Rep. Wes Virdell

Maddy summaryHB 173 prohibits Texas public universities from soliciting or accepting money, gifts, or donations from specific foreign governments. It directly affects all public institutions of higher education in Texas by banning funds from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or any country that supports foreign terrorist organizations. The bill requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create rules for implementation and takes effect September 1, 2025. This policy change aims to restrict financial ties between Texas universities and certain foreign entities.

Maddy summaryHB 4381 requires the Texas Education Agency to create a plain-language document in English and Spanish explaining parents' rights regarding their child's health information and decisions in public schools. The document must cover specific rights, including accessing health records (like counseling or immunization data), withholding consent for health activities, removing children from classes conflicting with religious beliefs, and opting out of certain screenings or vaccinations. School districts must post the document online and email it to all parents before the first day of each school year. The bill also authorizes administrative penalties for schools that fail to comply with these requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 4184 clarifies that in Texas criminal cases, juries may consider whether a law is unjust or unjustly applied to a defendant and choose to acquit accordingly. The bill requires courts to allow defendants to inform juries about this right and present evidence related to the law's fairness, the defendant's motives, degree of guilt, and potential punishment. It also prohibits excluding jurors who express willingness to exercise this power. These changes apply only to juries sworn in on or after September 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 4198 requires Texas school districts to update their library collection policies every five years to prohibit certain materials, including harmful content (per Penal Code), sexually explicit material rated by vendors, and content containing indecent or profane material. The bill mandates that policies must recognize parents as primary decision-makers for student library access, require transparency in cataloging, and prevent removal of materials based solely on ideas or author background. School districts that fail to comply face a civil penalty. This applies directly to all public school districts managing library collections, including classroom and online resources.

Maddy summaryHB 3956 creates a state-funded program allowing Texas public school parents to use grants for supplemental educational resources for their children. The program, managed by the Texas Education Agency, provides funds for virtual learning, tutoring, extracurricular activities, and college credit courses - items parents can select through online accounts. Eligible students (determined by agency criteria) receive grants from state appropriations to cover these costs, with students able to access unspent funds after graduation. The bill does not specify a parent fee but authorizes program-related administrative fees as part of its structure.

Maddy summaryHB 3930 amends Texas property tax law to include land used for raising or keeping exotic animals as "qualified open-space land" for lower tax appraisal purposes. This change allows landowners operating exotic animal facilities to qualify for the same tax benefits currently available to agricultural or ecological land, regardless of the land's prior use history. The bill specifically adds this use category to the existing definition in the Tax Code, overriding the typical requirement that land must have been devoted to such uses for five of the past seven years. It applies to tax years beginning January 1, 2026, and directly affects landowners with exotic animal operations seeking reduced property tax assessments.

Maddy summaryThis bill renames the Sunset Advisory Commission as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and updates all references to this body in Texas state law. It affects numerous state agencies currently subject to sunset review, including the Texas Education Agency, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and Texas Animal Health Commission. The bill only changes the name of the commission and its references in statutes - no substantive policy changes to the sunset review process are made. As a procedural renaming bill, it has no direct impact on agency operations or public policy.

Maddy summaryHB 3938 creates a public education scholarship program that allows Texas families to receive property tax refunds when enrolling eligible children in schools outside their public school district. It directly affects parents or guardians of children who attended public school in the previous year or are starting pre-K/kindergarten/first grade in 2025. The refund equals the property tax paid for the child's primary residence (capped at the basic school funding allotment), issued by the county tax office after annual proof of enrollment at a non-zoned school is submitted. Funds are paid within 30 days of submission and stop upon graduation, withdrawal, or re-enrollment in the zoned public school.

Maddy summaryHB 3934 prohibits Texas state agencies, local governments, and law enforcement from assisting federal agencies in enforcing certain federal gun regulations. It specifically blocks cooperation on federal requirements like gun registries, licensing for ownership, background checks for private sales, or confiscation of firearms from law-abiding owners. The bill also establishes new state protections for the right to bear arms through a new Government Code chapter. It applies to all Texas governmental entities, including counties, cities, and state departments.

Maddy summaryHB 3936 would automatically cancel all voter registrations in Texas on January 1 of the year following every presidential election. This affects every registered voter in the state, requiring them to re-register under Chapter 13 of the Election Code after each presidential election cycle. Key provisions include removing the option to challenge these cancellations (Section 16.040(b)), changing registration expiration dates from gubernatorial to presidential elections, and eliminating the suspense list cancellation process previously tied to November 30. The bill makes no changes to voting eligibility requirements or procedures beyond this mandatory re-registration cycle.