2023 in Texas

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Texas Historical outline of Texas List of years in Texas 2023 in the United States

The following is a list of events of the year 2023 in Texas .

Incumbents

State government

• Governor: Greg Abbott (R)
• Lieutenant Governor: Dan Patrick (R)
• Attorney General: Ken Paxton (R) (suspended May 27 to September 16)
• Comptroller: Glenn Hegar (R)
• Land Commissioner: George P. Bush (R) (until January 10), Dawn Buckingham (R) (since January 10)
• Agriculture Commissioner: Sid Miller (R)
• Railroad Commissioners: Christi Craddick (R), Wayne Christian (R), and Jim Wright (R)

City governments

• Mayor of Houston: Sylvester Turner (D)
• Mayor of San Antonio: Ron Nirenberg (I)
• Mayor of Dallas: Eric Johnson (R)
• Mayor of Austin: Steve Adler (D)
• Mayor of Fort Worth: Mattie Parker (R)
• Mayor of El Paso: Oscar Leeser (D)
• Mayor of Arlington: Jim Ross (N/A)
• Mayor of Corpus Christi: Paulette Guajardo (D)
• Mayor of Plano: John B. Muns (R)
• Mayor of Lubbock: Trey Payne (R)

Elections

Main article: 2023 Texas elections

Elections were held on November 7, 2023. ^[1] The only statewide election was a vote on 14 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution. A special election took place to fill the vacancy from Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district, ^[2] which was followed by a runoff on January 30, 2024. ^[3] In addition, Texas counties, cities, and school and other special districts had local elections and other ballot issues, such as bond proposals.

Events

• January 10 – The 88th Texas Legislature convenes at noon (CST) following the 2022 Texas elections. ^[4]
• January 24 – A large and intense EF3 tornado tears through the Houston metropolitan area, which causes the National Weather Service in Houston to issue their first tornado emergency. ^{[5] [6]}
• March 6 – State representative Bryan Slaton introduces the Texas Independence Referendum Act which, if passed, would call for a state referendum on the secession of Texas from the United States. ^{[7] [8]} The bill would later fail to get out of committee before the end of the regular session.
• April 1 – Federal judge Robert L. Pitman orders that twelve books containing LGBT and racial content which were banned by Llano County school officials must be returned to school shelves. ^[9]
• April 20
  • SpaceX's Starship rocket, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, launches for the first time in a test flight from SpaceX Starbase in Boca Chica. It explodes four minutes after launch. ^[10]
  • The Texas Senate passes a bill that would require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom of every public school. ^{[11] [12] [13]} The bill would later fail to pass the Texas House of Representatives. ^{[14] [15] [16]}
• April 28 – A shooting occurs in Cleveland killing five, and the suspect is caught after four days. ^[17]
• May 6 – Nine people are killed, including the perpetrator, after a mass shooting at a mall in Allen. ^[18]
• May 7 – Eight people are killed after a vehicle drives into pedestrians outside a migrant center in Brownsville. ^[19]
• May 9 – The Texas House of Representatives votes unanimously to expel Bryan Slaton from House District 2 following an investigation that determined he had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with an aide. ^[20]
• May 27 – In a 121-23 vote, the Texas House of Representatives votes to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, the third impeachment in the state's history. ^{[21] [22]}
• May 29 – The 88th Texas Legislature adjourns, and its 1st special session convenes. ^[4]
• June 27 – The 1st special session of the 88th Texas Legislature adjourns, and its 2nd special session convenes. ^[4]
• August 22 – Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in South Texas, causing flash flooding, power outages, and tornado warnings. ^[23]
• August 28 – Katy Independent School District board members, in a 4–3 vote, enact a four-page gender identity policy, including a requirement for district employees to inform parents if a student requests the use of different pronouns or identifies as transgender. ^[24]
• October 6 – Jonathan Stickland, former Republican Texas politician and president of the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, meets with white nationalist Nick Fuentes for several hours. ^[25] Stickland was later replaced as president of the PAC following the meeting. ^{[26] [27] [28]}
• October 9 – The 3rd special session of the 88th Texas Legislature convenes. ^[4]
• November 7
  • The 2023 Texas elections are held. Voters approve 13 out of 14 amendments in the constitutional amendment election. ^[29] A special election is held to fill the vacancy in Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district, ^[2] which will be followed by a runoff on January 30, 2024. ^[3]
  • The 4th special session of the 88th Texas Legislature convenes. ^[4]
• December 18 – Abbott signs Texas Senate Bill 4 into law. The bill allows state officials to arrest and deport migrants who enter the state illegally.

See also

• 2023 in the United States

References

1. "Important Election Dates 2023-2024". Texas Secretary of State. Government of Texas. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023.
2. "Governor Abbott Sets Special Election for Texas House District 2". Archived from the original on August 23, 2023.
3. "Gov. Greg Abbott sets January date for Texas House special election runoff". Texas Tribune . Archived from the original on November 22, 2023.
4. "Texas legislative sessions and years". Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Government of Texas. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023.
5. National Centers for Environmental Information; National Weather Service in Houston, Texas (April 2023). "Texas Event Report: EF3 Tornado (Harris County)". Storm Event Database. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023.
6. Stewart, Nick [@NStewCBS2] (January 24, 2023). "According to NWS Houston, this was the first ever #tornado emergency product issued by the office" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023– via Twitter.
7. Ramirez, Nikki McCann (March 6, 2023). "Texas Republican Introduces Bill Calling for Vote on Secession". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023.
8. Schnell, Mychael (March 6, 2023). "Texas lawmaker files 'TEXIT' bill to spur vote on exploring secession from US". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 8, 2023.
9. Elassar, Alaa; Romine, Taylor; Rose, Andy (April 1, 2023). "Judge orders books removed from Texas public libraries due to LGBTQ and racial content must be returned within 24 hours". CNN. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
10. "Musk's SpaceX big rocket explodes on test flight". BBC News. April 20, 2023. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
11. "Public schools would have to display Ten Commandments under bill passed by Texas Senate". Texas Tribune. April 20, 2023. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023.
12. Richards, Zoë (April 21, 2023). "Ten Commandments would be required in public classrooms under bill passed by Texas Senate". NBC News . Archived from the original on November 11, 2023.
13. Luscombe, Richard (April 21, 2023). "Texas lawmakers advance bill to force schools to display Ten Commandments". The Guardian . Archived from the original on November 11, 2023.
14. Salam, Erum (May 24, 2023). "Republican bill requiring display of Ten Commandments in Texas schools fails". The Guardian . Archived from the original on November 11, 2023.
15. Goodman, J. David (May 24, 2023). "Bill to Force Texas Public Schools to Display Ten Commandments Fails". The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 18, 2024.
16. Killough, Ashley; Burnside, Tina (May 24, 2023). "A bill that would have required Texas public schools to display the Ten Commandments has failed". CNN . Archived from the original on November 11, 2023.
17. Haworth, Jon; El-Bawab, Nadine; Charalambous, Peter; Deliso, Meridith (April 29, 2023). "5 dead in Texas 'execution-style' shooting, suspect armed with AR-15 is on the loose". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
18. "8 killed and 7 wounded in Texas mall shooting. The gunman is also dead". CNN. May 6, 2023. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
19. Villarreal, Mireya (May 7, 2023). "8 dead after car runs into pedestrians in Brownsville, Texas, alleged driver arrested". ABC News. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
20. Downen, Robert (May 9, 2023). "Texas House expels Bryan Slaton, first member ousted since 1927". Texas Tribune . Austin, Texas. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023.
21. Despart, Zach; Barragán, James (May 27, 2023). "Texas AG Ken Paxton impeached, suspended from duties pending outcome of Senate trial". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
22. Vertuno, Jim; Bleiberg, Jake (May 27, 2023). "Why Texas' GOP-controlled House wants to impeach Republican attorney general". AP News. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2023.
23. Tropical Storm Harold triggers flash floods, power outages and tornado warnings as it plows through Texas CNN, August 22, 2023
24. Dunlap, Miranda (August 29, 2023). "Katy ISD board, undeterred by backlash, passes gender identity, student bathroom policy". Houston Landing. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024.
25. "Influential Texas activist Jonathan Stickland hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes at office near Fort Worth". Texas Tribune. October 8, 2023.
26. "Defend Texas Liberty PAC names new president after leader met with white supremacist Nick Fuentes". Texas Tribune. October 17, 2023.
27. "President of right-wing PAC steps down after meeting with Hitler supporter". The Houston Chronicle. October 18, 2023.
28. "New leadership at right-wing Republican PAC after leader welcomes white supremacist". Texas Standard. October 20, 2023.
29. "Texas 2023 ballot measures". Ballotpedia . Archived from the original on November 8, 2023.