Data centers, minimum wage and Medicaid legislation open bill filing for a divided Texas Legislature

Expanding Medicaid. Boosting the minimum wage for Texas workers. Ending tax breaks for data centers.

Those ideas and more were among the first bills filed by Texas Democratic lawmakers as a new era of lawmaking under a Democratic governor and divided Texas Legislature kicked off Monday morning.

Among the other ideas: undoing a state law that requires sheriffs to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and forbidding border wall construction at state parks.

First out of the gate were House and Senate bills to expand access to Medicaid, long sought by Democrats and blocked by Republicans who argue expansion would be wasteful. Under Republicans, Texas has long held out on expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act — which would send the state up to $10 billion a year and cover an additional 1 million Texans. Texas is the most populous state to not allow Medicaid expansion. 

State Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, filed a bill that would direct the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to expand Medicaid. The agency would have to file a plan to do so to Washington. State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, filed a companion bill in the Senate.

Bucy acknowledged that any move to expand Medicaid health insurance coverage would face pushback from the Texas Senate, where Republicans continue to hold a majority.

“We do think there’s going to be a lot of room to find compromise,” he said. “The House and the Senate need to find compromise to get things done for the people of Texas.

Medicaid in Texas mostly covers low-income children, new moms and older adults. It does not cover working-age adults who either earn too little to afford health insurance on their own or work for an employer that offers health insurance.

The 90th session of the Texas Legislature will convene Jan. 12.

About 340 bills were filed in the first two hours Monday, with hundreds more expected during the unofficial opening of the next legislative session. Bill filing will continue through March 12. Most legislation will fall short of the governor’s desk, but Monday’s flurry will offer an early glimpse of lawmakers’ priorities. 

The lowest bill numbers are typically reserved for the highest priority bills as determined by the House speaker and lieutenant governor, who presides over the Senate.

Republicans remain in majority control of the Senate as Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin, a Democrat, prepares to take office as part of a Democratic sweep of statewide offices in last week’s election. 

Democrats will control the House in the 90th Session and will elect a leader to replace Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, on the session’s first day.

Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman and the longest-serving Black legislator in any state, announced Friday that she had enough votes to win the speaker’s gavel.

Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned heavily on reversing GOP education policy, like the state’s school voucher program that lets families use tax dollars to pay for their children’s private schooling. That law was passed during the 89th Legislative Session in 2025. 

Democrats broadly also campaigned on establishing tighter guardrails on data center development, pulling back restrictions on consumable hemp products and lowering the cost of living in the state. 

Hinojosa on Thursday signaled a willingness to work with Republicans in the Senate on issues as she announced a transition team made up of Democrats and Republicans. 

“I would hope that elected leaders from both parties don’t get in the way of the progress we can make together to deliver for working people,” Hinojosa said. “That is our obligation as leaders in this state, and I look forward to working with Republican leaders in the Legislature.”

This story will continue updating as bills get filed.