2023 in Texas

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

Incumbents

State government

Governor: Greg Abbott
Governor of Texas|Lieutenant Governor]: Dan Patrick
Attorney General: Ken Paxton
Comptroller of Public Accounts|Comptroller]: Glenn Hegar
Land Commissioner: George P. Bush , Dawn Buckingham
Agriculture Commissioner: Sid Miller
Railroad Commissioners: Christi Craddick, Wayne Christian, and Jim Wright

City governments

Mayor of Houston: Sylvester Turner
Mayor of San Antonio: Ron Nirenberg
Mayor of Dallas: Eric Johnson
Mayor of Austin: Steve Adler
Mayor of Fort Worth: Mattie Parker
Mayor of El Paso: Oscar Leeser
Mayor of Arlington: Jim Ross
Corpus Christi, Texas|Mayor of] Corpus Christi: Paulette Guajardo
Mayor of Plano: John B. Muns
Lubbock, Texas|Mayor of] Lubbock: Trey Payne

Elections

Elections were held on November 7, 2023. The only statewide election was a vote on 2023 [Texas constitutional amendment election|14 proposed amendments] to the Texas Constitution. A special election took place to fill the vacancy from Texas's 2nd [House of Representatives district], which was followed by a runoff on January 30, 2024. 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 following the 2022 Texas elections.
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.
March 6 – Texas [House of Representatives|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. 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.
April 18 – 18-year-old Payton Washington is shot and critically wounded in an H-E-B parking lot after a friend mistakenly opened the door to the wrong vehicle in the wake of similar incidents in Missouri, New York, and North Carolina.
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.
*The Texas Senate passes a bill that would require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom of every public school. The bill would later fail to pass the Texas House of Representatives.
April 28 – A 2023 [Cleveland, Texas shooting|shooting] occurs in Cleveland killing five, and the suspect is caught after four days.
May 6 – Nine people are killed, including the perpetrator, after Allen, Texas shooting|a mass shooting] at a mall in Allen.
May 7 – Eight people are killed after a vehicle drives into pedestrians outside a migrant center in Brownsville.
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.
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.
May 29 – The 88th Texas Legislature adjourns, and its 1st special session convenes.
June 27 – The 1st special session of the 88th Texas Legislature adjourns, and its 2nd special session convenes.
August 22 – Tropical Storm Harold makes landfall in South Texas, causing flash flooding, power outages, and tornado warnings.
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.
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. Stickland was later replaced as president of the PAC following the meeting.
October 9 – The 3rd special session of the 88th Texas Legislature convenes.
November 7
* The 2023 Texas elections are held. Voters approve 13 out of 14 amendments in the constitutional amendment election. A special election is held to fill the vacancy in Texas's 2nd House of Representatives district, which will be followed by a runoff on January 30, 2024.
* The 4th special session of the 88th Texas Legislature convenes.
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.