The Importance of the Interim

What’s an Interim Session?

The Texas Legislature meets in regular session every other year for 140 days to conduct lawmaking, pass the state budget, oversee operations and consider amendments to the Texas Constitution. When the Legislature is not meeting, lawmakers and legislative committees work during the interim period – the time between sessions – to study policy issues, gather public input and develop proposals that may become legislation in the next regular session. The last regular session occurred in 2025.

Legislative committees – and potential special committees appointed by the speaker of the House and lieutenant governor in the Senate – will conduct their studies this year ahead of the next regular session in January 2027.

The specific issues that will be addressed in the interim are decided through the interim charges, a list of topics assigned by the speaker and the lieutenant governor to their respective chamber committees. The charges direct the committees to study issues, request data from state agencies and hold public hearings. The interim charges give a glimpse into what topics are considered legislative priorities and may signal potential funding and regulatory changes, workforce initiatives and health care operations in the state.

A Critical Period Often Overlooked

For hospitals, health systems and health care leaders, the interim period is especially important. Engagement during the interim helps ensure lawmakers understand how policies affect care delivery on the ground before proposals transform into legislation.

Interim hearings serve as a preview of how committees handle legislative proposals during a regular session. Committee chairs set up hearing agendas and invite testimony from agencies, stakeholders and experts. State agencies – including Texas’ two health and human services agencies – are often asked to provide reports, data and updates related to interim charges. This process informs the committee’s final interim report.

Interim hearings allow lawmakers to take a deeper look at policy issues that are difficult to scrutinize so closely during the breakneck pace of a regular session. During these hearings, committees may examine the impact of recently passed laws, identify gaps or unintended consequences in existing policy, explore long-term solutions to complex challenges, and hear directly from hospitals, clinicians, patients and advocates. The findings from interim hearings often form the foundation for legislation filed in the next session.

Gearing Up for Advocacy

Carrie Kroll, Senior Vice President of Advocacy & Public Policy, leads THA’s advocacy team and is developing the basis of future legislative efforts.

“The interim allows the THA team time to regroup, analyze our wins and losses and contemplate new and different strategies for the next Legislature. That means a lot of activity occurs in what is considered by outsiders to be a slow time,” she shared.

THA’s advocacy team consists of policy analysts, legal representatives, communications professionals and specialists in government relations and quality and patient safety. The advocacy team keeps a close eye on the political, legislative and regulatory landscape to identify opportunities to share hospitals’ perspectives and educate lawmakers and their staff on how these issues affect hospitals – ensuring hospital priorities are part of the conversation well before the next regular session begins.

“There are relationships to create and strengthen, legislative implementation to monitor, short and long-term policy strategies to identify and develop,” Kroll said. “We have to make sure we are connecting with our membership to let them know what we are doing, and to learn about their pain points so we can try to repair or alleviate them legislatively. It’s a full contact sport that, if done correctly, leaves the team ready to tackle anything and everything come the next legislative year.”

2026 Issues to Watch in the Interim

Following an intense regular session, committees will be looking into a wide range of health-related issues during the 2026 interim. Many of these charges are expected to revolve around a shared concern – the rising cost of health care and its impact on access, affordability and sustainability across the system.

These health-related topics are among the issues likely to shape policy debates heading into the next regular session:

Hospital finance and consolidation
Facility fees and cost transparency
Health care workforce shortages
Insurance design and affordability
Charity care and community benefit
Provider payments and funding stability
Behavioral health continuum of care

How Health Care Leaders and the Public Can Stay Engaged

Hospitals, health systems and community members can stay engaged during the interim by:

Monitoring committee hearings and agendas
Submitting written or in-person testimony
Meeting with legislators and candidates for legislative office in their communities
Following updates from trusted health policy organizations

Engagement during the interim can shape how these charges translate into legislation. THA will share updates on its interim activities and advocacy at www.tha.org and on THA’s social media channels.