Rep. Jeff Leach

Maddy summaryHB 138 establishes the Health Impact, Cost, and Coverage Analysis Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. The program analyzes proposed legislation that would require health insurers (including Medicaid managed care organizations) to cover new services, change payment rates, or add administrative requirements. Legislators or committee chairs can request these analyses before voting on such bills. The bill authorizes a fee to fund this program’s operations.

Maddy summarySB 66 amends Texas Estates Code to explicitly allow supporters under a supported decision-making agreement to assist adults with disabilities in legal proceedings, including civil and criminal cases. This directly affects adults with disabilities who use supported decision-making agreements, clarifying that supporters may help them access legal information, understand options, and communicate decisions - without making decisions for them. The bill adds "legal proceedings" as a specific area where supporters can provide assistance, aligning with existing provisions for other life decisions like healthcare and finances. It does not create new authority but formalizes current practice by expanding the scope of permitted support in the agreement form.

Maddy summarySB 965 protects public school employees in Texas (including teachers and staff) from being restricted from engaging in religious speech or prayer during work hours. It prohibits school districts or charter schools from infringing on this right unless they have a compelling state interest that cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. The law takes effect September 1, 2025, and applies directly to all public school employees in Texas. This is a policy change that defines when schools may limit religious expression, not a requirement for employees to engage in it.

Maddy summaryHB 2 amends Texas education law to change how public school districts and charter schools compensate teachers. It requires schools to implement performance-based pay systems where teacher salaries differentiate based on appraisals, prohibits routine across-the-board raises, and mandates that all teachers be eligible for designations like "master" or "exemplary" based on evaluations. The bill also establishes criteria for districts to qualify for enhanced teacher incentive funding, including strategic evaluation systems for principals and placing highly effective teachers at high-need campuses. This directly affects school districts, charter schools, and classroom teachers by restructuring compensation and evaluation practices.

Maddy summarySB 2405 amends Texas Education Code sections governing the Windham School District, which provides education to incarcerated individuals. It requires the district to develop career-focused educational programs (including vocational training) that address barriers to certification/licensure for those with felony convictions, and to prioritize programs leading to certification. The bill mandates tracking specific outcomes for participants, such as employment rates, earnings, job retention, and whether employment relates to their training. It also requires informing inmates before enrollment about state agency certification barriers, historical success rates for certification, and appeal processes. These changes directly affect incarcerated individuals participating in Windham School District programs across Texas prisons.

Maddy summarySB 23 increases the school district homestead tax exemption for elderly (65+) or disabled homeowners from $10,000 to $60,000 of their home's appraised value. This directly affects eligible homeowners who qualify for the exemption and school districts that may lose local tax revenue due to the change. The bill requires the state to provide additional aid to school districts to offset revenue losses from the higher exemption, starting with the 2025-2026 school year. The state aid calculation compares current revenue to what would have been collected under the previous exemption amount. The bill was signed into law on June 16, 2025, and is now effective.

Maddy summaryThis Texas bill (SB 4) increases the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $100,000 to $140,000 per homeowner, directly affecting residential property owners. School districts will receive additional state aid to offset revenue losses from this exemption increase, calculated as the difference between current local revenue and what would have been available before the change. The compensation mechanism applies starting with the 2023-2024 school year for the initial exemption increase and will extend to future changes proposed for 2025. This ensures school districts maintain funding stability despite reduced local tax revenue from larger homestead exemptions.

Maddy summaryHB 9 creates a property tax exemption for businesses owning tangible personal property (like equipment or inventory) used to generate income. It exempts $125,000 of the appraised value of such property at each location within a taxing unit, regardless of the property's individual value. The exemption applies to all businesses holding income-producing property at a single address, and related businesses operating under a unified enterprise must aggregate their property to calculate the exemption. Additionally, businesses leasing such property receive the full $125,000 exemption for all leased items, even if located across different taxing units.

Maddy summarySB 2308 establishes a Texas grant program to fund clinical trials of ibogaine with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval as a treatment for opioid use disorder, co-occurring substance use disorders, and other neurological or mental health conditions where ibogaine demonstrates efficacy. The program provides state funding to public-private partnerships conducting FDA drug development trials, targeting organizations with capacity to lead these trials and seek FDA approval. Eligible applicants must be for-profit, nonprofit, or public benefit entities capable of conducting the required trials and future research. This policy change directly supports the FDA approval process for ibogaine treatment, without authorizing its immediate use.

Maddy summarySJR 27 proposes a constitutional amendment to restructure the State Commission on Judicial Conduct and clarify the process for disciplining judges and justices in Texas. The amendment changes the Commission's membership, reducing citizen appointees from seven to five, requiring all members to reside in Texas, and prohibiting members from holding a judgeship in the same court type as another Commission member. It also updates disciplinary procedures to include immediate suspension for judges facing felony indictments or misconduct-related misdemeanor charges, while expanding the grounds for sanctions to include violations of judicial conduct rules or actions discrediting the judiciary. These changes aim to streamline the process for addressing judicial misconduct while maintaining constitutional requirements.