Legislative Recaps of the 87th Legislature (2021)
The Texas Legislature meets regularly every 2 years (on odd-numbered years). At the end of a regular legislative session, hundreds of passed bills are sent to the governor for approval. Due to the very large number of bills and the wide variety of topics they cover, it can be difficult to get an understanding of all the new laws that were passed.
To help the public become aware of new laws, many organizations provide summaries of new legislation. Below we highlight some of the legislative summaries published by news organizations, state agencies, professional organizations, and independent writers.
Some legislative summaries may be written before the governor's veto period ends. Depending on when the governor receives a bill, he or she has between 10 and 20 days to veto legislation passed by the Legislature. Please keep this in mind when reading any legislative summary. We recommended consulting the governor's veto statements to check that a bill was not vetoed.
Association of Texas Professional Educators
ATPE discusses highlights and lowlights from the 87th legislative session. Topics include school finance, civics, testing, and special education.
Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News's coverage of highlights and lowlights from the 87th legislative session.
Every Texan
Formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities, Every Texan's wrapup focuses on bills that affect health care, food security, education, and more.
Independent Insurance Agents of Texas
The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas website has a discussion of legislative issues from the 87th session that affect the insurance industry.
Legislative Reference Library — Effective Dates for Bills
The Legislative Reference Library provides a listing of the effective dates for bills passed by the 87th Legislature.
Legislative Reference Library — 87th Session Snapshot
The Legislative Reference Library provides this snapshot of the 87th Legislature, with information about House and Senate committees and members.
Office of Public Insurance Counsel
This wrap-up from OPIC discusses recommendations for insurance consumer protections that passed during the 87th Legislative Session.
The National Rifle Association – Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA)
This post from the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association discusses the NRA-supported legislation that passed during the 87th legislative session.
Texas Agriculture Law Blog
A project of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, this law blog covers legal issues that impact Texas agriculture. Their July 26th post breaks down agriculture bills that passed during the 87th Regular Session.
Texas Association of Counties
TAC provides information for county officials on state laws that affect Texas counties. Their Legislative News section covers the 87th Texas legislative session.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
This blog post We Were Wondering: A TCEQ Blog discusses legislative incentives to improve air quality, changes to petroleum storage tank regulation, and new funding to implement federal Lead and Copper Rule Revisions.
Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization focused on criminal justice reform. This section of their site covers criminal justice-related legislature from the 87th session.
Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities [Video]
This Youtube video is a recording of a program titled A Capitol Recap: Disability Policy in the 87th Legislature. The program is a joint project of TCDD and the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities (GCPD).
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
A summary of criminal justice-related legislature from the 87th session from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Texas Department of Information Resources
This overview from DIR tracks newly minted legislation on technology, cybersecurity, and related issues.
Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation
This recap details TDLR-related bills from the 87th session.
Texas Department of Public Safety
A number of legislative bills passed during the 87th Regular session affect firearms laws in Texas. DPS has a brief explanation of each of these bills.
Texas District and County Attorneys Association
A general election recap and legislative updates from TDCAA.
Texas Homeowners Association Law
This blog post from Gregory Cagle's website on HOA law in Texas takes a look at bills that affect HOAs and POAs that passed during the 87th Regular Session.
Texas Medical Association
TMA provides a recap of health and medicine-related bills from the 87th legislative session.
Texas Municipal League
TML's list of weekly legislative updates that affect municipal government from the 87th session.
Texas Labor Law Blog
This blog on Texas labor and employment law covers various bills passed during the 87th session that affect employment law.
Disclaimer: The sites listed above are hosted by third-party organizations and are intended as informational sources for the public; the library does not endorse any political messages these sources may contain. Please see our third-party linking policy for more information.