Texas Senate 30 for 30 – All Priorities Passed!

At the beginning of this legislative session, I laid out the strongest, most conservative agenda ever brought forward in the Texas Senate.

Once again, the Texas Senate has delivered. Led by the 19 hardest working Republicans in the country, the Texas Senate has already passed all of our priorities. One bill, SB 27, will come over from the House.

One example: On Thursday, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, passed SB 17 to end DEI in higher education. The Senate was on the floor debating bills for almost 12 hours. Afterward, Sen. Creighton chaired his Education Committee until after midnight. He was back early Thursday for another five hours on the floor and passed a ban on tenure for college professors.

Your Republican senators have been working night and day to pass legislation our voters asked us to address. I'm proud of every one of them, their ability, their intellect, and their work ethic. The best in the country.

House Bill 1 – the State Budget Unanimously Passes the Texas Senate

Every session, the Texas House and the Texas Senate alternate sponsorship of the budget. By that tradition, the Texas House will sponsor the 88th Legislative Session’s budget. The Senate passed HB 1 with the language of Senate Bill 1.

Like every budget passed by the Senate since I became Lt. Governor, this budget sits within all constitutional spending limits and does not exceed population times inflation. The Senate’s budget secures our conservative future and will help keep our state prosperous for all Texans for decades to come.

Here is my official statement following the unanimous passage of HB 1, the State Budget.

Senate Bill 11 – Keeping our Schools Safe and Secure Unanimously Passes the Texas Senate

Texans have been reminded far too often that evil exists and that we live in a broken world. Senate Bill 11, Keeping our Schools Safe and Secure, by Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, is a top priority of mine and of all 31 Senators because it represents a blueprint for our schools to use to harden their facilities moving forward. This is the most robust school-based response framework that Texas has ever designed and is the product of a year’s worth of bipartisan committee research and planning.

Here is my official statement following the Texas Senate’s unanimous passage of SB 11.

Senate Bill 17 – Banning Discriminatory DEI Policies in Higher Education Passes the Texas Senate

Texas universities improve and the educational environment is enhanced when we recruit the best faculty based on merit and equal opportunity, not arbitrary quotas based on equity.

This week, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 17, which bans the establishment or maintenance of DEI offices and hiring practices at Texas universities.

Here is my official statement following the passage of SB 17.

Texas Senate Passes Senate Bill 18 – Eliminating Tenure at General Academic Institutions

Tenured university professors are the only people in our society that have the guarantee of a job. Over the past year, it has become abundantly clear that some tenured faculty at Texas universities feel immune to oversight from the legislature and their respective board of regents. These professors claim ‘academic freedom’ and hide behind their tenure to continue blatantly advancing their agenda of societal division. That is going to end in Texas!

Here is my official statement following the bipartisan passage of SB 18.

Texas Senate Passes SB 1396 and 1515 – Bringing the Ten Commandments and Prayer Back to our Schools

I will never stop fighting for religious liberty in Texas. Allowing the Ten Commandments and prayer back into our public schools is one step we can take to make sure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Here is my official statement following the passage of Senate Bill 1396, by Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, and Senate Bill 1515, by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford. Both bills passed 17-12 along party lines.

Remember the Alamo!

Each session, I host all 31 Senators for a dinner. Last Sunday, we visited the Alamo for a wonderful dinner in the courtyard and toured the ongoing rebuild of the Alamo. The front gate will be finished by June. A new museum has opened and a new cannon has been put in place. When finished in the next three years, it will be one of the finest historical sites in the world.

Meeting with Members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

It was great to meet the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority members visiting for their Red and White Day at the Capitol for "Boots on the Ground." Their day ended with the dedication of the Barbara Jordan State Office Building, who was also a Delta Sigma Theta member.

A Surprise Visitor from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) – My Alma Mater!

Brian Barrio, the Athletic Director for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), came by for a surprise visit with his son and dad. I had a lot of fun showing them around and sharing stories about the Alamo’s history. I don't see a lot of people from UMBC. Most people had never heard of them until they became the first 16th seed ever to defeat a #1 seed in the history of the NCAA Basketball Tournament a few years ago.

Catholic Advocacy Day at the Capitol

I also spoke with students from different Catholic schools across the state for Catholic Advocacy Day at the Capitol. I quizzed them on the Texas legislative process, and they got all of the questions right!

Thank you all for your support and everything you do to keep Texas red. May God bless you and your family, and may He continue to bless the greatest state of all—Texas.

Sincerely,

Dan Patrick
Lieutenant Governor of Texas

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"Whomever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant."
Matthew 20:26 (NLT)

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