Spring is here. Bluebonnets are giving way to more wildflowers. And the typically quiet halls of the Texas Capitol are starting to buzz again with activity. It’s the interim season. For those dedicated to the policy that moves Texas forward, this is an important time on the legislative calendar.

What are Interim Charges?

In the Texas House and Texas Senate, the committees that spend their time deliberating policy during a regular session — 140 days from January to June in odd-numbered years — spend their even-numbered years discussing the implementation of laws passed and looking ahead to policy changes for the next legislature to consider.

Interim Charges are the direct instructions by the House Speaker and Lt. Gov., respectively, for the committees in their chambers. These charges specify which bills from the past session should be reviewed and identify other policy areas that should be studied and discussed publicly. 

The Interim Charges for the Texas House may be found here. This year, the Senate charges were released in two separate batches, available here and here.

Stopping Fraud and Improving Affordability

There are a few themes easily identifiable throughout the interim charges. Nearly every committee is probing for waste, fraud, and abuse within state agencies and the systems tied to their daily operations. Affordability and the drivers of higher insurance costs and other goods & services are also top of mind as lawmakers look to make Texas more affordable.

The House Committee on Insurance, for example, is looking into “Cost Drivers Impacting Property and Casualty Insurance Premiums.” Of course, lawsuit abuse is a major driver of insurance premium increases, with auto insurance rates rising about 25% across Texas since 2023. 

That same year, lawmakers in Florida tackled lawsuit reform, resulting in rates cut by 7-20%. Georgia passed similar reforms in 2025, seeing approximately $400 million in savings for consumers. New providers returned to those states, increasing competition and driving down monthly home and auto insurance costs—a lack of serious weather-related catastrophes also helped.

The Rise of Foreign Influence

In 2025, the Texas Legislature passed a law prohibiting foreign adversaries from purchasing or leasing land to strengthen national security. House Speaker Dustin Burrows wants lawmakers in the lower chamber to do more to stop foreign influence, possibly in Texas Courts.

The House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety, and Veterans’ Affairs is tasked with two separate charges examining foreign influence:

• Countering Foreign Financial Influence and Illicit Networks
• Foreign Adversary Influence and Transparency Enforcement

Both are priorities for TLR, where the rise of foreign influence on Third-Party Litigation Funding (TPLF) is also driving up costs for insurance and other goods & services. Two years ago, a report from Bloomberg Law exposed how billionaire Russian Oligarchs were investing in American lawsuits to keep their profits growing and avoid sanctions that cut off their business ventures. In 2023, the Department of Justice sounded the alarm on national security threats by TPLF influence on US Courts — a $20 billion global industry.

These charges are especially important as law enforcement continues to uncover fraud within Medicare and Medicaid. This year, an Austin business was busted for funneling taxpayer dollars to Russia, China and other adversarial nations through fraudulent medical billing. The practice is similar to the inflated medical damages presented in many frivolous lawsuits.

Honorable Mentions

One of the earliest victories last session for deregulation advocates was Senate Bill 14, which created the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office. This new agency is tasked with examining all regulations in state law, code, rule, etc., and eliminating duplicative or outdated mandates. The House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency will continue to examine the impact of that law and the implementation of this new office.

Speaker Burrows also created a new Select Committee on Governmental Oversight to examine the Texas Tort Claims Act, which TLR supports updating. 

To follow the progress of these interim charges and the work of these committees, visit the Texas Legislature Online. To watch committee hearings via livestream, go to the individual Texas House and Texas Senate websites.