Legislature

This Saturday is the 55th Annual Fall Festival from the Lubbock Municipal Garden and Arts Center at 4215 University Ave from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our reporter Samantha Larned has more on what folks can expect from the event. Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order this week restricting the sale of THC products to those under the age of 21. Hemp relators say that in practice, it will not change much for the industry.

Texas' governor issued an executive order Wednesday mandating age restrictions on consumable hemp products containing THC. This comes after Abbott's veto earlier this year of legislation that would have banned the products outright.

The executive order comes after the Legislature ended a special session without the House, Senate and governor agreeing on restrictions.

Following the distribution of new funds from the state, Lubbock ISD’s Board of Trustees approved new items in its budget for this school year. Teachers and paraprofessionals will be receiving a pay increase, though as financial struggles persist, trustees expect further campus consolidations in the future.

Lubbock Area United Way kicked off its annual fundraising campaign yesterday. This year’s goal is not measured in dollars donated, but in lives impacted. The Texas Legislature passed a bill in the regular session to provide resources to volunteer firefighters in response to the 2024 Panhandle Wildfires. Our reporter Brad Burt has more on SB 34, which will go into effect on Sept. 1.

Under the new laws, which will go into effect on Sept. 1, counties across Texas will have more power to stop the sale of dogs and cats in outdoor spaces.

Civil liberties groups plan to challenge a newly-signed law requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider says some of the same groups were successful in their suit against Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law. Lubbock County has been removed from the list of designated outbreak areas in the region's measles outbreak. Our Samantha Larned reports that Texas and New Mexico both appear to be maintaining a slower rate of new cases.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott came to Lubbock yesterday to sign legislation investing in the state’s water infrastructure. Our reporter Brad Burt says the pair of bills will put $20 billion dollars into the Texas Water Fund over the next two decades. Lubbock Public Health has confirmed the West Nile virus is in Lubbock. The public can report mosquito activity at the mosquito hotline: 806-775-3110.

A group of homeowners used the law in 2019 to stop Austin's attempt to rewrite rules about what can be built and where.

The Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Jason Sims as Monterey High School's new football coach and athletic coordinator. Two major bills concerning the regulation of THC in Texas have cleared both chambers of the Texas legislature, one to ban THC products and another to expand Texas' compassionate use program for medicinal cannabis. These and other bills are coming as lawmakers prepare to wrap up the current session on Monday, June 2nd.