North Austin News

Rep. Caroline Harris Davila introduced HB 1290, a bill on Education and Minors, to the Texas House on Tuesday, April 8 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 prohibiting certain food additives from being included in free or reduced-price meals provided by school districts’’.

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

This bill prohibits school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in Texas from providing free or reduced-price meals that include certain food additives starting with the 2025-26 school year. The additives banned from these meals are brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, azodicarbonamide, butylated hydroxyanisole, red dye 3, and titanium dioxide. This measure specifically applies to meals provided through the national school breakfast and lunch programs. Contracts to provide such meals entered into or renewed on or after September 1, 2025, must comply with this prohibition. The act takes effect immediately if it garners a two-thirds majority vote in both legislative houses; otherwise, it becomes effective September 1, 2025.

Caroline Harris Davila, member of the House Committee on Transportation and vice chair of the House Committee on S/C on Workforce, proposed another 28 bills during the 89(R) legislative session.

Davilla graduated from Thomas Edison State College with a BA.

Caroline Harris Davilla is currently serving in the Texas State House, representing the state's 52nd House district. She replaced previous state representative James Talarico in 2023.

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
HB 5378	04/07/2025	Relating to the notice of certain food additives in meals provided by a public school
HB 5289	04/07/2025	Relating to notice provided by a health care provider before initiating debt collection against a patient
HB 5121	04/07/2025	Relating to inpatient competency restoration services
HB 4848	04/03/2025	Relating to requiring that competency-based baccalaureate degree programs be offered at certain public institutions of higher education
HB 4759	04/03/2025	Relating to the treatment for ad valorem tax purposes of land and equipment used for hydroponic farming
HB 4758	04/03/2025	Relating to a public school policy to allow a student with a disability to be accompanied by a handler for the student's service animal
HB 4622	04/03/2025	Relating to a study by the Texas Education Agency regarding participation in certain career and technology programs
HB 4610	04/03/2025	Relating to requiring the acceptance of cash payments by retailers in certain transactions
HB 4481	04/03/2025	Relating to the applicability of laws regarding school crossing guards to open-enrollment charter schools
HB 4371	04/01/2025	Relating to the provision of services by certain persons in the private duty nursing program
HB 4026	03/27/2025	Relating to a requirement that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality consider flood data when considering the issuance of certain wastewater treatment or discharge permits
HB 3922	03/27/2025	Relating to prohibiting the use of environmental, social, or governance scores
HB 3568	03/25/2025	Relating to the interconnection of wind or solar power facilities that use critical electric grid equipment purchased from certain companies
HB 3548	03/24/2025	Relating to local school health advisory councils and instruction regarding human sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity provided by public schools
HB 3535	03/24/2025	Relating to requiring backup generation at certain wastewater treatment facilities
HB 3273	03/20/2025	Relating to limitations on certain suits to recover real property held by another in adverse possession; the unauthorized sale, rental, lease, or advertisement for sale, rental, or lease of real property; and the removal of certain unauthorized occupants of a dwelling; creating a criminal offense; authorizing a fee
HB 3252	03/20/2025	Relating to the issuance by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of permits for certain wastewater treatment facilities
HB 3136	03/20/2025	Relating to excused absences from public school for the purpose of visiting an institution of higher education
HB 2999	03/20/2025	Relating to weight limitations for hydrogen-fueled motor vehicles
HB 2631	03/18/2025	Relating to prohibited facility fees for telehealth and telemedicine medical services; providing an administrative penalty
HB 2630	03/18/2025	Relating to declarant control of certain property owners' associations
HB 296	03/17/2025	Relating to the issuance of a license to practice medicine to certain applicants licensed or educated in a foreign country
HB 2568	03/17/2025	Relating to a compliance agreement for the suspension of an enforcement action against a regional water supply, sewer, wastewater treatment, or solid waste disposal service for certain violations
HB 2321	03/14/2025	Relating to the development of a standard method of computing a student's high school grade point average
HB 652	03/04/2025	Relating to prohibited uses of public money by certain municipalities and counties that reduce or reallocate funding or resources for certain law enforcement agencies
HB 287	02/27/2025	Relating to an annual study by the Texas A&M University Texas Real Estate Research Center of the purchase and sale of single-family homes by certain institutional buyers
HB 251	02/27/2025	Relating to price estimates and billing requirements for certain health care facilities
HB 208	02/27/2025	Relating to provision to a patient of an itemized bill for health care services and supplies