Texas Lt. Gov. announces top 40 senate bills for legislative session
The 89th Texas Legislative Session runs from Jan. 14 to June 2
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who serves as president of the Texas Senate, announced 25 of his top 40 priority bills for the 89th legislative session on Wednesday.
State senators file thousands of bills each legislative session, and each bill is assigned a number. Patrick said bill numbers 1-20 have traditionally been earmarked as priorities for the Senate. In 2017, during the 85th session, Patrick increased his number of priority bills to 30; this year, he raised it to 40.
“Senators like having a low bill number since it shows their bill is a priority of the Lt. Governor and has a high probability of passage. These bills represent the will of the conservative majority of Texans, and many will pass with bipartisan support,” Patrick said.
On Wednesday, Patrick shared the first 25 priority bills and promised the remaining 15 would be shared soon. The bills are listed below, including links to the legislature’s page about that bill where available.
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Lt. Gov. Patrick’s priority bills
Senate Bill 1 – Senate’s Budget for Texas
Senate Bill 2 – Providing School Choice
Senate Bill 3 – Banning THC in Texas
Senate Bill 4 – Increasing the Homestead Exemption to $140,000 ($150,000 for seniors)
Senate Bill 5 – Combatting Alzheimer’s – Establishing DPRIT (Dementia Prevention & Research Institute of Texas)
Senate Bill 6 – Increasing Texas’ Electric Grid Reliability
Senate Bill 7 – Increasing Investments in Texas’ Water Supply
Senate Bill 8 – Requiring Local Law Enforcement to Assist the Federal Government’s Deportation Efforts
Senate Bill 9 – Reforming Bail – Keeping Violent Criminals Off Our Streets
Senate Bill 10 – Placing the Ten Commandments in School
Senate Bill 11 – Protecting the Freedom to Pray in School
Senate Bill 12 – Establishing a Parental Bill of Rights in Public Education
Senate Bill 13 – Guarding Against Inappropriate Books in Public Schools
Senate Bill 14 – Texas DOGE – Improving Government Efficiency
Senate Bill 15 – Removing Barriers to Affordable Housing
Senate Bill 16 – Stopping Non-Citizens from Voting
Senate Bill 17 – Stopping Foreign Adversaries’ Land Grabs
Senate Bill 18 – Stopping Drag Time Story Hour
Senate Bill 19 – Stopping Taxpayer Dollars for Lobbyists
Senate Bill 20 – Stopping AI Child Pornography
Senate Bill 21 – Establishing the Texas Bitcoin Reserve
Senate Bill 22 – Establishing Texas as America’s Film Capital
Senate Bill 23 – Removing the Cap on the Rainy Day Fund to Secure Texas’ Long-term Financial Future
Senate Bill 24 – Educating Texas Students on the Horrors of Communism
Senate Bill 25 – Making Texas Healthy Again
“Just because a bill is not included in the top 40 does not mean it is not a priority for me or the Senate. There will be hundreds of bills that pass the Senate, all of which are important to Texas,” Patrick said. “Many other priorities are included in our state budget, such as border security funding, hiring more state troopers for the Department of Public Safety, and enhancing statewide disaster response with new equipment and more personnel.”
The lieutenant governor’s office said the rest of the list would be released soon.
Click to see a list of all bills filed by the Senate and House.
