West RGV News

Sen. Adam Hinojosa introduced SB 2283 to the Texas Senate on Tuesday, March 25 during the 89(R) legislative session, according to the Texas Legislature website.

More specifically, the official text was summarized by the state legislature as ’’Relating to the rights of special forces veterans who hold a license to carry a handgun’’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

This bill amends the Texas Government and Occupations Codes to establish a "Special Forces Veteran" designation on handgun licenses for certain qualified military veterans. Veterans eligible for this designation must have served at least 12 consecutive months in specified military special forces roles, such as the Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, or Air Force combat control, among others, and provide proof of service and honorable discharge. The "Special Forces Veteran" designation will be included on the veteran's handgun license, exempting them from certain Occupations Code provisions and allowing them to carry a handgun under specific conditions. The Department of Public Safety is tasked with implementing rules by Dec. 1, 2025, while applications for this designation begin Jan. 1, 2026. The changes related to this special forces veteran designation and handgun license exemption will be effective from Sept. 1, 2025.

Adam Hinojosa, member of the Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs and vice chair of the Senate Committee on Administration, proposed another 27 bills during the 89(R) legislative session.

Adam Hinojosa is currently serving in the Texas State Senate, representing the state's 27th Senate district. He replaced previous state senator Morgan LaMantia in 2025.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Bill Number	Date Introduced	Short Description
SB 2229	03/25/2025	Relating to change of venue in certain criminal cases involving a peace officer
SB 2189	03/24/2025	Relating to the rate of the hotel occupancy tax in certain municipalities and the use of certain revenue from that tax by those municipalities; authorizing an increase in the rate of a tax
SB 2187	03/24/2025	Relating to the administration of assessment instruments to public school students
SB 2186	03/24/2025	Relating to compensatory time off for certain state employees
SB 2003	03/17/2025	Relating to training requirements for certain governing bodies and administrators of public schools and making publicly available information regarding the expenditure of money by those public schools
SB 2000	03/17/2025	Relating to the hours of early voting by personal appearance in certain counties
SB 1928	03/17/2025	Relating to the prohibited release of personal information collected during the jury selection process
SB 1926	03/17/2025	Relating to commercial signs along U.S. Highway 77
SB 1731	03/13/2025	Relating to a franchise tax exemption for corporations operating a spaceport for certain national defense purposes
SB 1707	03/13/2025	Relating to a study by the Texas Education Agency regarding standardizing building designs for public schools
SB 1634	03/11/2025	Relating to state recognition of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas
SB 1606	03/10/2025	Relating to the authority of the Texas Water Development Board to provide financial assistance from the safe drinking water revolving fund to certain political subdivisions that provide raw water to another political subdivision
SB 1605	03/10/2025	Relating to the determination of the value of land that is appraised as a census of properties by the comptroller of public accounts when conducting the study of school district property values
SB 1604	03/10/2025	Relating to the adoption of a mental health leave policy for certain qualified employees
SB 1603	03/10/2025	Relating to an exemption from sales and use taxes for firearms, ammunition, and other related items
SB 1545	03/06/2025	Relating to an annual occupational medical examination for fire fighters
SB 1544	03/06/2025	Relating to member contributions to the Texas Municipal Retirement System
SB 1512	03/06/2025	Relating to the route designation for the issuance of a permit for the movement of oversize and overweight vehicles in certain counties
SB 1486	03/06/2025	Relating to a limitation on the salary of superintendents and chief executive officers of school districts and open-enrollment charter schools
SB 1485	03/06/2025	Relating to the route designation for the issuance of a permit for the movement of oversize and overweight vehicles in certain counties
SB 1482	03/06/2025	Relating to the rural sheriff's office and constable's office salary assistance grant programs
SB 1189	02/28/2025	Relating to the exemption of certain firefighters and police officers from jury service
SB 1170	02/28/2025	Relating to international cooperation agreements between certain state agencies and the United Mexican States and funding for infrastructure investment in this state; providing authority for certain agencies to issue bonds
SB 1168	02/28/2025	Relating to establishment of the disaster identification system for a declared state of disaster
SB 1116	02/24/2025	Relating to the route designation for the issuance of a permit for the movement of oversize and overweight vehicles in certain counties
SB 1115	02/24/2025	Relating to eligibility for custodial officer service in the Employees Retirement System of Texas by certain juvenile correctional officers and caseworkers employed by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
SB 1114	02/24/2025	Relating to eligibility for the Lone Star Workforce of the Future Fund grant program