The Texas Legislature’s 89th regular session commenced on January 14, 2025, and will run until June 2, 2025. During this 140-day legislative period, lawmakers will introduce and vote on bills, resolutions, and emergency matters.
To evaluate public expectations and levels of support or opposition for proposed policies, residents in Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery counties who are part of the Greater Houston Community Panel (GHCP) were asked about their top priorities for state legislators. One in every 5 Texans lives in one of these three counties.
GHCP panelists are asked to participate in periodic surveys that collect information aimed at understanding the conditions, experiences, and preferences of Houston-area residents to inform policy and decision-makers. Data for this analysis were collected in January and February 2025 from more than 9,800 participants.
Key findings
- The economy was the most commonly identified priority (45%) among survey participants, followed by education (34%) and infrastructure (27%).
- Nearly two-thirds of residents (65%) strongly support raising the legal age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 years old.
- Sixty-eight percent of residents are strongly in favor of increasing teachers’ pay and benefits.
- Roughly half of residents oppose introducing school vouchers to pay for tuition at private schools.
- More than 6 in 10 residents strongly agree that if private schools accept state funding, they should be required to publicly report all school finances, accept students with special needs, and provide special education services.
- More than half of residents said that school vouchers, if passed, should provide parents more than $10,000 per student.
