2021 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
The Texas Young Republicans routinely survey our membership to determine what they think should be priority items of the Texas Legislature. At the TYRF 2020 Convention we passed a resolution with these legislative priorities for 2021:

Constitutional
Carry
Carry
Safeguard the right of all Texans to bear arms by adopting Constitutional Carry.

Abolish
Abortion
Abortion
Supporting bills that promote adoption, supporting Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act, the Heartbeat Bill, and the ultimate end of abortion in Texas.

Government
Reform
Reform
Protecting the freedom of Texans to engage in economic activity without abusive “emergency” regulations, and restoring the proper balance of power between the Texas legislature and governor.

Cannabis
Policy
Policy
Penalty reduction for personal possession of small amounts of cannabis. Expand the Texas Compassionate Use Program to allow greater access to medical cannabis for Texans.

Bail
Reform
Reform
Bail in Texas should be based only on a person’s danger to society and risk of flight, not that person’s ability to pay.
2021 Legislation that TYRF Supports or Opposes
The TYRF Policy Committee regularly meets to discuss bills introduced by the Texas Legislature.
Below you will find a list of bills that we, the TYRF Policy Committee, have chosen to support or oppose. You can read the bills in their entirety by going to https://capitol.texas.gov/ and looking up the bill by its number.
For questions or comments please contact our policy director, Jason Vaugn, at policy@texasyr.gop
Topic | Priority | TYRF Position | HB Number & Committee | SB Number & Committee | HB Author | SB Author | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regulations | Supports | HB1071 JCJ | CJ | Harris | Relating to the presence of a qualified facility dog or qualified therapy animal in certain court proceedings. | ||
Education | Supports | HB1603 PE | E | Huberty | Relating to the use of individual graduation committees and other alternative methods to satisfy certain public high school graduation requirements | ||
Cannabis | YES | Supports | HB3772 CJ | SB 1175 SA | White | Johnson | Relating to the criminal and licensing consequences of certain criminal offenses involving the possession or delivery of marihuana and cannabis concentrate or possession of drug paraphernalia; imposing a fee; authorizing a fine. |
Cannabis | Supports | HB94 PH | SB 90 HHS | Reynolds | Menéndez | Relating to authorizing the possession, use, cultivation, distribution, transportation, and delivery of medical cannabis for medical use by qualifying patients with certain debilitating medical conditions and the licensing of dispensing organizations and testing facilities; authorizing fees. | |
Government Powers | YES | Supports | SA | SB1025 SA | Birdwell | Relating to the authority of the legislature, governor, and certain political subdivisions with respect to disasters and emergencies | |
Health Care | Support | HB2487 PH | SB1137 B&C | Oliverson | Kolhkorst | Hospital price transparency | |
Supports | SB1146 HHS | Relating to abortion reporting and exemptions to abortion facility licensing; creating a criminal offense. | |||||
Pro-Life | YES | Supports | HB3218 PH | SB1173 SA | Schaefer | Hancock | Relating to the regulation of abortion, including information regarding perinatal palliative care and prohibiting discriminatory abortions; authorizing disciplinary action; providing a civil remedy; creating a criminal offense. |
Police | Supports | HB8 HSPS | SB1205 Jur | Pacheco | Schwertner | Relating to access by a hiring law enforcement agency to an applicant's employment records. | |
Guns | Supports | HSPS | SB1253 SA | Hall | Relating to the issuance and renewal of licenses to carry a handgun for purposes of reciprocity with other states. | ||
"Let There Be Light" | Supports | HB17 SA | SB1262 B&C | Deshotel | Relating to a restriction on the regulation of utility services and infrastructure based on the energy source to be used or delivered | ||
Gender Modification | Support | HB2693 PH | SB1311 SA | Toth | Hall | Relating to the provision of and professional liability insurance coverage for gender transitioning or gender reassignment medical procedures and treatments for certain children. | |
Police | Support | SB1359 CJ | Hughes | Relating to adoption by law enforcement agencies of a mental health leave policy for peace officers. | |||
Curfew | Supports | HB561 JJFI | SB1486 CJ | Israel | Hughes | Relating to the repeal of the authority of political subdivisions to adopt or enforce juvenile curfews. | |
Cannabis | Supports | HB439 CJ | SB151 SA | Canales | Johnson | Relating to the criminal penalties for possession or delivery of marihuana and marihuana concentrate. | |
Health Care | Support | HB2676 PH | SB1558 HHS | Bonnen | Taylor | Stillborn Record of Life | |
Pro-life | YES | Supports | HB3760 PH | SB1647 SA | Oliverson | Perry | Relating to information regarding perinatal palliative care, regulation of abortion, and the availability of certain defenses to prosecution for homicide and assault offenses; providing an administrative penalty; creating criminal offenses. |
Guns | Supports | HB1500 SA | SB18 SA | Hefner | Creighton | ||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB569 CJ | SB192 CJ | Sanford | West | Relating to credit toward payment of a fine and costs for certain misdemeanants confined in jail or prison before sentencing. | |
Custody | Support | HB2536 JJFI | SB2015 SA | Krause | Buckingham | Relating to neglect of a child and the grounds for termination of the parent-child relationship and possession of a child by the Department of Family and Protective Services. | |
Government Powers | Supports | HB25 E | SB208 SA | Swanson | Relating to a prohibition on the distribution of an application form for an early voting ballot. | ||
Civics | Support | HB3979 PE | SB2202 SA | Toth | Creighton | Relating to civics instruction public school students and instruction policies in public schools. | |
Crim Justice | Supports | HB1002 CJ | SB281 CJ | Lucio III | Relating to the use of hypnotically induced testimony in a criminal trial. | ||
Abortion | Supports | SB294 SA | Perry | Relating to reports on abortions performed at an abortion facility. | |||
Redlining | Support | JCJ | SB30 SA | West | Relating to the removal of certain discriminatory restrictions and provisions from certain real property records. | ||
Criminal Justice | Supports | HB834 CJ | SB301 CJ | Thompson, Senfronia | Hinojosa | Relating to requiring the corroboration of certain testimony in a criminal case involving a controlled substance. | |
Government Powers | YES | Supports | SB422 SA | Springer | Relating to the establishment of the Emergency Powers Board and its powers during a declared state of disaster or public health disaster. | ||
Witness Testimony | Support | HB1636 CJ | SB492 CJ | Sherman | West | Relating to allowing therapy or facility dogs to accompany a child or a person with a disability during testimony in certain criminal cases. | |
Guns | YES | Supports | HB1927 HSPS | SB540 SA | Schaefer | Springer | Relating to authorizing certain person to carry a handgun |
Sale of Suppressors | Support | HB957 SA | SB543 SA | Oliverson | Springer | Relating to local, state, and federal regulation of firearm suppressors. | |
Guns | YES | Supports | SB546 SA | Springer | Relating to the places where a person may carry a handgun if the person is licensed to carry a handgun and to certain related criminal offenses. | ||
Government Powers | Supports | HB26 SA | SB547 SA | Swanson | Springer | Relating to the governor's power to control the sale, transportation, and use of weapons and ammunition during a declared state of disaster or state of emergency. | |
Guns | Supports | HB4358 HSPS | SB550 SA | Springer | Relating to the manner of carrying a handgun by a person who holds a license under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code. | ||
Government Powers | Supports | SB551 SA | Campbell | Relating to wages and employment benefits | |||
Pro-life | Supports | HB1291 PH | SB573 SA | Bell, Keith | Springer | Relating to notice of the right to object to participation in an abortion procedure for health care personnel of a hospital or health care facility. | |
Liability Protection | Support | HB3659 JCJ | SB6 B&C | Leach | Hancock | Relating to liability for certain claims arising during a pandemic or other disaster or emergency. | |
Homelessness | Support | HB1803 UA | SB646 LC | Wilson | Require county approval for homeless shelters | ||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB686 JJFI | SB687 CJ | Moody | Lucio | Relating to the release on parole of certain inmates convicted of an offense committed when younger than 18 years of age; changing parole eligibility. | |
Child Care | Supports | HB1792 IRED | SB694 HHS | Button | Zaffarini | Relating to the evaluation of child-care providers participating in the Texas Rising Star Program. | |
Crim Justice | Supports | HB1293 | SB698 CJ | Smithee | Hughes | Relating to the authority of a court to grant a motion for a new trial in certain criminal cases. | |
Sports Betting | Support | HB2070 SA | SB737 B&C | Huberty | Hinojosa | Relating to the regulation of sports wagering; requiring an occupational permit; authorizing a fee; imposing a tax; creating criminal offenses; decriminalizing wagering on sports events. | |
Pro-life | YES | Supports | HB1515 PH | SB8 SA | Slawson | Hughes | Relating to prohibiting abortions after detection of an unborn child's heartbeat; authorizing an administrative penalty. |
Abortion | Support | HB2313 PH | SB802 SA | Leach | Paxton | Relating to a required resource access assistance offer before an abortion is performed. | |
Cannabis | Support | HB1694 PH | SB811 CJ | Raney | Schwertner | Relating to a defense to prosecution for certain offenses involving possession of small amounts of controlled substances, marihuana, dangerous drugs, or abusable volatile chemicals, or possession of drug paraphernalia for defendants seeking assistance for a suspected overdose. | |
10 Day Rule | Support | HB2609 PH | SB917 HHS | Parker | Hughes | Relating to advance directives or health care or treatment decisions made by or on behalf of patients. | |
Criminal Justice | Support | HB830 HSPS | SB950 CJ | Thompson, Senfronia | Hinojosa | Relating to law enforcement policies regarding the issuance of citations for misdemeanors punishable by fine only and to a limitation on the authority to arrest a person for certain fine-only misdemeanors. | |
Camping Ban | Support | HB1925 SA | SB987 LC | Capriglione | Buckingham | Relating to prohibitions on camping in a public place; creating a criminal offense. | |
Government Powers | Supports | HJR72 SA | SJR27 SA | Leach | Hancock | Proposing a constitutional amendment to prohibit this state or a political subdivision of this state from prohibiting or limiting a religious service conducted by a religious organization | |
Cannabis | YES | Supports | HB1535 PH | Klick | Relating to the medical use of low-THC cannabis by patients with certain medical conditions and the establishment of compassionate-use institutional review boards to evaluate and approve proposed research programs to study the medical use of low-THC cannabis in the treatment of certain patients. | ||
Bail Reform | YES | Supports | HB20 CJ | Murr | |||
Government Powers | YES | Supports | HB340/629/1690 SA | Cain/White/Tinderholt | Relating to the governor's power to control the sale, dispensing, transportation, storage, and use of alcoholic beverages, ammunition, explosives, combustibles, and weapons during a declared state of disaster or state of emergency. | ||
Cannabis | YES | Supports | HB99 CJ | Toth | Relating to the possession of two ounces or less of marihuana; authorizing a fee. | ||
Crim Justice | YR Crafted | Supports | HB3606 Cor | Leach | Relating to the provision of vocational training to inmates confined in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice transfer facility | ||
Crim Justice | YR Crafted | Supports | HB4355 JJFI | Krause | Relating to providing children committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and prisoners serving a sentence in a county jail with certain documents on discharge or release. | ||
Supports | HB1057 CRT | Oliverson | Relating to designating November 7 as Victims of Communism Day | ||||
Government Powers | Supports | HB1137 WM | Cain | Relating to limiting the assessment of certain fees and taxes during a declared state of disaster. | |||
Cannabis | Support | HB1178 CJ | Crockett | Relating to removing criminal penalties for the possession of drug paraphernalia under the Texas Controlled Substances Act. | |||
Guns | Oppose | HB118 HSPS | Ortega | National background check | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB132 CJ | Canales | Relating to criminal asset forefeiture proceedings | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB1340 CJ | Leach | Relating to the extent of a defendant's criminal responsibility for the conduct of a coconspirator in certain capital felony cases. | |||
Taxes | Supports | HB1341 CRT | Leach | ||||
Guns | Supports | HB1387 HS | Harris | Relating to the storage of firearms and ammunition in the same locked location in certain foster homes | |||
Gender Modification | Support | HB1399 PH | Krause | Relating to professional liability insurance coverage for and prohibitions on the provision to certain children of procedures and treatments for gender transitioning, gender reassignment, or gender dysphoria. | |||
Pro-Life | Supports | HB1424 PH | Oliverson | Relating to a health care provider's right to object to participation in a medical procedure that violates the provider's ethical, moral, or religious beliefs. | |||
Pro-Life | Supports | HB1432 PH | Shaheen | Relating to prohibiting certain discriminatory abortions; authorizing disciplinary action; authorizing an administrative penalty. | |||
Criminal Justice | Supports | HB1441 CJ | Schaefer | Relating to the state's burden of proof in certain asset forfeiture proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure. | |||
Government Powers | Supports | HB1517 LAP | Dutton | Relating to the hours for the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages at certain licensed or permitted premises during special events | |||
Cannabis | Support | HB1609 CJ | Crockett | ||||
Cannabis | Support | HB169 CJ | Thompson, Senfronia | ||||
Taxes | Oppose | HB1705 W&M | Schofield | Relating to the establishment of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that taxing units may impose on the residence homesteads of individuals who are disabled or elderly and their surviving spouses. | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB1717 | Thompson, S | Relating to the state's continuing duty to disclose exculpatory, impeachment, or mitigating evidence in a criminal case and prohibited retaliation against local assistant prosecutors for discharging that duty. | |||
Water | Supports | HB1801 NR | Larson | Relating to withdrawals of water from the Edwards Aquifer to supply a military installation. | |||
Animals | Supports | HB1818 B&I | Patterson | Relating to the source of dogs and cats sold by pet stores; providing a civil penalty. | |||
Guns | Supports | HB1856 HSPS | Hefner | Relating to carrying and storing a firearm or firearm ammunition by a hotel guest | |||
Guns | Supports | HB1911 HSPS | White | Relating to provisions governing the carrying of a handgun by certain unlicensed persons and to other provisions related to the carrying, possessing, transporting, or storing of a firearm; providing criminal penalties. | |||
Water | Supports | HB1926 NR | Wilson | Relating to the extension of water or sewer service by certain retail public utilities at the request of a developer. | |||
Police | Supports | HB1938 HSPS | Jetton | Relating to a grant program for law enforcement agencies to defray the cost of data storage for recordings created with body worn cameras. | |||
"Let There Be Light" | Support | HB1951 SA | Patterson | Relating to electricity pricing rules and operating procedures that eliminate or compensate for market distortion caused by certain federal tax credits. | |||
"Let There Be Light" | Support | HB2084 WM | Cason | Relating to the eligibility of property used for renewable energy electric generation for ad valorem tax benefits under the Texas Economic Development Act. | |||
Government Powers | Opposes | HB2206 ER | Talarico | Relating to the Texas Climate Action Act. | |||
CPS Custody | Support | HB2308 JJFI | Gates | Relating to procedures in certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services. | |||
Community Service Report | Support | HB2384 Cor | Sherman | Relating to measures to improve community supervision outcomes. | |||
Reinvestment Program | Support | HB2442 Cor | White | Relating to the creation of the Justice Reinvestment Incentive Program. | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB252 CJ | Moody | Relating to certain sentencing procedures in a capital case. | |||
Gambling | Support | HB2570 LAP | Kuempel | Allows for pull tab bingo | |||
CPS | Support | HB2680 HS | Hull | Relating to certain procedures relating to children placed under a parental child safety placement. | |||
Pro-Life | Supports | HB2727 PH | Hefner | Relating to voluntary and informed consent to an abortion. |
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Criminal Justice | Support | HB275 CJ | Moody | Relating to an application for a writ of habeas corpus based on certain relevant scientific evidence that was not available at the applicant's trial. | |||
Reentry Housing | Supports | HB2754 Cor | Allen | Relating to post-release housing for inmates released on parole or to mandatory supervision. | |||
Criminal Justice | Support | HB295 CJ | Murr | Relating to the provision of funding for indigent defense services. | |||
CPS | Support | HB3011 JJFI | Hull | Relating to the contents of a petition in certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship. | |||
Taxes | Support | HB321 W&M | Howard | Relating to a sales and use tax exemption for certain feminine hygiene products. | |||
Anti-semitism | Support | HB3257 CRT | King | Relating to the creation of the Texas Commission on Antisemitism. | |||
Government Powers | Supports | HB329 E | Cain | Relating to election integrity. | |||
Government Powers | Supports | HB335 E | Cain | Relating to the cancellation of a person's voter registration on notice that the person has acknowledged that the person is not a citizen; providing a civil penalty; creating a criminal offense. | |||
Regulations | Support with Amendment | HB344 B&I | Canales | Relating to the payment of gratuities to certain employees | |||
Parole | Support | HB358 COR | Sherman | Relating to certain technical violations of conditions of community supervision. | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB3655 PH | White | Relating to the authority of certain facilities to temporarily detain a person with mental illness | |||
Police | Supports | HB3712 HSPS | Thompson, Ed | Relating to the hiring and training of and policies for peace officers. | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB385 Cor | Pacheco | Relating to conditions of community supervision and procedures applicable to the reduction or termination of a defendant's period of community supervision. | |||
Animals | Supports | HB399 CJ | Shaheen | Relating to a dog's restraint and shelter. | |||
Property Appraisal | Support | HB4269 W&M | Hull | Relating to the procedure to be used by an appraisal review board to conduct a hearing on a protest. | |||
Age of Responsibility | Support | HB4371 JJFI | Allen | Relating to juvenile justice reform, including the age of a child at which a juvenile court may exercise jurisdiction over the child and the age of criminal responsibility. | |||
Cannabis | Supports | HB441 CJ | Zwiener | Relating to the criminal and licensing consequences of certain marihuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession offenses; imposing a fee. | |||
Dr Pepper | Support | HB4554 CRT | Cain | Relating to the designation of Dr Pepper as the state soft drink. | |||
Cannabis | Support | HB498 CJ | Wu | ||||
Guns | Supports | HB530 HSPS | Patterson | Relating to the applicability to election judges of a prohibition on the carrying of a handgun at a polling place | |||
Government Powers | Supports | HB61 E | Swanson | Relating to the signature required on an application for voter registration or for a ballot to be voted by mail. | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB667 CJ | Dutton | Relating to asset forfeiture proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure | |||
Abortion | Supports | HB69 PH | Toth | Relating to prohibiting abortion at or after 12 weeks post-fertilization. | |||
Death Penalty | Support | HB77 CJ | Toth | Relating to prohibiting the death penalty for a defendant whose conviction is based solely on certain evidence. | |||
Crim Justice | Supports | HB859 CJ | Collier | Relating to the expunction of all records and files related to arrests for certain decriminalized misdemeanor offenses. | |||
Government Powers | Supports | HB906 SA | Krause | Removes the state or local government's authority to distinguish between "essential" and "nonessential" employment and services during a declared disaster | |||
Knives | Support | HB956 CJ | Dutton | Removes restrictions on carrying knives | |||
Bail Reform | Support | HJR4 CJ | Kacal | ||||
Government Powers | Supports | HJR47 SA | Krause | A special session is triggered if certain disaster or emergency declarations last for 30 days |