TPPF Announces Tech Policy Priorities for the 89th Texas Legislative Session

The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Better Tech for Tomorrow campaign released its full agenda for the 2025 89^th Texas Legislative Session. The campaign evaluates policy solutions through the lens of promoting civic virtue, protecting individual privacy, and ensuring the security, autonomy, and dignity of Texans. In recent years, TPPF’s work on tech policy has resulted in successful initiatives to establish a digital bill of rights, protect children online, expand rural broadband, and create an artificial intelligence advisory council.

“Technology-related public policy should focus on responsible innovation,” said BTT’s Policy Director Zach Whiting. “There should be plenty of space for entrepreneurs to build the next miraculous tool that helps us solve big problems, but not so unfettered that it weakens or threatens the guardrails of a moral, safe, and productive society.”

The Better Tech for Tomorrow campaign’s full legislative action agenda for the 89^th regular session includes:

Promote Responsible Artificial Intelligence Reform: As advancements in AI introduce both new threats and opportunities for Texas, lawmakers must take a regulatory approach that maximizes innovation and ensures technology serves humanity. TPPF advocates for sector-specific AI regulatory frameworks that promote transparency, maximize human dignity, and ensure that Texas is the national model for balancing ethics and growth in this highly consequential field of technology.

Strengthen Consumer Data Privacy: Texas passed the nation’s strongest digital bill of rights last session, allowing Texans better ownership and control over their digital information. TPPF will advocate for improving existing laws to make exercising rights easier and more intuitive while increasing Texans’ agency and ownership over their information.

Protect Kids’ Online Safety: Texas joined numerous states last session in taking important steps to protect children online from the myriad harms posed by pornography, social media, and other detrimental content. TPPF will continue to be a leading voice pushing for more protections, advocating for device-level filtering, prohibiting children from accessing social media, and more.

Usher in Autonomous Vehicles Responsibly: Autonomous vehicles are a promising technology that holds the potential to reduce auto fatalities, increase mobility, reduce congestion, and free up land in major urban areas. But unfettered deployment of the technology puts Texans in harm’s way and threatens to unseat the autonomy of drivers. TPPF will advocate for sound testing and deployment requirements while protecting Texans’ right to drive their own vehicle.

Champion Right to Repair: When a customer purchases certain products, from smart devices to heavy farm equipment, it is not entirely their property because some large manufacturers have maintained a monopoly on the repair of such products. Instead of taking an iPhone or John Deere tractor directly to the manufacturer for repairs, Texans should have a choice to fix it themselves or take it to a local, small-business repair shop they trust more. TPPF will advocate for a robust right to repair law in Texas to give Texans full ownership of and agency over their personal property.

Reform Water Policy: Water is Texas’ most precious resource, and policy must support innovation and prudence in safeguarding the state’s supply. TPPF will research water policy and advance policy recommendations that promote sound water stewardship.