Texas Comptroller talks impact of international trade on state's economy

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Tariffs applied by the President primarily affect international shipping, and with Texas being responsible for around 20% of U.S. exports, increased fees will impact the state.

As of Friday afternoon, the U.S. has a flat 10% tariff on foreign imports.

The sole exception is China -- the U.S. has a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, while China has a 125% tariff on U.S. imports. The U.S. imports more Chinese goods than it exports to China, a nearly $295.4 billion deficit in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar spoke with Nexstar on Friday about what tariffs will mean for Texas.

"Obviously, Texas is a significant trading party with the rest of the world," he said. "Texas exports roughly over 20% of all the gross value of exports out of the entire United States comes out of the state of Texas. So we're very tied to the international market."

Oil and natural gas are two of Texas' main exports. Those products are some of the "more volatile commodities," Hegar said, but a recent dip in prices doesn't mean an immediate change in the state's revenue estimates.

"We're not changing the revenue estimate as of today," he said. "We're watching and continuing to caution the legislature, as always, to be conservative in their budgeting numbers, because we are given a revenue estimate that is ... out for over two years. A lot can happen in the international economy in that two years."

The Texas Comptroller's Office is responsible for providing the State's legislature with an estimate of how much money the state will have. Those estimates are scheduled for delivery prior to the start of the biennial legislative sessions, when lawmakers are required to pass a state budget.

The biggest threat to Texas' economy? To Hegar, there's not a single answer. From his perspective, that question is more complex than some may realize.

"Obviously, trade is one of those issues, but wars, events and other nations," he said. "For example, not too long ago, the Saudis increased their oil production, and therefore that's going to cause oil prices to decrease. We continue to monitor, watch and make sure we stay very in tune with the legislators, especially during the legislative session, and make sure the public is aware of the trajectory of the state economy."

More bills to repeal ban on ‘homosexual conduct’ resurface

For decades, Texas law has continued to contain a provision banning “homosexual conduct,” despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas that the law is unconstitutional.

Critics of the measure, enacted in 1973, say leaving it in limbo opens the possibility of its misuse by police who do not understand its legal status and lawmakers crafting other policies that could impact the LGBTQ+ community.

The Texas Penal Code contains only a brief notation indicating it is unenforceable due to the Lawrence decision. That ruling rendered sodomy laws in more than a dozen states, including Texas, unconstitutional and unenforceable.

But the decision did not force state lawmakers to remove the measure from their penal codes. Texas, Kansas and Kentucky still have statutes outlawing homosexual sodomy.

Dale Carpenter, a Southern Methodist University constitutional law professor and author of the book “Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas,” previously told KXAN that not repealing the laws in those states means they could one day go back into effect, if Lawrence were ever overturned.

“That old law – it just lies there like an unused whip,” he told KXAN. “A prosecutor could potentially pick it up again and use it for enforcement purposes or for other kinds of discriminatory actions.”

State legislators have unsuccessfully tried to get it removed for years, with at least 61 bills filed since the early '80s. Forty-five of those followed the 2003 ruling.

Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, was a House freshman and the first Black, openly gay lawmaker in Texas when he filed a similar proposal in 2023. It passed unanimously out of committee then, but stalled and never reached the House floor for a vote. That bill progressed further than most of its predecessors.

Lawmakers filed at least six such bills during the 2025 legislative session, including Jones' HB 1738. His bill received a hearing Tuesday before the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.

Jones’ bill layout Tuesday marked at least the 15^th time in history that Texas lawmakers have held a public hearing with witness testimony on such legislation.

As of this session, the most consistent group against the legislation was activist organization Texas Values, which registered or testified 17 times against nine of the bills – far more than any other group. The group's website states it seeks to influence public opinion and the legislative process with the goal of supporting “faith, family and freedom.” 

It has not commented to KXAN about this topic, despite our multiple attempts.

Texas Values Director of Policy Jonathan Covey, the only individual speaking against the proposal, said his organization wanted to send a "message that (homosexual conduct) in not acceptable conduct" during an exchange with Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, who sits on the criminal jurisprudence committee.

Moody asked if Texas Values thought "homosexuals should be viewed as criminals," to which Covey said, "The position of our organization is that we don’t want to pull something out (of statute) that’s going to make it seem like homosexuality is more acceptable."

Moody, who has filed identical legislation this session and similar bills in the past, responded that "unacceptable conduct versus what's criminal conduct is different." His bill has been referred to the same committee, though it has not been assigned a hearing.

"I was intentional about meeting with every one of the committee members no matter where you stood on this legislation," said Jones about Tuesday's hearing. "I had an opportunity to hear good things, and I had also heard some things I wasn’t as comfortable with. It wasn’t my job to judge. It was my job to listen to my colleagues and be receptive to them, just as I want them to be receptive to me."

The committee left HB 1738 pending, but Jones said an earlier start and more narrowly-tailoring the bill have been key points of focus to further the process this session.

A Senate version authored by Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, has been referred to that chamber's criminal justice committee and also awaits a hearing.

Senators consider fines for superintendents who don’t report suspected sexual misconduct

At a Senate committee meeting Tuesday, lawmakers showed bipartisan support for legislation that would increase penalties for school leaders who fail to report suspected sexual abuse and another bill that would increase the Texas Education Agency’s authority to investigate school contractors.

During the public hearing, where multiple witnesses detailed their personal experiences with sexual misconduct on a school campus, Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said he planned to introduce a newer version of Senate Bill 571 – which is aimed at increasing the number of personnel TEA can investigate for misconduct to contractors and uncertified personnel.

SB 571 was filed as a direct result of a KXAN investigation, which found that former Texas Juvenile Justice (TJJD) Corrections Officer Isaiah Smith was able to get a job tutoring on an Austin ISD campus despite the TJJD determining he had an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile.

Smith is facing multiple charges of indecency with a child tied to his time as a tutor on an Austin ISD campus and his time as a juvenile correction officer. However, despite Smith's arrests, he is not listed in the TEA's Do-Not-Hire database.

In a February 2024 letter addressing Bettencourt's questions about the KXAN investigation into Smith, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath explained that Smith’s name is not in the database because state law does not require school districts to report alleged misconduct to TEA if the allegations are against a contractor like Smith.

According to TEA officials, the law does not give the authority to investigate contractors nor to put them on the registry, even if reported. In an interview with KXAN in 2024, Bettencourt said the situation demonstrated a "failure" and promised to address the problem in the 89th legislative session.

"My office received a report, for example, of a tutor from Austin Partners in Education that was able to exploit loopholes in the law that excluded contractors from the Do Not Hire registry," Bettencourt said at the hearing. "SB 571 is an attempt to close these loopholes in the Do-Not-Hire registry, or the now, Interagency Reportable Conduct Search Engine."

Texas Catholic Conference Executive Director Jennifer Allman testified in favor of the bill and said that the legislation would give TEA authority to investigate reports of misconduct involving uncertified personnel at private schools.

"Imagine that's coaches, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers who were not previously covered under this bill," Allman said. "Pass this great bill, close the loopholes, and fund TEA to do the investigations needed to keep these predators out of all schools."

Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, also laid out Senate Bill 1224, which would require superintendents to report sexual misconduct, abuse and other unlawful acts to law enforcement, instead of allowing internal school police departments to handle the investigation.

Under the bill, a superintendent could face a state jail felony if the report is not made within 48 hours, and the State Board of Educator Certification could levy a $10,000 fine on the school leader for failure to report.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who said he was in favor of the bill, expressed concern that the requirements did not extend to private schools in the state. Sparks said his office would work with West’s office to potentially amend the bill.

“There is always a reluctance to hold private schools to the same standards as it relates to public schools, but on this particular issue, all schools need to be held to the same standard,” West said.

Freshman lawmaker continues push for sickle cell registry in Texas

Freshman Texas lawmaker Lauren Ashley Simmons, D-Houston, is one of six authors on a bill to create a state registry for sickle cell, a serious hereditary blood disorder most commonly seen in Black people.

House Bill 107 has more than 50 co-authors who are both Democrats and Republicans, and it passed the Public Health Committee in a unanimous vote Monday.

Simmons' drive to advocate for the registry is her daughter, Sydney, who has the condition.

"Sydney is tough as nails. She is one of the most mature, assertive little people you will ever meet," Simmons said. "My daughter has had more hospitalizations than some adults."

Simmons' daughter, Sydney, was at the Capitol as Simmons presented HB 107, watching her mom advocate for her and so many others.

If it passes the House, it'll move on to the Senate, and then to Abbott's desk again. A similar bill passed the House and Senate in 2023, but was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

"Her illness is a priority and important, not just for me as her mother, but this place, this building," Simmons said.

Because sickle cell is so rare, it's hard to treat. But registries are important for researching how to help with rare disorders and diseases, according to the National Library of Medicine.

"This is a way for us to ensure that this disease is being treated with the same care, with the same attention that any other life-threatening illness that impacts people," Simmons said. "We really don't know just how many people are impacted by this disease. It just doesn't get the attention it needs."

KXAN Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, Investigative Reporter Arezow Doost and Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims contributed to the reporting in this story.