Legislative Update (3/24)
We’ve officially passed the halfway mark of the 2025 legislative session.
With just 70 days left, the pace is picking up—bills are being heard in committee, passed out of chambers, and gaining momentum. If you’re curious about what’s being heard this week, click here to view the committee schedule specifically impacting MTHA-related issues.
One important piece of legislation we’re still waiting to see set for a hearing is SB 1645 (Perry) / HB 4210 (Shofner)—a bill that would commission a comprehensive study on chronic disease, nutrition, and rising healthcare costs in Texas. This study would be led by Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, right here in our state, and could lay the groundwork for transformative policy in the years ahead.
I wrote more about the importance of this effort in a recent column featured in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and Yahoo!News—you can read it here or below:
Great news: Senate Bill 379 (Middleton)—which would end the use of SNAP benefits to purchase sodas, candy, and other ultra-processed junk foods—was voted out of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee and is headed to the Senate floor this week.
This major step forward came after a whirlwind of national attention, much of it sparked by a surprising moment in last week’s committee hearing: a representative from the American Heart Association (AHA) testified against the bill—despite its clear alignment with their stated mission to reduce heart disease through better nutrition.
After intense backlash, including a segment on Fox Business and a discussion on the Joe Rogan Experience (watch here or below), the AHA walked back its testimony. As reported by The Daily Wire:
"But now, AHA has retracted the testimony, with spokesman Steve Weiss telling The Daily Wire that 'The Association’s position on Texas Senate Bill 379 was miscommunicated during the TX Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing last week. The Association is not opposed to the bill, which would restrict purchases of sugary drinks and certain other unhealthy foods within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The miscommunication at the hearing from our representative, who is based in Texas, was unfortunate. We have corrected the record and worked to ensure this will not happen again,' Weiss said via email.
He would not explain how the organization’s lobbyist managed to inadvertently register in advance specifically to testify against the bill, travel to the state capitol, and provide written and oral testimony that was the exact opposite of the organization’s mission. According to the Texas committee’s list of registered witnesses, Puente was joined by Walmart in opposing the law, while representatives from the Texas Radiological Society, Texas Medical Association, Make Texans Healthy Again, and End Chronic Disease showed up to support it."
I’d like to end this update by giving major kudos to Rep. Lacey Hull for her powerful presentation of HB 25—the House companion to Senator Lois Kolkhorst’s “Make Texas Healthy” bill. The legislation strengthens nutrition education for doctors, protects recess and physical activity in schools, and improves food labeling by banning harmful additives already prohibited in other countries.
As Rep. Hull explained: “In the U.S. we spend $4.5 trillion annually on healthcare, with 90% going to chronic and mental health conditions. For comparison, the food industry grosses $1.46 trillion with 45% gross profit... Ultraprocessed foods are 73% of the U.S. food supply and 52% cheaper than minimally processed alternatives—but that cost doesn’t include the healthcare spending, lost productivity, and societal effects of disease.
We hear these statistics and continue spending money to prescribe medications to treat chronic illness and obesity instead of combatting the causes... Members, we need to break the system.”
You can view that hearing here. If you are on Twitter (or X) take a moment to give her some kudos by retweeting this post! Also, give us a follow if you haven’t already!
For Texas,
Travis McCormick
Founder, Make Texans Healthy Again