Texas Democrats are back at the Capitol, tipping off what’s expected to be a fast-paced, jam-packed special session with policies related to THC, abortion access, flood relief, education policy and redistricting on the agenda.

Bills related to those issues and more could be headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk within a matter of weeks.

“We are done waiting,” House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, said Monday. “We have a quorum. Now is the time for action. We will move quickly, and the schedule will be demanding.”

A majority of the 62 House Democrats broke quorum during the first special session, stalling consideration of proposed congressional districts as they rallied national attention from states like Illinois and New York. Their exit was a protest mid-decade redistricting that would help Republicans from Texas pick up five more seats in Washington.

Most of the Democratic lawmakers, including lawmakers representing Tarrant County, returned to Austin on Monday, moving their focus to the House floor and legal fights over a possible new congressional map that likely loom.

“We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,” said Rep. Gene Wu, the chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, in a statement. “We’re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans’ plans than when we left.”

Texas special session No. 2: The agenda

The agenda for the second special session is nearly identical to the one for the first special session’s agenda. The 19 items on it are:

—Ensuring and enhancing youth camp safety.

—Improving early warning systems and preparedness infrastructure for flood-prone parts of Texas.

—Strengthening emergency communications and response infrastructure in flood-prone parts of Texas.

—Funding for flood relief from the July 2025 floods.

—Legislation related to preparedness for and recovery from natural disasters.

—Eliminating and replacing the STAAR test.

—Property tax relief and “legislation imposing spending limits on entities authorized to impose property taxes.”

—“Making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to children under 21.”

—“Legislation to comprehensively regulate hemp-derived products, including limiting potency, restricting synthetically modified compounds, and establishing enforcement mechanisms, all without banning lawful hemp derived products.”

—Restrictions on abortion.

—Prohibiting “tax-payer funded lobbying.”

—Legislation protecting those who were trafficked from “criminal liability for non-violent acts closely tied to their own victimization.”

—“Protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.”

—Strengthening the Attorney General’s ability to investigate and prosecute state election crimes.

—Congressional redistricting.

—“Legislation that protects law enforcement officers from public disclosure of unsubstantiated complaints in personnel files.”

—Strengthened protections against title theft and deed fraud.

—Legislation that lets cities and counties “reduce impact fees for builders who include water conservation and efficiency measures.”

—Legislation related to the “operation and administration of the Judicial Department of state government.”

Lawmakers have up to 30 days to meet, though Abbott could call lawmakers back for additional special sessions if he thinks there’s more work to be done. Only the governor can call a special session and determine what issues are taken up.

An accelerated timeline

Given their 30-day window, special sessions are, by their nature, fast paced. Burrows on Friday said he would have like to have lawmakers done before Labor Day on Sept. 1.

“We will work to accomplish every item on the call and even some more,” Burrows said on Friday, Aug. 15.

Bills have already been filed and committee hearings have begun, including on redistricting legislation. Congressional maps now in the House and Senate are largely similar to the proposal from the first special session. A Texas Senate committee advanced its map during a Sunday, Aug. 17 hearing. A House committee is meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday.

Burrows called Friday’s early adjournment of the first special session as a win for Texans and the governor’s other agenda items. The session had been set to end Aug. 19.

“If our absent colleagues had shown up this morning, they could have used a few remaining days to stall or possibly even block the passage of critical legislation — property tax relief, protections for the unborn, safeguarding women’s private spaces and reining in runaway local taxes,” Burrows said. “By following Governor Newsom’s lead instead of the will of Texans, they have allowed us to reset the clock.”

Texas Democrats are back. What’s next?

The House Democrats have rebuked the redistricting effort as a power-grab by President Donald Trump and Republicans that would disenfranchise voters. But as Democratic-led states look to redraw their congressional maps to pick up more blue seats, the Texas House Democrats are claiming success and moving their focus to the House floor and legal fights that likely loom.

The House Democratic Caucus previously said its members would return if the initial special session ended on Friday, Aug. 15, as previously announced by state leadership, and if California introduced redistricting maps “that would neutralize the Trump-Abbott voter suppression effort.”

California state lawmakers came back from their summer recess on Monday, and California Governor Gavin Newsom is asking state lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment that would let voters decide on new maps in a Nov. 4 election, according to The Sacramento Bee.

“Not only are they going to fight fire with fire, but they’re going to do it in a more open, transparent way where the public has the final say,” said Rep. Salman Bhojani, a Euless Democrat.

Rep. Chris Turner, a Grand Prairie Democrat, said the Democrats accomplished what they set out to do. He acknowledged that a new congressional map will likely pass through the Republican-led Legislature.

“I think the Republicans intend to move these maps quickly through the process, and we’ll be here to work to do our part to establish a legislative record,” Turner said.

The House Democratic Caucus and leaders of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and Texas Legislative Black Caucus said they and other members are working to build a legal case against the proposed boundaries. They will work to show that the redrawn lines violate the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution, according to a news release from the House Democratic Caucus.

“When we return, we will be ready to fight this map with every weapon available — from the streets to the statehouse to the courthouse,” said Rep. Ramón Romero Jr., a Fort Worth Democrat who chairs the Mexican American Legislative Caucus said in a Monday statement.

Turner, Romero and Bhojani are among the Democratic lawmakers from Tarrant County who returned to Austin Friday after breaking quorum. In total, 120 of the House’s 150 members marked themselves as present when roll call was taken Monday. At least two of the 30 members who weren’t officially marked present, including Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat, were seen on the House floor.

Members who broke quorum could only leave the House chamber if they agreed to be released into the custody of a DPS officer tasked with ensuring their return on Wednesday morning when the full House next meets. The requirement follows previously approved motions related to securing a quorum.

In text messages, Collier said she was not among the members who helped to restore a quorum. Collier also said she was prepared to stay at the Capitol until Wednesday, as she did not agree to sign the “permission slip to have a DPS officer assigned to follow me around” and was told she was not free to leave. Collier was already planning to be at the Capitol on Wednesday, she said.

Democrats made “gerrymandering a household word” during their two weeks away, Collier said, adding that it’s “important to emphasize the harmful impact the proposed congressional map will have on people of color.”

Attention now turns to floor debate, supporting California and fighting the map in court, she said.

“There are different battles going on in this war on democracy,” Collier said. “Taking this fight to court is another battle and the record must be made to support our position against the racist congressional map in Texas.”

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