Protecting Religious Freedom Early this week, the Texas Senate passed the “Pastor Protection bill,” Senate Bill 2065 (SB 2065) by Senator Craig Estes. The bill protects religious leaders and their churches from being forced to participate in marriages that are against their beliefs. It is an important bill because it protects pastors and other religious… Read more »

Defending Innocent Lives This week the Senate passed Senate Bill 575 (SB 575) by Senator Larry Taylor. The bill prohibits any qualified health plan offered through the Texas state exchange from providing health benefit coverage for elective abortions, except in the case of a medical emergency. It further prohibits elective abortions from being covered in… Read more »

Property Tax Relief Finds a Home This week the Senate continued their focus on delivering much needed property tax relief for homeowners and businesses. Senate Bill 1760 (SB 1760), by Senator Brandon Creighton, delivers true tax relief for Texas homeowners by placing downward pressure on the continued overbearing growth of property taxes through transparency. SB… Read more »

Tax Credit Scholarship – School Choice in Texas In the Senate’s continuing efforts to deliver quality education to all Texans, Senate Education Chair Larry Taylor, along with joint authors Senators Paul Bettencourt and Donna Campbell, passed Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), known as the tax credit scholarship bill, over to the House of Representatives. I’ve… Read more »

Passing the Senate Budget This week, the Texas Senate overwhelmingly passed a fiscally responsible and strong budget with a vote of 30-1. Texans have declared they want leadership that keeps this state the beacon of economic prosperity and freedom, and that’s what the Senate budget ensures. This comprehensive budget includes $4.5 billion in business and… Read more »

Texas Senate Advances Education Reform and School Choice Legislation Three of the Texas Senate’s top priority education reform bills advanced this week, which will improve school accountably, enrich our teachers, and provide school choice. Senate Bill 4 (SB 4) by Senate Education Chair Larry Taylor was voted out of committee. This bill enables businesses to… Read more »

Education Reform Priorities Pass out of the Senate This week the Texas Senate passed two of our education priorities that will bring accountability to our schools at the local level and better prepare our students for the workforce. Senate Bill 6 (SB 6) by Senator Larry Taylor grades the performance of public school campuses by… Read more »

The Beginning of the End of the Franchise Tax The Texas Senate delivered a historic tax relief package for homeowners and businesses this week. Senate Bill 1(SB 1), Senate Joint Resolution 1(SJR 1), Senate Bill 7 and Senate Bill 8 (SB 7 & SB 8) passed out of the Senate with strong bipartisan support. We… Read more »

Protecting Our Second Amendment Right The Texas Senate made history this week by passing three bills that defend our Second Amendment rights. I congratulate Senator Brian Birdwell, Senator Craig Estes and Senator Donna Campbell for their leadership to advance “open carry”, “campus carry” and Concealed Handgun License (CHL) licensee protection bills to a vote. (Read… Read more »

Continuing to Fight for Fiscal Discipline As a state senator, I repeatedly filed bills to make the state spending limit more strict. During my eight years in the state senate, these bills were bottled up in committee. As Lieutenant Governor, I know Texans expect their leadership to be fiscally responsible and the senate is delivering…. Read more »