While Gov. Greg Abbott has already signed the most contentious and highly visible bill of the session, the ESA program he invested a huge amount of his political capital (and other people's money) to get made into law, most of the other legislation dubbed as priorities by the state's GOP leadership continues to move, though at highly variable speeds, through the legislative process. Amidst the familiar rock throwing between the two chambers about who is working harder, the House is slated to work over the weekend (sorry, moms!) as the regular session ticks towards its endgame. 

Among that legislation are bills that Lt. Gov. Patrick threatened to use as bargaining chips to induce the governor to call a special session (not exactly his wording), on more or less banning the general availability of THC products and limiting judges' ability to grant bail to violent offenders and undocumented immigrants. As the data below illustrates, the former gets a lukewarm reception in the latest polling data, while the latter has much wider support.

The April 2025 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll contained many items probing Texans' attitudes about policy and spending priorities, as well as attitudes about more specific policy proposals invested in bills now being discussed in the legislature. The sections below are organized into Texans' assessments of different legislative priorities, with that table showing the share of key groups who think each priority is either 'extremely' or 'very' important; views of state spending in a dozen different areas; views of the direction of state laws; and then support and opposition for a selection of proposal before the legislature. For each table, click on the description on the left hand column to dive deeper into those results among multiple groups in the electorate. If you'd like to read more about the April University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll, take a look at the piece accompanying the release, the latest poll page, and/or the polling search.

Priorities

While there are an unlimited number of potential priorities, the poll sought to test the importance of those priorities outlined by state leaders, the voters (according to what they've told us in the surveys), and in limited instances, the opposition party.

Spending

With the budget largely agreed to, though always room for more wrangling, here's a look at how Texans feel about the state's investment in 12 different policy areas.

Direction of Current Laws

As always, the legislature's final days will be filled with some amount of conflict over some number of bills that one side or, much more likely, the other, finds controversial. While the April poll delves into a number of specific policy responses (check out the Latest Poll Page for an easier way to browse for items of interest), below is a look at Texans' preferred direction for the strictness of the state's laws in some active domains.

Select Policy Proposals