A new bill authored by State Sen. Joan Huffman seeks to revise governance structures for public higher education institutions in Texas, aiming to enhance oversight and coordination across campuses, according to the Texas Legislature website.
The bill on Courts category, introduced as SB 37 during the 89(1) legislative session on Tuesday, July 22, was formally listed with the short title: ’Relating to the creation of additional judicial districts composed of Fort Bend County’.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill outlines comprehensive changes to the governance of public institutions of higher education in Texas. It mandates the appointment of general education review committees at each institution to evaluate core curricula and make course recommendations. Governing boards are empowered to make decisions on recommendations, hiring, and minor degree program reviews and must publish recommendations online. The bill also details the roles and election processes for faculty councils or senates, establishing them as advisory bodies. Governing board members are to undergo extensive training, and the newly established Office of Excellence in Higher Education will oversee compliance among institutions, acting as a liaison between them and the public. Effective dates vary, with some provisions starting in the 2025-26 academic year.
Joan Huffman, the chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, proposed no other bills during the 89(1) legislative session. She is also a member of the Senate Committee on Committee of the Whole Senate and a member of the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice.
Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.
You can read more about the bills and other measures here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| SB 3073 | 05/13/2025 | Relating to the duty of a magistrate to make written findings in certain criminal proceedings |
| SB 3038 | 04/03/2025 | Relating to the creation of the Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 286; granting a limited power of eminent domain; providing authority to issue bonds; providing authority to impose assessments, fees, and taxes |
| SB 3031 | 03/21/2025 | Relating to the punishment for the offense of aggravated assault |
| SB 2839 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to training on de-escalation, crisis intervention, and behavioral health for correctional officers and certain other employees of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice |
| SB 2830 | 03/14/2025 | Relating to the authority of certain municipalities to receive certain tax revenue derived from a hotel and convention center project and to pledge certain tax revenue for the payment of obligations related to the project |
| SB 2396 | 03/12/2025 | Relating to certain duties of the owner or operator of a residential child detention facility |
| SB 2219 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to certain procedures in connection with a bond forfeiture |
| SB 22 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to the Texas moving image industry incentive program and the establishment and funding of the Texas moving image industry incentive fund |
| SB 2193 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to directing payment, after approval, of certain miscellaneous claims and judgments against the state out of funds designated by this Act; making appropriations |
| SB 2192 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to state fiscal matters |
| SB 2191 | 03/11/2025 | Relating to the creation and re-creation of funds and accounts, the dedication and rededication of revenue and allocation of accrued interest on dedicated revenue, and the exemption of unappropriated money from use for general governmental purposes |
| SB 2146 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to the information reported by prosecuting attorneys to the Texas Judicial Council |
| SB 2140 | 03/10/2025 | Relating to certain tobacco products for purposes of the cigars and tobacco products tax |
| SB 2066 | 03/07/2025 | Relating to the repeal of the Texas Research Incentive Program |
| SB 2065 | 03/07/2025 | Relating to the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System |
| SB 1998 | 03/06/2025 | Relating to a preceptorship program in a pediatric subspecialty for medical students in this state |
| SB 1901 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to the administration of the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Texas Opioid Abatement Trust Fund |
| SB 1900 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to the unlawful possession of a firearm by a person not lawfully present in the United States; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 1899 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to the minimum standards of care provided to sexual assault survivors by health care facilities |
| SB 1896 | 03/04/2025 | Relating to the provision of information regarding an arrested person and the victim of the offense to a magistrate for purposes of an order for emergency protection |
| SB 1738 | 02/27/2025 | Relating to the Judicial Retirement System Plan Two, including resuming service in the retirement system and contributions to the retirement system |
| SB 1737 | 02/27/2025 | Relating to service retirement benefits payable by the Employees Retirement System of Texas to certain law enforcement officers and custodial officers |
| SB 1668 | 02/27/2025 | Relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of the possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of certain devices intended to modify handguns |
| SB 1660 | 02/26/2025 | Relating to the retention and preservation of toxicological evidence of certain intoxication offenses |
| SB 1621 | 02/25/2025 | Relating to prosecution and punishment of certain criminal offenses prohibiting sexually explicit visual material involving depictions of children, computer-generated children, or other persons; creating criminal offenses; increasing criminal penalties |
| SB 1620 | 02/25/2025 | Relating to the establishment of the Texas forensic analyst apprenticeship pilot program |
| SB 5 | 02/20/2025 | Relating to the creation of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas |
| SB 1426 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to operation and management of the first capitol state historic site and replica by the Texas Historical Commission |
| SB 1386 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to testimony or the production of evidence before a house of the legislature or a legislative committee |
| SB 1385 | 02/19/2025 | Relating to the unlawful acquisition of certain weapons; creating a criminal offense |
| SB 40 | 02/07/2025 | Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds to pay bail bonds; authorizing injunctive relief |
| SB 1152 | 02/06/2025 | Relating to creating the criminal offense of continuous manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance |
| SB 1124 | 02/06/2025 | Relating to discovery in a criminal case |
| SB 9 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to the confinement or release of defendants before trial or sentencing, including regulating charitable bail organizations, and the conditions of and procedures for setting bail and reviewing bail decisions |
| SB 1048 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public funds to pay bail bonds |
| SB 1047 | 02/03/2025 | Relating to the release of defendants on bail, the duties of a magistrate in certain criminal proceedings, and the notice provided by peace officers to victims of family violence, stalking, harassment, or terroristic threat |
| SB 1021 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to changing the eligibility for community supervision of a person convicted of stalking and to the offense of improper contact with the person’s victim |
| SB 1020 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to personal bond offices, to the notification provided to a judge regarding tampering with an electronic monitoring device while released on bond or community supervision, and to the availability of certain information regarding a person required to submit to an electronic monitoring program or being supervised by a community supervision and corrections department |
| SB 1019 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to the admissibility of certain hearsay statements in the adjudication of certain sexual or assaultive offenses committed against a child or a person with a disability |
| SB 1018 | 01/30/2025 | Relating to distribution of state traffic fine revenue received by the comptroller |
| SB 1 | 01/22/2025 | General Appropriations Bill |
| SB 816 | 01/16/2025 | Relating to authorizing the disclosure of certain electronic customer data by a provider of an electronic communications service or a remote computing service in certain immediate life-threatening situations |
| SB 741 | 01/08/2025 | Relating to human trafficking, prostitution, and child pornography and to the prosecution of sexual or assaultive offenses or the prosecution of a failure to stop or report those offenses; amending and harmonizing certain statute of limitations provisions; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty |
| SB 664 | 12/19/2024 | Relating to qualifications, training, removal, and supervision of certain masters, magistrates, referees, associate judges, and hearing officers |
| SB 663 | 12/19/2024 | Relating to the approval of a community supervision and corrections department’s budget and strategic plan |
| SB 662 | 12/19/2024 | Relating to the definition of crosswalk for the purpose of motor vehicle collisions involving a pedestrian or other vulnerable road user within the area of a crosswalk |
| SB 552 | 12/09/2024 | Relating to changing the eligibility of certain persons to receive community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision |
| SB 535 | 12/05/2024 | Relating to the admissibility of evidence regarding a victim’s past sexual behavior in prosecutions of certain trafficking, sexual, or assaultive offenses |
| SB 330 | 11/13/2024 | Relating to an election to approve a reduction or reallocation of funding or resources for certain county prosecutors’ offices |
| SB 329 | 11/13/2024 | Relating to the creation of additional judicial districts composed of Brazoria County |
