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The Texas Legislature’s second special session of 2025 grew larger on August 20, when Governor Greg Abbott (R) issued a formal proclamation expanding the agenda. His announcement came just hours after the Texas House passed a new congressional redistricting plan, the very issue that had prompted House Democrats to flee the state earlier in the summer to break quorum.
The expansion added three new priorities: legislation to impose punishments for lawmakers who willfully absent themselves during a session, legislation authorizing the purchase of Ivermectin at pharmacies, and legislation directing the Texas Water Development Board to conduct a groundwater study of East Texas aquifers.
Background: The Redistricting Map and Quorum Break
The second special session was already defined by unfinished business from the first. That session ended in failure after more than 50 House Democrats left the state on August 4 to block consideration of mid-decade congressional redistricting. Their departure deprived the chamber of the two-thirds quorum required to conduct business.
When Democrats returned, the House quickly took up the redistricting plan. On August 20, the chamber approved House Bill 4, a new congressional map projected to give Republicans a five-seat advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives. The final vote was 88–52 along party lines, with Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) also casting a rare vote in favor.
Republicans, led by State Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), argued the map was drawn with “political performance” in mind, which the U.S. Supreme Court has permitted. Democrats countered that the map illegally diluted minority representation. Progressive protesters filled the Capitol rotunda during debate, and every Democratic amendment offered on the floor was rejected.
The map is expected to reach Abbott’s desk quickly, though Democrats are preparing immediate legal challenges, including a lawsuit tied to ongoing redistricting litigation in El Paso.
Hours after the proposed maps’ passage from the Texas House, Governor Abbott expanded the session’s agenda.
Quorum-Break Punishments Added to Texas Special Session Agenda
The most politically charged of Abbott’s three additions is legislation to establish penalties or punishments for lawmakers who willfully absent themselves during a session.
Abbott’s proclamation emphasized the need to ensure that “rogue lawmakers cannot hijack the important business of Texans during a legislative session by fleeing the state.” His call reflects frustration with the Democratic quorum break that derailed the first special session and delayed action on redistricting.
Republican leaders had already pursued civil arrest orders and other measures during the walkout, but this legislation seeks a permanent solution. Democrats argue that quorum breaks remain a constitutionally protected tool of the minority, but Abbott’s push attempts to ensure the issue will now receive direct legislative attention.
Ivermectin Access Added to Special Session Agenda
Abbott’s second addition directs lawmakers to consider legislation authorizing a person to purchase Ivermectin at a pharmacy.
Though most commonly used as an antiparasitic, Ivermectin became politically charged during the COVID-19 pandemic when it was promoted by some as a treatment option. Abbott’s framing of this addition highlights broader themes of medical choice and individual liberty. If passed, Texas would join a small group of states taking steps to loosen restrictions on the drug.
East Texas Groundwater Study
The third addition requires a groundwater study of East Texas aquifers by the Texas Water Development Board prior to the issuance of permits or permit amendments by certain groundwater conservation districts.
Groundwater is critical to East Texas agriculture and development, and debates over sustainability, industrial use, and local control have grown more contentious. This study signals Abbott’s willingness to elevate local water concerns to the state agenda, even amid high-profile political fights over redistricting and quorum breaks.
Full Updated Agenda for the Second Special Session
With Abbott’s expansion, the second called special session agenda now includes 22 items:
- Legislation to improve early warning systems and preparedness infrastructure in flood-prone areas.
- Legislation to strengthen emergency communications and response infrastructure in flood-prone areas.
- Legislation to provide relief funding for response to and recovery from the July 2025 storms, including local FEMA match funding.
- Legislation to evaluate and streamline rules and regulations related to disaster preparedness and recovery.
- Legislation to eliminate the STAAR test and replace it with effective accountability tools.
- Legislation to reduce the property tax burden on Texans and impose spending limits on local taxing entities.
- Legislation to make it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to individuals under 21 years of age.
- Legislation to comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including potency limits, restrictions on synthetics, and enforcement mechanisms.
- Legislation further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion-inducing drugs.
- Legislation prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying, including both contract lobbyists and lobbying associations.
- Legislation similar to SB 1278 to protect human trafficking victims from criminal liability for certain non-violent acts.
- Legislation protecting law enforcement officers from public disclosure of unsubstantiated complaints in personnel files.
- Legislation protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
- Legislation proposing a constitutional amendment allowing the Attorney General to prosecute state election crimes.
- Legislation to provide a revised congressional redistricting plan in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Legislation similar to SB 648 to strengthen protections against title theft and deed fraud.
- Legislation similar to SB 1253 to allow political subdivisions to reduce impact fees for builders who include water conservation and efficiency measures.
- Legislation similar to SB 2878 relating to the operation and administration of the Judicial Department of state government.
- Legislation relating to camp safety, in response to the Camp Mystic tragedy during the July 4 flood disaster.
- Legislation to impose penalties or punishments for legislators who willfully absent themselves during a session.
- Legislation to authorize a person to purchase Ivermectin at a pharmacy.
- Legislation relating to a groundwater study of East Texas aquifers by the Texas Water Development Board prior to the issuance of permits or permit amendments by certain groundwater conservation districts.
Political Takeaways
Abbott’s timing was deliberate. By adding quorum-break punishments to the agenda immediately after the House passed HB 4, he underscored his determination to prevent Democrats from using the tactic in future sessions.
The expansion also reveals a mix of high-stakes politics and technical policymaking. Quorum-break penalties and Ivermectin access are lightning-rod issues sure to generate statewide attention, while the East Texas groundwater study reflects local concerns with long-term implications.
At the same time, the sheer size of the agenda, now 22 items, raises questions about legislative bandwidth. With just weeks left in the maximum 30-day session, it remains unclear how much lawmakers can realistically accomplish. Speaker Dustin Burrows announced at the outset of the special session that once a quorum was obtained, it was his intent to have completed the House’s work by Labor Day. With the Senate having already acted on a majority of the special session agenda, that goal might be realistic.
Conclusion
The second special session began with 19 items carried over from the first, plus a new focus on camp safety. It has now expanded to 22, with Abbott adding quorum-break punishments, Ivermectin access, and an East Texas groundwater study.
Abbott’s expansion ties the Legislature’s immediate work to the broader political battles of 2025: redistricting, partisan power struggles, and debates over liberty and regulation. Whether lawmakers can make progress on such a broad agenda remains uncertain, but the governor has made clear that quorum breaks and the Democrats’ walkout in particular will not be tolerated moving forward.
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