PROGRESS. REAL RESULTS.
From education, health and the state budget to digital connectivity, government performance and workforce issues, the 87th Texas Legislature took important steps forward this year in six areas that directly affect Texans’ lives.
And Texas 2036 played a key role in driving that success during our first legislative session by offering lawmakers a stable, policy-focused alternative to the high-profile political issues that often drew headlines.
The 87th Texas Legislative Session came at a time of tremendous challenge with both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Winter Storm Uri.
Against that backdrop, we remained focused on all six areas of our legislative agenda that we had identified before the legislative session, and supported legislators of both parties in passing laws that will benefit Texans for years to come. Not all of these bills will generate front-page news, but the quality and volume of these reforms will generate long-term progress and returns on investment to the state’s taxpayers for years to come.
As this report demonstrates, Texas 2036 has quickly established itself as an effective and influential partner, driven to initiate our advocacy work based on sound data. We remain eager to work with all interested parties to ensure that Texas remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family.
Regular Session By the Numbers
During the 87th (R) Texas Legislative Session, our policy team:
- Tracked 840 bills
- Engaged intently on 114 bills
- Supported legislators in pre-filing 35 bills
- Provided written or oral testimony 55 times
- Registered in support of legislation an additional 80 times
As a result, 42 bills that move Texas forward across our policy areas became law.
We are especially proud of another data point: most of our bills received overwhelming bipartisan backing, with 92% support on average — including an average Senate vote of 30-1.
Special Sessions
During the three consecutive special sessions of 2021, our policy team took a leading role in advocating for prudent utilization of federal stimulus funds, worked to ensure students had access to remote and in-person learning this fall, opposed efforts to reduce rigor in addressing COVID learning loss, advocated for increased funding for legislative staff, and opposed vaccine-related legislation that would have created an untenable position for Texas employers.
The top-line results are straightforward: the three bills we actively supported passed the legislature, and the three bills we opposed did not pass. But underneath those numbers is a bipartisan success story:
- In the House, bills we supported received an average final vote of 130-2, with 100% of House Republicans supporting and 95% of House Democrats.
- In the Senate, bills we supported received an average final vote of 30-1, with 96% of Senate Republicans supporting and 100% of Senate Democrats.
We are encouraged that the Legislature responded in a strong, bipartisan fashion during the federal funding debate, and hope to build on these wins to guide future improvements on the work that’s left to be done.