The Texas Senate Is Moving at Lightspeed: 24 of My Top 40 Priority Bills Passed                                                                                                                                      


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The Texas Senate Is Moving at Lightspeed: 24 of My Top 40 Priority Bills Passed

Total Bills Passed: 133


Lightspeed [[link removed]][link removed]


At the halfway point of the 89th regular legislative session, the Texas Senate is hard at work passing important legislation. At the beginning of the session in January, I laid out the most conservative and bold agenda in Texas Senate history.


The Texas Senate has already passed 24 of the top 40 priority bills, including my priorities, the senators’ priorities, and the most important bills the voters asked me to pass—the will of the conservative majority of Texans. In the coming weeks, Senators will pass the remaining priority bills. All credit goes to the senators. They are working at lightspeed to deliver for the people of Texas.


As of this week, we’ve passed three additional priority bills, bringing the total to 24 of my priority bills passed, including:


Senate Bill 1 [[link removed]] – Senate’s Budget for Texas *

Senate Bill 2 [[link removed]] – Providing School Choice

Senate Bill 3 [[link removed]] – Banning THC in Texas

Senate Bill 4 [[link removed]] – Increasing the Homestead Exemption to $140,000 ($150,000 for Seniors)

Senate Bill 5 [[link removed]] – Combatting Dementia and Alzheimer’s – Establishing DPRIT (Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas)

Senate Bill 6 [[link removed]] – Increasing Texas’ Electric Grid Reliability

Senate Bill 9 [[link removed]] – Reforming Bail – Keeping Violent Criminals Off Our Streets

Senate Bill 1o [[link removed]] – Placing the Ten Commandments in Schools

Senate Bill 11 [[link removed]] – Protecting the Freedom to Pray in Schools

Senate Bill 12 [[link removed]] – Establishing a Parental Bill of Rights

Senate Bill 13 [[link removed]] – Guarding Against Inappropriate Books in Public Schools

Senate Bill 14 [[link removed]] – Texas DOGE – Improving Government Efficiency *

Senate Bill 15 [[link removed]] – Removing Barriers to Housing Affordability

Senate Bill 17 [[link removed]] – Stopping Foreign Adversaries’ Land Grabs

Senate Bill 18 [[link removed]] – Banning Drag Time Story Hour

Senate Bill 19 – Stopping Taxpayer Dollars for Lobbyists

Senate Bill 20 [[link removed]] – Stopping AI-Generated Child Pornography

Senate Bill 21 [[link removed]] – Establishing the Texas Bitcoin Reserve

Senate Bill 24 [[link removed]] – Educating Texas Students on the Horrors of Communism *

Senate Bill 25 [[link removed]] – Making Texas Healthy Again

Senate Bill 26 [[link removed]] – Increasing Teacher Pay

Senate Bill 28 [[link removed]] – Banning Lottery Couriers

Senate Bill 35 [[link removed]] – Competing for Quality Roads

Senate Bill 40 [[link removed]] – Bail Reform


Bills marked with an asterisk were passed this week.


We are moving rapidly to ensure all these bills have ample time to pass the Texas House and arrive at Gov. Abbott’s desk to be signed into law. This session started out with a hopeful working relationship with Speaker Burrows. Working together with the House, this could be the best session ever for all Texans and especially for conservatives.


To read the rest of my top 40 priority bills, click here [[link removed]].


I Was Honored to Receive an MVP Award for Championing a COLA for Retired Teachers


MVP Award [[link removed]]


Next to a parent, nothing is more important than a teacher.


On Wednesday, the Texas Retired Teachers Association visited the Texas Capitol. We met in my office before they were recognized on the floor, and they presented me with an MVP award in recognition of the cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) I championed last session for retired teachers.


I believe in the words of Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It is essential that we continue to invest in our teachers, both those who are retired and those who are still in the workforce.


The Texas Senate and I Stand United: Zero Tolerance for Selling Alcohol to Minors


Zero Tolerance [[link removed]]


On Wednesday, the Texas Senate passed SB 650 by Senators Perry and West, 31-0, to send a clear message to liquor stores, convenience stores, and other sellers of alcohol that we are committed to stopping illegal alcohol sales to minors. The bill requires license readers to be used by alcohol sellers to verify age identification to ensure those under 21 are not purchasing alcohol. Underage drinking in Texas is at a high level and has caused too many fatal auto accidents. Whether it’s the adolescent drinker who is killed, others in the car with them, or innocent Texans in other vehicles, these are deadly tragedies that should not happen.


Retailers need to remember that selling alcohol is a privilege granted by a license in Texas. If they are selling alcohol, they need to stop selling it to minors, or they could lose that privilege. The Texas Senate and I have spoken in a unanimous voice that we have zero tolerance for selling alcohol to minors.


Teenage drunk driver kills family of 5 in Fort Worth fiery crash, police say [[link removed]].


School Choice Is Crucial for Empowering Parents and Essential for Providing Students with the Best Opportunities for Success


School Choice [[link removed]]


School choice is crucial for empowering parents and essential for providing students with the best opportunities for success. I was honored to stand with Governor Greg Abbott, Speaker Dustin Burrows, and former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey at the Texas Capitol to emphasize our strong support for school choice.


We must make students a priority and pass school choice now.


My Statement on the Completion of the State Auditor's Audit of All Impeachment-Related Spending


March 21st marked one year, six months, and three days since I called for an audit of all impeachment spending by the Texas House and Senate. I swiftly turned all the Texas Senate’s records over to the State Auditor right after that. As I said from the very beginning, taxpayers have a right to know how much of their tax dollars were spent on former Speaker Dade Phelan’s failed political gambit.


Click here to read my official statement following the completion of the State Auditor’s audit of all impeachment spending costs [[link removed]].


Honoring the Life and Legacy of George Foreman


George Foreman [[link removed]]


In Philadelphia, there is a statue of Rocky. We need a big statue of Big George Foreman in Houston because he was a big man in so many ways. He is the person we should all aspire to be. He wasn’t a fictional movie character. George was the real deal. I’d personally be happy to write the first check to help make it happen. Mayor John Whitmire: Let’s get it done.


His family wrote this about his passing. It’s beautiful. “He lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose.” 


More on George: 


George Foreman passed away last Friday night at the age of 76. A native of Houston, one of seven children raised by a single mother, he went on to become one of the greatest people in Texas history. He was a pastor, a phenomenal businessman, an Olympic Gold Medal winner, a two-time World Boxing Champion, and everyone had a George Foreman grill, it seemed. He won his second boxing title at the amazing age of 45.


I don’t claim to say he was a close friend. I interviewed him several times, but that was it. However, the last time was very special. After an interview at my radio station, he hung around for an hour or more in my office. We talked little of boxing, but a lot about life, and a lot about our shared faith in Jesus. He was one of the nicest people I’d met.


I don’t often tear up after hearing of the passing of a famous person I didn’t really know on a personal level. I am, as I write this. He was truly a great man whom I admired from afar for all of his accomplishments.  


What stands out most was his love for Jesus and the lives George impacted for the Kingdom through his own personal story and God’s story. In my book, he was a heavyweight champ for God’s Word. That’s what I’ll remember most.


Thank you for all your support over the years and for 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 [[link removed]]


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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