Texas House bill by Rep. Meyer designates portion of U.S. Highway 287 as Molly Mullens Memorial Highway

Passed bill authored by State Rep. Morgan Meyer aims to honor Molly Mullens by designating a portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County as the Molly Mullens Memorial Highway, reflecting a commemorative intent, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the House, 47 Democrats and 78 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while six Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, 11 Democrats and 20 Republicans voted in favor, with no opposing votes.

Morgan Meyer introduced the bill in the Texas House on Wednesday, Feb. 5, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Meyer graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BA and again from Washington and Lee University School of Law with a JD.

Meyer, a Republican, was elected to the Texas State House in 2015 to represent the state’s 108th House district, replacing previous state representative Dan Branch.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to the designation of a portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County as the Molly Mullens Mile’.

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

In essence, this bill designates a portion of U.S. Highway 287 in Wilbarger County, Texas, between its intersections with County Road 111 and County Road 132 East, as the Molly Mullens Memorial Highway. This designation is in addition to any other existing highway designations. The Texas Department of Transportation is tasked with designing, constructing, and erecting markers at each endpoint and appropriate intermediate sites along the designated section, indicating its new name. The bill also specifies that its provisions should be renumbered by the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, 2025, to prevent duplicate designations. The Act is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Rep. James Frank (Republican – District 69).

The bill received its final legislative approval on Friday, May 9, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday, May 24.

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.