(Tuesday, October 31, 2023)

The Senate met at 3:32 p.m. pursuant to adjournment and was called to order by President Pro Tempore Schwertner.

The roll was called and the following Senators were present:  Alvarado, Bettencourt, Birdwell, Blanco, Campbell, Creighton, Eckhardt, Flores, Gutierrez, Hall, Hancock, Hinojosa, Huffman, Hughes, Johnson, King, Kolkhorst, LaMantia, Menéndez, Middleton, Miles, Parker, Perry, Schwertner, Sparks, Springer, West, Zaffirini.

Absent-excused:  Nichols, Paxton, Whitmire.

The President Pro Tempore announced that a quorum of the Senate was present.

Senator Tan Parker offered the invocation as follows:

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the extraordinary gift of serving Texas. Thank You for this great state, for all the extraordinary gifts and blessings You give us. We pray, Father God, for Your wisdom in each of the actions that we take in this Chamber and let us never forget the history and the significance of every vote and every decision that we make. We pray, Father God, that You guide our families, that You guide us in making good and wise policy for the future of this great state. We pray, Father God, for safe passage for all of our Members as we travel back and forth to our districts. We pray that You, again, will just continue to strengthen and to support all those Texans that we're so blessed to serve. And we thank You, Lord God and Father, for all the extraordinary gifts and blessings. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.

Senator Zaffirini moved that the reading of the Journal of the proceedings of the previous day be dispensed with and the Journal be approved as printed.

The motion prevailed without objection.

On motion of Senator Zaffirini, Senators Nichols and Paxton were granted leave of absence for today on account of family business.

On motion of Senator Zaffirini, Senator Whitmire was granted leave of absence for today on account of important business in the district.

The President Pro Tempore announced that the introduction of bills and resolutions on first reading would be postponed until the end of today's session.

There was no objection.

The President Pro Tempore at 3:34 p.m. announced the conclusion of morning call.

The President Pro Tempore laid before the Senate CSSB 6 by Senator Huffman at this time on its third reading and final passage:

CSSB 6, Relating to an appropriation for border security.

The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote:  Yeas 17, Nays 11.

Yeas:  Bettencourt, Birdwell, Campbell, Creighton, Flores, Hall, Hancock, Huffman, Hughes, King, Kolkhorst, Middleton, Parker, Perry, Schwertner, Sparks, Springer.

Nays:  Alvarado, Blanco, Eckhardt, Gutierrez, Hinojosa, Johnson, LaMantia, Menéndez, Miles, West, Zaffirini.

Absent-excused:  Nichols, Paxton, Whitmire.

Senator Creighton submitted the following statement regarding SB 6:

I fully endorse Texas' decisive action to fortify our southern border by supporting the construction of a border wall, and my vote today in favor of Senate Bill 6 reflects that commitment.

Yet, I hold reservations about the current restrictions on the use of eminent domain outlined in the bill. The vision of a seamless and comprehensive barrier along our southern border is unlikely to be realized through voluntary land agreements alone. It's clear that real border security demands the completion of the wall.

To address these concerns, I am actively advocating for my own bill, Senate Bill 38, which will enable the Texas Facilities Commission to exercise eminent domain where necessary. This is a critical step to ensure the swift construction of the wall, which is essential for the security and sovereignty of Texas.

Rest assured, I am dedicated to the task of securing our border effectively and will continue to seek pragmatic solutions to achieve this goal.

CREIGHTON

The President Pro Tempore announced the signing of the following enrolled bills in the presence of the Senate after the captions had been read: SB 4, SB 7.

On motion of Senator Zaffirini and by unanimous consent, the Senate at 4:06 p.m. agreed to recess, upon completion of the introduction of bills and resolutions on first reading and the receipt of committee reports, until 1:00 p.m. Thursday, November 2, 2023.

Pursuant to a previously adopted motion, the Senate at 9:00 a.m. Thursday, November 2, 2023, recessed until 1:00 p.m. today.

The following committee report was received by the Secretary of the Senate:

BORDER SECURITY — CSHB 4

SB 4, SB 7