Last Week in the Legislature – Special Session Recap

By Kenneth Besserman, JD, LLM, Director of Government Affairs & Special Counsel

The second special session of the 2025 Legislature ended on Wednesday evening. As you recall, the regular session of the Legislature ended on June 2, 2025. Shortly after sine die, Governor Abbott called the Legislature back to Austin for the first special session. After about two weeks of hearings centering around flood disaster relief and further property tax reductions, many House Democrats left the state in protest over the proposed Congressional map that would have likely increased Republican representation by up to five seats in the Texas congressional delegation. That effectively brought the first special session to an end with no legislation passing.

On August 15, after the House Democrats returned to Austin, Governor Abbott called a second special session adding a number of items to the call. Items in the special session agenda included numerous measures addressing flood relief, flood preparation, flood relief funding, property tax limitation on local jurisdictions, Congressional redistricting, taxpayer funded lobbying by local governments, hemp regulation, further abortion restrictions, STAAR testing in public schools, Attorney General jurisdiction to prosecute election crimes, and many other items. It was an aggressive agenda with the Legislature passing many of the items on the call, but with some big items still to be addressed. There are rumors flying around the Capitol that there could be another special session later this year or early next year to address some more flooding disaster items that have not yet passed or that may need to be improved.

TXCPA had an extremely successful 2025 legislative session – passing bills to create an additional pathway to CPA licensure and improving and modernizing CPA practice mobility – the CPA and accounting profession were fortunately not on the agenda or in the crosshairs during the special sessions.

Twenty-one bills passed during the special session. The major legislation that passed included:

• HB 4 – Congressional redistricting. The new map could increase the Republican representation in the Texas delegation by up to five new seats. This legislation has set off a national debate about mid-decade redistricting with many other states looking to redraw Congressional maps for a partisan advantage. To learn more about the new Congressional map for your district, and to compare your current and new district, enter your address here.

   

• HB 1, HB 20, SB 1, SB 3, and SB 5 – These bills all address various aspects of Central Texas flood disaster from flood preparation and awareness, camp safety and certification, appropriations and funding for disaster relief, warning systems, and fraudulent charitable solicitations.

   

• SB 12 – allowing the Attorney General to prosecute criminal offenses related to election laws.

   

• SB 8 – providing that bathroom facilities in government buildings and buildings owned or operated by governmental entities are only available to individuals of one sex and the facilities must be designated only for the use of persons born male or female.

   

• HB 8 – elimination of the STAAR tests in public schools and replacing the STAAR test with multiple assessments tests throughout the year to assess educational achievement. New tests will be shorter length.

   

  A few major items did not make it through the special session. Legislation that would have addressed the regulation or prohibition of hemp products failed. The House, which favors regulation – as does the Governor – and the Senate, which favors an outright prohibition of hemp-related products, could not come to an agreement. So, hemp-related products can still be sold in Texas as has been the case for several years.

   

  Finally, legislation to put more limits on the rate of property tax increases that local jurisdictions could adopt also failed during the special session. As a reminder, in November there will be a constitutional amendment election, which will include a homestead exemption increase to $140,000 (from the current $100,000) and $200,000 for seniors. The constitutional amendment election will be on November 4, 2025.

   

  Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to election season.

   

   

AUGUST 29, 2025

Advocacy Update: CPA Mobility in Texas

Starting September 1, SB 522 goes into effect—modernizing CPA practice mobility in Texas. This new law ensures that licensed CPAs from other states can continue practicing in Texas as national licensing standards evolve.

It’s a big win for CPAs and TXCPA in the 2025 legislative session. We thank Senator Perry and Representative Button for their leadership on this important issue.

Here’s what it means:

• Out-of-state CPAs licensed as of December 31, 2024, or those who earn a license through the new pathway, will have practice privileges in Texas.
• SB 522 is one of the most modern mobility laws passed nationwide. It balances expanded practice access with strong public protections for businesses, taxpayers and the Texas economy.

Read More About SB 522

AUGUST 2025

Next Steps and Rules for Additional CPA Licensure Pathway

Earlier this year, TXCPA advocated for and was instrumental in passing Senate Bill 262 which created an additional pathway to CPA licensure. This new pathway, which becomes effective on August 1, 2026, will allow a candidate to obtain a CPA license with a bachelor’s degree (with the required accounting concentration), two years of relevant work experience, and passage of the CPA Exam. Texas was one of the leaders in passing the new pathways legislation. As of August 2026, about half of the states also have new pathways legislation in place.

The legislative work and advocacy was the first step in expanding the CPA licensure pathways. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) has proposed rules for the implementation of SB 262. The rules are an important part of a candidate’s licensing experience, and the rules dictate the licensing framework that higher education institutions must implement.

TXCPA is actively engaged in developing the rules – attending and participating in State Board committee meetings and recommending changes and amendments to the proposed rules. TXCPA will soon submit a comment letter to the State Board with suggested improvements to the new pathways rules. Our suggestions will benefit higher education institutions, faculty, and the candidate experience. TXCPA is focusing our comments on the makeup of upper-level accounting and business courses that need to be completed in the new pathway, addressing the transition period between the current law and the new pathways law, internships, ethics courses, and the work experience requirement.

We encourage all members to review the proposed rules and provide any comments directly to the State Board before the comment period ends on August 25, 2025. Your participation in the rules process will help the State Board have a greater understanding of what is important to the profession and ensure that implementation of SB 262 impacts the profession and future CPAs positively.

TXCPA Secures Major Legislative Wins

JUNE 2025

By any standard, our legislative advocacy in 2025 has been a resounding success.

Our goal for the 2025 Texas Legislative session was nothing less than modernizing two statutes that govern the practice of accounting in Texas - both of which were signed into law in May. TXCPA took national leadership on these two issues, and as a result, is one of the first states to pass both mobility and pathways legislation — marking a major milestone for the profession. 

• Creating an Additional Pathway to CPA Licensure
  This new law creates an additional pathway to licensure for CPA candidates and takes full effect on Aug. 1, 2026. The hard work now begins with the adoption and implementation of state rules. TXCPA will work closely with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy to develop rules that will properly implement the legislative intent of SB 262.

• Updating CPA Mobility
  This new law addresses CPA practice mobility and out-of-state practice privileges during this time of licensure change occurring in Texas and nationally. The new law takes effect on Sept. 1, 2025.

Many thanks and congratulations to TXCPA’s dedicated key persons, advocates, and members who contributed so substantially to this major legislative success. Getting both pieces of legislation passed and signed into law could not have happened without the support and leadership of Senator Charles Perry, CPA, and Representative Angie Chen Button, CPA.

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