What Problems Is Texas Spending Its Time Trying to Solve?
A Texas Capital Report analysis of nearly 30,000 legislative measures filed during the 87th, 88th, and 89th Texas Legislatures reveals something surprising.
Texas' priorities are changing less than many people think.
Education remains the dominant policy domain across all three legislatures. Criminal justice consistently ranks second. Healthcare remains among the largest legislative priorities. Government finance continues to grow. Housing has emerged as one of the fastest-growing policy areas in the state.
Texas’ Core Legislative Priorities Stayed Remarkably Stable
Across the 87th, 88th, and 89th Texas Legislatures, the same major policy domains remained near the top: education, criminal justice, healthcare, state finance, and local government.
| Policy Domain | 87R | 88R | 89R |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 1,421 | 2,131 | 1,447 |
| Criminal Justice | 812 | 1,049 | 1,150 |
| Healthcare | 624 | 799 | 806 |
| State Finance | 423 | 613 | 720 |
| Local Government | 499 | 558 | 414 |
Texas’ legislative attention remained concentrated on the same governing systems: schools, courts, healthcare, public finance, and local government.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence—despite dominating national headlines—remains a relatively small legislative category.
The findings suggest that Texas lawmakers continue to devote the majority of their attention to the same core challenges that have shaped state government for years: educating students, administering healthcare systems, managing criminal justice institutions, funding government, and responding to housing pressures.
The fastest-growing policy domains are not necessarily the ones receiving the most media attention.
Housing legislation increased substantially across three legislatures. Government finance and budgeting grew even faster. Criminal justice continued to expand. Healthcare remained consistently large.
Artificial intelligence and technology policy grew as well, but from a comparatively small base.
Artificial Intelligence Remains a Small Legislative Category
Artificial intelligence and technology policy grew during the 89th Legislature, but it remained a relatively small share of overall legislative activity.
| Session | Technology / AI Bills | Total Bills | Share of Legislature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 87R | 18 | 9,028 | 0.20% |
| 88R | 17 | 11,797 | 0.14% |
| 89R | 36 | 8,716 | 0.41% |
The result is a legislative record that tells a different story than political headlines.
The Legislature's attention remains concentrated on the practical systems that affect daily life: schools, healthcare, public safety, taxation, housing, and local government.
In other words, while public debate often focuses on the newest issues, the legislative record suggests Texas continues to spend most of its time trying to solve its oldest problems.
