(Wednesday, February 26, 2025)

The Senate met at 10:04 a.m. pursuant to adjournment and was called to order by Senator Birdwell.

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

The Presiding Officer announced that a quorum of the Senate was present.

Chaplain Betsy Buhler, Community Bible Church, San Antonio, offered the invocation as follows:

Thank You, God, for this day. As Your word says in Deuteronomy 31:6, Be strong and courageous. Don't be terrified, for the Lord, your God, is the one who will go with you; He will not leave you or abandon you. Thank You, God, especially for the men and women in this room who care about our state and country and Your promise that no matter what we do or go through, You are with us. I pray that You continue to give each one the wisdom, knowledge, clarity, and peace in all the plans and decisions that are set before them today. I ask that You give them time to just rest in the midst of decisions, pressures, and the high calling of taking care of Texas. I pray for joy in the journeys You have each one traveling on now. I pray Your watchcare over this building and everyone who enters. I ask Your protection and blessings on our military and first responders who sacrificially stand in the gap for us as individuals and our nation. You, God, we trust. With respect to all beliefs, I pray in the precious name of Jesus. 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.

Senator Campbell offered the following resolution:

WHEREAS, Betsy Buhler of Community Bible Church in San Antonio has enriched the lives of countless people through her work as a chaplain; and

WHEREAS, Born and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee, Chaplain Buhler was called to the ministry while still a teenager, and she went on to volunteer at church summer camps and to become a youth pastor; for 18 years, she worked at Lifeway, a Christian publisher based in Nashville, Tennessee, helping coordinate the worship team for large events hosted by the company; she moved to San Antonio in 2001 to accept a position at Community Bible Church, and for nearly two decades, she led the congregation's media team; and

WHEREAS, In 2006, Chaplain Buhler was invited to become a chaplain with the San Antonio Police Department after having worked with the agency to coordinate funerals for officers killed in the line of duty; she also served as a chaplain for the San Antonio Silver Stars WNBA team and has acted as a spiritual resource for CASA; and

WHEREAS, Chaplain Buhler is the founder of reFocus Today Ministry, a nonprofit organization established in 2013 that provides chaplaincy, pastoral, and counseling services in a range of settings, including hospitals, businesses, and first responder agencies; in recognition of her wide-ranging work, she has been honored as "Chaplain to the City" and is also known by her nickname, "Chappy B"; and

WHEREAS, This esteemed chaplain has exemplified the highest standards of her calling, and her many good works have earned her the lasting admiration and respect of all who know her; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature hereby honor Chaplain Betsy Buhler for her service in the ministry and extend to her sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Chaplain Buhler as an expression of high regard by the Texas Senate.

SR 139 was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Campbell was recognized, introduced Chaplain Betsy Buhler to the Senate, and said a prayer for her.

The Senate welcomed its guest.

The following Messages from the Governor were read and were referred to the Committee on Nominations:

February 26, 2025

Austin, Texas

TO THE SENATE OF THE EIGHTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, REGULAR SESSION:

I ask the advice, consent and confirmation of the Senate with respect to the following appointments:

To be members of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents for terms to expire February 1, 2031:

Jay C. Graham

Bryan, Texas

Kelley Sullivan Georgiades

Houston, Texas

Michael A. "Mike" Hernandez, III

Fort Worth, Texas

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Greg Abbott

Governor

February 26, 2025

Austin, Texas

TO THE SENATE OF THE EIGHTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, REGULAR SESSION:

I ask the advice, consent and confirmation of the Senate with respect to the following appointment:

To be a member of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy for a term to expire August 31, 2029:

Heisha K. Freeman

Fate, Texas

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Greg Abbott

Governor

February 26, 2025

Austin, Texas

TO THE SENATE OF THE EIGHTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, REGULAR SESSION:

I ask the advice, consent and confirmation of the Senate with respect to the following appointment:

To be a member of the Governing Board of the Texas Civil Commitment Office for a term to expire February 1, 2031:

Bruce W. Toney

Sagerton, Texas

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Greg Abbott

Governor

Senator Zaffirini was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Caldwell County delegation including County Judge Hoppy Haden, Luling Mayor C.J. Watts, Martindale Mayor Katherine Glaze, Lockhart Mayor Pro Tempore Angie Gonzales-Sanchez, Mike McClabb, Dr. Barbara Sanchez, Bonnie Townsend, Keith Lohse, Mark Estrada, and Erin Warren.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Miles offered the following resolution:

SR 138, Recognizing February 26, 2025, as University of Houston-Downtown Day at the State Capitol.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Miles was recognized and introduced to the Senate a University of Houston-Downtown Day delegation including President, Dr. Loren J. Blanchard.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Cook was recognized and presented Dr. Rashmi Rode of Houston as the Physician of the Day.

The Senate welcomed Dr. Rode, accompanied by Dr. Dorcas Omari, and thanked her for her participation in the Physician of the Day program sponsored by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.

Senator Hagenbuch was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Young County delegation.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Kolkhorst offered the following resolution:

SR 132, Recognizing February 26, 2025, as Washington County Day.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Kolkhorst was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Washington County delegation including students from St. Paul's Christian Day School including Aiden Tiemann, accompanied by his grandmother, Cheryl Tiemann; County Judge John Durrenberger; Brenham Mayor Atwood Kenjura; and Brad Tegeler.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Kolkhorst was recognized and introduced to the Senate an Aransas County delegation including County Judge Ray A. Garza, Commissioner Pat Rousseau, Fulton Mayor Kelli Cole, and Rockport-Fulton ISD Superintendent, Dr. Lesley Austin.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Creighton offered the following resolution:

SR 152, Recognizing February 26, 2025, as Orange and Maroon Legislative Day.

The resolution was read.

On motion of Senator Bettencourt and by unanimous consent, the names of the Lieutenant Governor and Senators were added to the resolution as signers thereof.

On motion of Senator Creighton, the resolution was adopted without objection.

Senator Creighton, joined by Senators Zaffirini, Paxton, Sparks, Eckhardt, and Bettencourt, was recognized and introduced to the Senate an Orange and Maroon Legislative Day delegation from The University of Texas System and The Texas A&M System including Texas Exes President and Chair Brien Smith, The Association of Former Students Chair Lias J. "Jeff" Steen, Texas Exes Exeutive Director Chuck Harris, and The A&M Association of Former Students President and CEO Porter Garner.

The Senate welcomed its guest.

Senator Huffman offered the following resolution:

WHEREAS, The outstanding endeavors of the Consulate General of France in Houston serve to strengthen the meaningful connections with Texas that have spanned many centuries; and

WHEREAS, In 1685, famed French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, landed at present-day Matagorda Bay and built the Fort St. Louis stockade; the settlement was short-lived, but in 1818, a friend of Napoleon Bonaparte, General Charles Francois Antoine Lallemand, brought a band of army veterans to establish Champ d'Asile on thinly populated Spanish territory near modern Liberty; Spain did not take kindly to the incursion, but the brief French presence helped to define the Sabine River as the border between Louisiana and Texas; and

WHEREAS, France was the second country to recognize the Republic of Texas as a sovereign nation, and the two countries signed a commercial treaty in 1839 and opened their respective legations in Austin and Paris; in the following decade, more than 2,000 French Alsatians flocked to Castroville under the leadership of banker Henri Castro, and across the state, French Catholic missionaries developed schools and hospitals; and

WHEREAS, Favorable relations continued after Texas entered the Union and have flourished through the years; our economies benefit by the dynamism of imports and exports, totaling $15.6 billion in 2022, making France our state's 14th-largest trade partner; in the last decade, French companies reported more than 80 investment projects in Texas; and

WHEREAS, Led since 2021 by Consul General Valérie Baraban, the Consulate General of France in Houston provides services to French citizens living in the Lone Star State; it also promotes French business, science, and technology and fosters language learning and cultural appreciation through its Villa Albertine in Texas program; in 2024, it partnered in the creation of the French-American Cultural Foundation; and

WHEREAS, The friendship between France and Texas has long been a driver of prosperity and a source of vibrant cultural enrichment, and the efforts of the Consulate General of France in Houston continue to invigorate this multifaceted and mutually valuable exchange; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature hereby honor the Consulate General of France in Houston for its contributions and recognize the enduring bonds between France and Texas; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the consulate as an expression of high regard by the Texas Senate.

SR 123 was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Huffman, joined by Senator Bettencourt, was recognized and introduced to the Senate the Consul General Valérie Baraban, French-American Chamber of Commerce representative Aurore Ladeveze, and French-American Cultural Foundation leaders Debbie Dunn and Jim Shearer.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

On motion of Senator Huffman and by unanimous consent, the remarks regarding SR 123 were ordered reduced to writing and printed in the Senate Journal following adoption.

Presiding Officer:  Senator Huffman is on the resolution.

Senator Huffman:  Thank you, Mr. President. And, Mr. President, would I be out of line to ask for order for our honored guests at this time?

Presiding Officer:  Members, may we have attention? We are honoring an ally of the United States.

Senator Huffman:  Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Members, for honoring our special guests today. We are honored to have Valérie Baraban, Consul General of France, whose office is in Senate District 17 in Houston. Her resume, Members, is nothing short of remarkable. She taught French and Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. She launched an extraordinary diplomatic career in 2005 with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. There in the Strategic Affairs Sector, she took charge of arms export control and arms control policies. Her talents soon took her to Beijing, where she served as deputy head of cooperation and cultural service at the French Embassy, one of France's most vital cooperation hubs worldwide. In 2013, she was in Brussels, negotiating as part of the French delegation to NATO. And in the summer of 2017, she joined the Élysée Palace as diplomatic advisor to the national intelligence and counter-terrorism coordinator. After years of service to her nation, she arrived in Houston in 2021 to take up her role as Consul General. We are thrilled to have her here. And joining her on the floor is Aurore Ladeveze with the French-American Chamber of Commerce and two leaders from the French-American Cultural Foundation, Debbie Dunn, President of the foundation based in Washington D.C. and Jim Shearer, Senior Advisor to the Texas Chapter from right here in Austin. Members, as you know, there's just a rich historical and cultural tradition between Texas and France. I had the honor to visit France many times. My husband and I simply love your country. Members, very interestingly, there was a Texas Embassy, when Texas was a Republic, in Paris. For years, there was a sign right there in Paris and there's a hotel now there, I believe, but we used to love and visit. It just felt very special to visit that, just you could feel it, you know. And there, when you go to Paris and visit and you tell people you're from Texas, you receive a very, very warm welcome. So, we extend that same warm welcome to you here in the Senate Chamber, honored to have our French allies here with us here in Texas. Thank you very much, Members.

Presiding Officer:  Senator Bettencourt, on the resolution.

Senator Bettencourt:  Thank you, Mr. President. And thank you, Senator Huffman. Enchanté Mademoiselle Consul General, Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle, vive la France. Okay. And, Senator Huffman would make a great ambassador from the Republic of Texas to France. Okay? So, thank you for visiting us today. Bon chance.

Presiding Officer:  Before I recognize you, Senator Huffman, to close, may I speak briefly, too.

Senator Huffman:  Yes.

Presiding Officer:  This past October and September I got to visit France for the first time. I got to go to World War I cemeteries of Meuse-Argonne, Aisne-Marne and of course World War II in Normandy. What I really appreciated about going to the World War I cemeteries is that while many Americans don't go there, young French schoolchildren are taken there everyday to go see the sacrifices made during World War I. God bless you, it's great to be your ally. Thank you for joining us today. Senator Huffman to close.

Senator Huffman:  I move adoption of SR 123.

Presiding Officer:  Members, you've heard the motion to adopt the resolution. Is there any objection to adopting the resolution? Hearing and seeing none, the resolution is adopted.

Senator Alvarado, joined by Senator Nichols, was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Transportation Advocacy Group delegation including Board Members Gregg Reyes, Jim Russ, Dr. Carol Lewis, Todd Thurber, Mustafa Tameez, Executive Director Christina Cabral, James Rodriguez, Jack Drake, and City of Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator A. Hinojosa was recognized and introduced to the Senate a delegation of Texas Podiatric Medical Association students.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Parker offered the following resolution:

SR 163, Recognizing February 26, 2025, as Texas Nonprofit Strong and United Way Day at the State Capitol.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Parker, joined by Senator Johnson, was recognized and introduced to the Senate a United Ways of Texas delegation and a Texas Nonprofit Strong delegation.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Middleton was recognized and introduced to the Senate a City of Pearland delegation including Mayor Kevin Cole; City Councilmembers Clint Byrom, Layni Cade, and Chad Thumann; Constable Buck Stevens; Pearland ISD Superintendent Larry Berger; and Crystal Carbone.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Perry offered the following resolution:

SR 129, Honoring the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center for its contributions to rural health care, education, and research.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Perry was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center delegation.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Menéndez was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Northeast Independent School District delegation of students.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Paxton offered the following resolution:

SR 133, Recognizing February 25 to 26, 2025, as Plano Legislative Days.

PAXTON

HAGENBUCH

HALL

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Paxton was recognized and introduced to the Senate a City of Plano delegation including Mayor John B. Muns and Councilmembers Maria Tu, Julie Holmer, Anthony Ricciardelli, Rick Horne, Kayci Prince, Shelby Williams, and Rick Smith.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator A. Hinojosa offered the following resolution:

SR 134, Recognizing February 26, 2025, as Weslaco Day at the State Capitol.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator A. Hinojosa was recognized and introduced to the Senate a City of Weslaco delegation including Commissioners Adrian Farias and Jose "JP" Rodriguez, Fire Chief Antonio Lopez, and Economic Development Corporation Board President Sandra Charlton.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Middleton offered the following resolution:

SR 161, Commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Port of Galveston.

MIDDLETON

CREIGHTON

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Middleton was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Port of Galveston delegation including Port Director and CEO Rodger Rees.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator A. Hinojosa was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Bee County delegation including Patti Johnson and her 6th grade class.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Parker offered the following resolution:

SR 164, Recognizing February 26, 2025, as American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Day at the State Capitol.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Parker was recognized and introduced to the Senate an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Day delegation.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Alvarado offered the following resolution:

SR 165, In memory of Sarah Bottecelli Koller.

The resolution was read.

On motion of Senator Alvarado, the resolution was adopted by a rising vote of the Senate.

In honor of the memory of Sarah Bottecelli Koller, the text of SR 165 will be printed in the Senate Journal upon adjournment of this legislative day.

Senator Alvarado was recognized and introduced to the Senate family and friends of Sarah Bottecelli Koller including Steve Konorik; her mother, Paula Bottecelli; Catarina Gonzalez; Brittany Eck; and Monica Aizpurua.

The Senate welcomed its guests and extended its sympathy.

Senator Zaffirini offered the following Motion In Writing:

Mr. President:

I move that a committee of five members of the Senate be appointed by the President to escort the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court to the Joint Session for the State of the Judiciary address today.

ZAFFIRINI

The Motion In Writing was read and prevailed without objection.

In accordance with the provisions of HCR 5, the President announced the appointment of the following as a Committee to Escort Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock to the Joint Session:  Senators Hughes, Chair; Flores, Johnson, Parker, and Zaffirini.

The President at 11:36 a.m. announced the Senate would stand At Ease subject to the call of the Chair.

(To hear the State of the Judiciary Address by the Honorable Jimmy Blacklock, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas)

The President announced the time had arrived for the Joint Session pursuant to the provisions of HCR 5.

The President of the Senate and the Senators present, escorted by the Secretary of the Senate and the Sergeant-at-Arms, proceeded to the Hall of the House of Representatives at 11:36 a.m.

The Honorable Dan Patrick was announced and, on invitation of the Speaker, occupied a seat at the Speaker's Rostrum.

The Senators were announced and were admitted and escorted to seats prepared for them along the aisle.

The Honorable Jimmy Blacklock was announced by the Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives and was escorted to the Speaker's Rostrum by Senators Hughes, Chair; Flores, Johnson, Parker, and Zaffirini on the part of the Senate, and Representatives Leach, Chair; Dutton, M. González, Hunter, and Smithee on the part of the House.

The Honorable Dan Patrick, President of the Senate, called the Senate to order and announced a quorum of the Senate present.

The Honorable Dustin Burrows, Speaker of the House of Representatives, called the House to order, announced a quorum of the House present, and stated the purpose of the Joint Session.

The President introduced the Honorable Jimmy Blacklock, who addressed the Joint Session as follows:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Governor Patrick, Senators and Representatives, Judges from across our great state, my fellow Texans.

It's my great honor to stand before you, on this beautiful day, in this beautiful and historic chamber, as the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court—and to report to you, that the State of the Judiciary in Texas is STRONG.

In one way, though, we've just become weaker. Our Constitution required Chief Justice Nathan Hecht to retire at the age of 75. He served 12 years as Chief Justice—36 YEARS as a Justice on the Supreme Court—and 43 total years as a judge. He first became a judge just a few days after my first birthday, in 1981. He joined the Supreme Court at a difficult time in its history. But he left the Court, I'm pleased to say, far, far stronger than he found it.

Nathan Hecht's legacy of service to the People of Texas is unparalleled. All his fellow Justices are so very grateful for his wise leadership and loyal friendship over the years. But all his fellow Texans—young and old, rich and poor, Republican and Democrat—owe Nathan Hecht a great debt of gratitude for his tireless and principled work to promote the Rule of Law and to make justice a greater reality for every Texan.

Please join me in honoring Chief Justice Nathan Lincoln Hecht.

I want to also express my gratitude to Governor Abbott, for the honor of this appointment, and for giving me this unique opportunity to continue serving my fellow Texans. But more than anything, I want to say thank you to my wife, Jessica—the love of my life, the beautiful mother of our three beautiful girls, a better lawyer than I am, and the greatest blessing God has ever given me. Thank you, my love.

We also need to show our gratitude to others who are with us—the brave men and women of law enforcement, who protect and serve law-abiding Texans across our state. We judges talk a lot about the work we do to defend the Rule of Law. And rightfully so. Sometimes, judges are the Rule of Law's last line of defense.

But the front lines of the battle for the Rule of Law are not courtrooms. And the warriors are not judges. No matter what laws you pass, no matter what rulings a judge makes, there will always be bad men who mean to do evil; bad men, who don't care about the law. Men like that aren't stopped by the Constitution. They aren't stopped by laws written on paper or by judges in robes. The only thing that can stop a bad man with a gun who means to do evil, is a good man with a gun who means to do justice.

We have men and women like that with us today—who stand on the front lines of the fight to preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution. Would all those in law enforcement please stand and let us say thank you?

Before I propose anything else, I ask you to do everything you can to support the Thin Blue Line, support their families, give them the tools they need to win the fight against crime and chaos and drugs. It's a fight that is often fought in the poorest and most troubled neighborhoods in our state. And the consequences of that fight often fall on the poorest and most vulnerable Texans.

One thing I know you're considering is changing the law, and asking the People to change the Constitution, so that after these officers have risked their lives to take violent criminals off the streets, our judges are empowered—even required—to keep those violent criminals in custody, as they await a speedy trial. The Governor has made this an emergency item, and I want to thank Senator Joan Huffman for her leadership on this vital issue of public safety.

Our gratitude to Chief Justice Hecht and to law enforcement is just part of a deeper sense of gratitude I hope we all feel for the extraordinary blessing it is to live in the State of Texas in the Year of our Lord 2025.

Our State is a beacon of liberty and hope for so many people across our country and around the world. Texas isn't perfect, but no place on earth is perfect, and no place in this life ever will be. The legislative session encourages everyone to air their grievances and complaints. That's what it's for.

But instead of comparing life in Texas to perfection, let's compare it to life in any other time and place in all of human history. When we do that, we see that the peace, and comfort, and freedom, and prosperity that we enjoy are rare and priceless treasures—treasures unknown to the vast majority of people who have ever lived.

How grateful, then, must we be to the God whose providence has put us in this time and place. How grateful must we be to the men and women who came before us, who made possible, by their toil and their blood, all the blessings we enjoy in modern day Texas. We're surrounded by their portraits in this Chamber, and we can all think of our own parents and our grandparents and everything they sacrificed so we could be here today.

For all of us in these powerful positions God has given us, it's our job to point out imperfections in this treasure we've been given and to propose ways to fix them. But let us proceed first with humility, with gratitude, with an awareness of our own imperfections, and with the knowledge of just how precious and how rare is this treasure, this Texas, that we love.

I hope you'll take the rest of my remarks in that spirit. I'm going to make a few suggestions, perhaps a few complaints. But none of us should dare complain without first acknowledging both how grateful we are for our many blessings, and also acknowledging the source of those blessings. That's exactly what our Founding Fathers did when they wrote the Texas Constitution, which begins by “Humbly invoke the blessings of Almighty God . . .”

So, on to the suggestions. And I'll start with the top priority. If we want to attract and retain hard-working, rule-of-law judges who are qualified to wield the extraordinary power our Constitution gives them, it is absolutely essential that we raise judicial salaries significantly, this Session.

Texas ranks 48th out of 50 states for how much we pay district judges. That's embarrassing! We're attracting people and businesses from all over the country, and a big reason is because we have a reputation as a place where people can have confidence in the Rule of Law—and in all of the peace, and freedom, and flourishing that comes with it. But if we want the Rule of Law to be not just pretty words—but a reality in the daily lives of Texans—then the most important thing we can do is to encourage smart and hard-working people of high integrity, who are committed to the Rule of Law, to serve as judges—and to stay as judges. More and more, it's hard to do that because of what we pay.

Look, if these were just any government employees, I'd be recommending a Department of Government Efficiency, not a pay raise. If you know me, you know that's true. But we're not talking about paper-pushing bureaucrats. We're talking about the constitutional officers of a co-equal branch of government, the officers who wield the judicial power of the State of Texas.

Officers prohibited by their ethical obligations from earning additional income, which distinguishes them from your positions in the Legislature. And let me say, thank you, for the extraordinarily hard work you do for almost no pay at all. But judges are full-time constitutional officers who we pay significantly less than hundreds and hundreds of lawyers employed in our executive branch—even though the judges' jobs are so much more important, and their power is so much greater. Think about the power your local judges have over the families and businesses in your district. The power to take your money, to take your property, to take your freedom, to take your children. In terms of the economic impact on the eighth-largest economy in the world, by my rough calculations the total amount of money at stake in Texas courtrooms every two years might be even higher than the budget of the State of Texas you'll vote on. And that's not to mention the enormous impact on the litigation climate, on the business climate, and the employment climate. Who do we want wielding all that power? Surely, we want the most qualified, hardest working judges we can get.

And the bottom line is this: You get what you pay for. Higher pay means more highly qualified people will apply. It means more highly qualified people will stay in the job longer. That's true of any job. If we're serious about attracting and retaining great judges, salaries are not the only piece of the puzzle. But they are an essential piece, and we cannot continue to ignore it.

But we have ignored it. The Legislature has not raised the base pay for district judges since 2013—even as inflation has raged and as salaries for qualified lawyers in both the private and public sector have increased dramatically. The Judicial Compensation Commission has recommended a 30% increase in the base pay for judges this session—and that is what I am asking you to do—30%. If 30% sounds high, it's only because the salary hasn't gone up in 12 years. Do you know what total inflation has been since 2013? 34.5%. So, when I ask for 30%, I'm not even asking you to keep up with inflation. And I'm only asking you to bring Texas from Number 48 to Number 31 out of 50. The money is there, and this Session is the time for the Legislature to demonstrate, in a dramatic and lasting way, how serious we are in Texas about promoting the Rule of Law in our courtrooms.

The question of who sits on our courts is of vital importance to the future of our State. But the Legislature's role in choosing judges is limited. You can't control who wins elections. You can't control who the Governor appoints. But that doesn't mean you have no role to play in choosing judges. You have enormous influence over what the applicant pool looks like. Whether a respected lawyer in your community looks at the pay cut to become a judge and says, “Yes, I can manage that,” or “No, I can't make it work,” that is up to you, this Session. Whether a respected judge who has served for a decade decides to stay on the bench or leaves because he can't justify the pay gap to his family any longer, that is up to you, this Session.

I know you have a lot of people asking you for a lot of money right now. So, you might listen to this and think, well, those judges are just another group with their hands out—just another pig at the trough with all the others.

But that's not what this is. I'm not asking you to do this for the judges, and I'm certainly not asking you to do it for me. Do whatever you want with do with my salary. But truly, don't do this for the judges. Do it, for your constituents—it's their money, so of course it should only be spent for their benefit. Do it for your constituents, who have to appear before judges with the power to take their property or their house or their children. Do it for the thousands of Texans whose families and fortunes are on the line every day in courtrooms across our State. Do it so that you know you've done your part to help us attract and retain the kind of truly excellent people of high integrity who ought to be putting on robes and making decisions of enormous consequence for your constituents. Do it because you have a constitutional obligation to fund the judicial branch at a level that allows fair and efficient justice to be done in our State, not for the benefit of the judges, but for the benefit of the People of Texas, who deserve to see fair and efficient justice done.

I understand the concern that a few judges are not pulling their weight—and, frankly, don't deserve a raise. I agree. I'm not asking you to give this person or that person a raise. I'm asking you to raise the stature and the appeal of the offices themselves, which encourages more good people to pursue them. But I won't deny that a few judges may not be working as hard as the job demands. I have no tolerance for that. I'm proud of the vast majority of my fellow judges who work hard every day delivering justice for your constituents. But I have no patience for the small minority who don't.

Article V, section 31 of the Constitution makes the Supreme Court responsible for the efficient administration of the judicial branch. Using that authority, as well as authority you've given us, we are gathering data to help us identify problem judges. We don't want to use statistical metrics like case clearance rates as blunt instruments because they don't tell the whole story, but they are very useful tools. I believe current law provides all the tools we need to identify the problems and to deal with them, and this Supreme Court intends to do that, with the help of the Regional Presiding Judges and others. We don't need to burden all the good judges across our state, with extra paperwork mandated by the Legislature. We don't need to do that in order to figure out where the problems are. We can find the problems, and we intend to do so.

And when we find a serious problem, we can put the judge on notice that his performance is unacceptable. If he can't turn it around, the Constitution says we can do something about it. Article 15, section 8 allows the Legislature, on the Governor's recommendation, to remove a judge for several reasons, including willful neglect of duty or incompetence. Article 15, section 6 allows the Supreme Court, on the petition of 10 lawyers, to remove a district judge who “negligently fails to perform his duties as Judge; or who shall fail to execute in a reasonable measure the business in his courts.” These provisions show us, that the Framers of our Constitution knew, that judges have to be capable, qualified people who can manage a courtroom. The Framers also knew that elections might occasionally give us unqualified judges. Their answer wasn't—tough luck, vote them out in four years. No. They gave us tools to fix these problems in the rare cases when they arise. And if we forget about these tools or we don't use them because we're afraid it will be difficult or we'll be criticized for it, then we're not allowing our Constitution to operate as it was designed.

Instead of holding down the salaries of 98% of our judges because 2% of them aren't doing their job, we should use the power the Constitution gives us to make the 2% find another job—and we should pay all our judges a salary that is commensurate with the extraordinary responsibility our constitution asks them to bear.

I've spoken of the Legislature's constitutional obligation to adequately fund the courts. The courts also have a constitutional obligation to the Legislature—to faithfully and consistently apply the laws you write. Our promise to you is to apply the laws you write based strictly on their text. We ask ourselves: what words have been enacted into law, and what do those words mean to an ordinary reader of English? That's it. We don't ask ourselves, did the Legislature really mean what they said? Or wouldn't something a little different be more sensible? And we certainly don't ask, do we like this law or not? The text of the statute IS the law, whether the judges like it or not—and we are bound to follow it. And the words of an enacted bill—not the aspirations of the bill's supporters—are what has passed both Houses and the Governor and thereby achieved the status of law. Our obligation is to follow the text you choose—and only the text.

The only exception is if that text violates the Constitution. But again, when it comes to the Constitution, we are bound by text chosen by someone else. And we're bound not just by the constitutional text, but also by what that text meant to the people who originally ratified it. Our Constitution means the same thing yesterday, today, and tomorrow—until the People of Texas decide to change it. This is called Constitutional Originalism, and under this Supreme Court, it is the law in Texas.

There's a competing way of interpreting the Constitution. It's called The Living Constitution. It says that the Constitution's meaning evolves with the times—in response to fashionable moral trends or so-called evolving standards of decency. It says the Constitution is a living document, and the Supreme Court's job is to give it life, to decide for us when its meaning is to change. The problem, of course, is that this way of understanding our Constitution puts the judges—not the people—in charge of whether the Constitution will change. And that's not the Rule of Law. It's the Rule of Judges.

If we can all agree that judges shouldn't replace the Legislature's policy choices with their own, then surely we can agree that judges shouldn't put their own policy choices into the Constitution, but that is exactly what the Living Constitution invites judges to do. For that reason, the Texas Supreme Court has repeatedly held that Originalism—not Living Constitutionalism—is the right way to interpret our Constitution. Hear me say this. In Texas, under this Supreme Court, the Living Constitution is Dead.

That fact is a big reason why I can confidently say that the State of our Judiciary is strong. But another big reason is one I've already mentioned. It's the hundreds of hard-working judges all over our state who go to work every day to deliver fair and consistent justice under the law. That includes the judges on our two new courts, the 15th Court of Appeals, and the Business Court, which you created last session. These courts are up and running, the Governor has made excellent appointments, and these judges are now doing the important work you asked them to do. I especially want to thank Chief Justice Scott Brister of the 15th Court of Appeals for returning to the bench. He had to leave the bench to afford to send his daughters to the college of their dreams. But his daughters are grown, and he's back on the bench, which means the State of the Judiciary is stronger.

Consistency, predictability, fealty to the law—these are the marks of good judging. And the more consistent, predictable, and accurate our judging is—then it's not just that there will be less uncertainty and expense in litigation. There will also be less litigation, fewer lawsuits. The very best litigation is the case that's never brought—the case that doesn't have to be brought because the parties know what the law is, can predict how the courts will handle their dispute, and can settle their differences out of court instead of bothering with litigation.

It's awfully hard for parties to rely on consistent and predictable rulings when they might have one judge at today's hearing, but a different judge at the next hearing, who may not know what happened at the first hearing. That's not a common practice, but it does exist in two Texas counties. It's an outlier compared to nearly all courts across the state and across the country, where each case is assigned to a single judge, whose job it is to manage the case from filing to judgment. I've asked the Court's Advisory Committee to recommend rules to eliminate this rotating docket—sometimes called the central docket. We're open to opposing arguments. But the Constitution charges the Court to make rules “for the efficient and uniform administration of justice in the various courts,” and it's hard for me to see how assigning a different judge for each hearing throughout the life of a case promotes efficient and uniform justice in our courts.

In an ideal world, every lawsuit would be resolved based on its merits, not based on non-merits factors like the expense and trouble and uncertainty of litigation. That's an aspirational idea, but we should work toward it. We should do everything we can to streamline and simplify litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants, and to reduce the extraordinary burden in time and money of modern litigation, particularly of discovery. The Supreme Court can amend the Rules of Civil Procedure, and I welcome your ideas for changes along these lines.

But I don't want to just complain about how other courts do business. We at the Supreme Court also need to ask whether our own procedures promote the efficient administration of justice. And we're doing that. I've asked the Advisory Committee to study whether our Court should join nearly every other Supreme Court in the nation by waiting until we've granted a petition for review before making the parties pay for full merits briefing. We welcome your thoughts on that—and any other ideas you have for reducing the expense and burden of litigation at all levels of our courts.

Chief Justice Hecht often used this speech to highlight the Court's dedication to helping low-income Texans get basic legal services. That dedication remains, and the Court appreciates the Legislature's continued funding for those programs. While the Court as a whole will keep up that effort, my focus will be on systemic reforms that make legal services more affordable for everybody, both by simplifying and streamlining the law and the rules of procedure—as I mentioned—but also by looking at how we regulate the legal profession.

It's not just the poor who have trouble affording lawyers. It's most Texans. It's many small businesses. Basic economics tells us that if the supply of legal services goes up, the price will come down—for everybody. It also tells us that government regulation of a service drives up the price. So how do we raise the supply and reduce the price of legal services? We should be open, I think, to carefully changing the way we regulate the legal profession. One idea is to follow other states that have allowed qualified non-lawyers to provide some basic legal services for a profit—perhaps under the supervision of a lawyer, perhaps independently. There are plenty of other ideas, and I'm not committed to any particular version of them—nor am I interested in a conflict with the Legislature over which branch of government has the power to do this kind of thing. We should work together on this. If we can agree that the average Texan has been priced out of the market for many legal services, then we've all got to ask whether the way we regulate the profession is part of that problem. Some people will oppose it. And if that opposition comes from a genuine desire to protect people from fraud and incompetence, then I'm all ears. But if the opposition comes from a desire to protect lawyers from economic competition, then I'm not interested. The Court wants to work with the Legislature on this, to see if together, we can make legal services more affordable and accessible for all Texans.

The American Bar Association recently issued a political statement aggressively taking sides in the fight going on in Washington about the scope of the President's executive power. Of course, the ABA is just a private membership organization with a particular point of view, and its views—as far as I'm concerned—ought to carry no more weight than those of the Federalist Society or the ACLU or any other opinionated interest group. But the State Bar of Texas is a public organization that all Texas lawyers are compelled to join. It is therefore absolutely essential that the State Bar remain completely politically neutral in everything it does—both as a matter of substance, and as a matter of the perception its actions give to people on both sides of the aisle. The Supreme Court will accept nothing less, and if the Bar does not live up to that high standard, I want to hear about it.

Finally, let me return to where I started. I mentioned that the consequences of whether we win the fight against crime and drugs fall most heavily on the poorest and most vulnerable Texans. At the Court, we see this most vividly in cases where the State is attempting to terminate the legal bond between a parent and a child. In nearly all those cases, families have been damaged or destroyed by drugs, often methamphetamine. If there's one thing you could do to help these families, it would be to help law enforcement win the war on hard drugs like meth. But innocent children are always the victims in these cases. And it's tempting when we see children in these circumstances to want them removed from their failing parents as soon as possible, for their protection.

But we have to remember this—Just as surely as God made those precious children, God also made that family. Using the coercive power of the State to take children from their God-given parents—to destroy a family—should never be our first instinct. It should ALWAYS be our very last resort. I want to thank the Legislature for requiring DFPS to keep more families together. Senator Kolkhorst, Representative Dutton, and others have been leaders on this, and I urge you to continue those efforts this Session.

One suggestion is to repeal what we call subsection (O)—it's chapter 161.001(b)(1)(O) of the Family Code, and it allows a parent's rights to be terminated forever if the parent fails to check every box on a long list of things the state wants them to do to get their child back. The thing is—there's another provision that allows termination of rights if the parent endangers the child. So, the State only needs to use subsection (O) if it can't prove that the parent has endangered the child. But if the State can't prove that, then why on earth would we destroy that family?

Termination of parental rights is the civil death penalty. When the State goes to court to take somebody's children, it's not opening up a collaborative therapy session. It's initiating adversarial litigation of the highest stakes imaginable. We need to do more to ensure that desperate parents in these cases have vigorous representation, and we need to make sure the Family Code doesn't stack the deck against the parent before the case starts. Repealing subsection (O) would be a good start. Representative Dutton has a bill that would do this, and I commend his bill to your consideration.

I'll close with this. The Supreme Court's official motto—inscribed in Latin on the bench where we sit—Sicut Patribus Sit Deus Nobis. “May God be With Us, as He Was With Our Fathers.” Surely God was with our Fathers, who built and sustained this beautiful state we've inherited. And surely, He has been with us, as Texas has grown and prospered. Our duty now, together—across the branches of government and across the political parties—is to be good stewards of this treasure we've been given; to polish it of its imperfections, but only with great care and love; to live out the oaths we have all taken to preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution; and to deliver equal justice, under the law, for every Texan—young and old, rich and poor, Republican and Democrat. And as we work together to do all of these things. May God Be With Us, As He Was With Our Fathers!

Thank you all! God Bless You!! God Bless TEXAS!!!!

The Speaker of the House of Representatives at 12:20 p.m. stated the purpose for which the Joint Session was held having been completed, the House would stand At Ease pending the departure of its guests.

The President at 12:20 p.m. announced that the purpose for which the Joint Session was called having been completed, the Senate would stand At Ease, pursuant to a previously adopted motion.

The President at 12:54 p.m. called the Senate to order as In Legislative Session.

The following resolutions were offered:

SR 56 by King, In memory of Brandon Wayne Bennett of Burleson.

SR 143 by Huffman, Posthumously paying tribute to the life and legacy of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez.

SR 145 by West, Recognizing Xi Phi Chapter of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Incorporated, on the occasion of the 59th Middlesouth Regional Conference Grand Opening.

SR 146 by Hughes, In memory of John Lee Ussery of Gladewater.

SR 147 by Hughes and Perry, In memory of Dorothy R. Fox.

SR 148 by Hughes, Congratulating Pastor DeMarcus Pierson on being ordained as bishop of the Kingdom Harvest Christian Alliance.

SR 149 by Hughes, In memory of Charles Alfred Williamson of Tyler.

SR 150 by Hughes, In memory of Dr. Charles Wesley Alworth of Tyler.

SR 151 by Hughes, Congratulating Walter "Pinkie" Palmer on his retirement from Palmer Law Firm, Inc., in Marshall.

SR 153 by Hughes, Commending the Women's Symphony League of Tyler for its contributions to music education and to the East Texas Symphony Orchestra.

SR 154 by Hughes, In memory of Dr. Jan Hansen Garrett of Tyler.

SR 155 by Hughes, In memory of former State Representative Barry Bradford Telford of De Kalb.

SR 156 by Hughes, In memory of Virginia Lee Douglas Wilson of Winnsboro.

SR 157 by Hughes, In memory of James Alan Haynes of Tyler.

SR 158 by Hughes, In memory of Guy Newell Harrison of Longview.

SR 159 by Hughes, In memory of Gladys Faye Avitts Stone of Longview.

SR 160 by Hughes, In memory of Brother Howard J. Sears Jr. of Texarkana.

SR 162 by Johnson and Parker, Recognizing the arts organizations of Dallas County on the occasion of Texas Arts Advocacy Day at the State Capitol on February 5, 2025.

SR 166 by Alvarado and Miles, Recognizing February 26, 2025, as Green Light Houston Day at the State Capitol.

SR 167 by Paxton and Hughes, In memory of Kenneth Wayne Garner of Plano.

SR 178 by Hughes, Congratulating Mercy Rushing on her retirement as Mineola city manager and executive director of the Mineola Economic Development Corporation.

The resolutions were read and were adopted by a viva voce vote.

The following bills were introduced, read first time, and referred to the committees indicated:

SB 20 by Flores, Hagenbuch, J. Hinojosa, Huffman, King, Parker

Relating to the creation of the criminal offense of possession or promotion of obscene visual material appearing to depict a child.

To Committee on Criminal Justice.

SB 1505 by Perry

Relating to the medical use of low-THC cannabis under and the administration of the Texas Compassionate-Use Program.

To Committee on State Affairs.

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

There was no objection.

The President at 1:03 p.m. announced the conclusion of morning call.

On motion of Senator Creighton and by unanimous consent, the regular order of business was suspended to take up for consideration CSSB 26 at this time (submitted by Governor as an emergency matter):

CSSB 26, Relating to public education, including the rights and compensation of public school educators and funding for teacher compensation under the Foundation School Program.

The bill was read second time.

Senator Creighton offered the following amendment to the bill:

Amend CSSB 26 (senate committee report) as follows:

(1)  In the recital to SECTION 1 of the bill, amending Section 21.3521, Education Code, strike page 1, line 28, and substitute "amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), (d-1), and".

(2)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, in amended Section 21.3521, Education Code (page 1, between lines 34 and 35), insert the following:

(c)  Notwithstanding performance standards established under Subsection (b) and except as provided by Subsection (c-1), a classroom teacher that holds a National Board Certification issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards may be designated as nationally board certified [recognized]. A classroom teacher's designation under this subsection is valid until the earlier of:

(c-1)  A classroom teacher who has made substantial progress, as determined by the commissioner, in obtaining a National Board Certification issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards on September 1, 2025, may be designated as nationally board certified under Subsection (c) on issuance of the National Board Certification. A classroom teacher who begins the process of or who has not made substantial progress in obtaining a National Board Certification as of September 1, 2025, may not be designated as nationally board certified under Subsection (c).

(3)  In the recital to SECTION 7 of the bill, amending Section 48.112, Education Code (page 3, line 61), strike "Subsection (g-1)" and substitute "Subsections (d-1) and (g-1)".

(4)  In SECTION 7 of the bill, immediately following amended Section 48.112(d), Education Code (page 4, between lines 18 and 19), insert the following:

(5)  In SECTION 9 of the bill (page 5, line 22), strike "Section 21.3521(c) and".

The amendment to CSSB 26 was read and was adopted by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the adoption of Floor Amendment No. 1.

Senator Creighton offered the following amendment to the bill:

Amend CSSB 26 (senate committee report) as follows:

(1)  In the recital to SECTION 1 of the bill, amending Section 21.3521, Education Code (page 1, lines 28 and 29), strike "(d-1) and (d-2)" and substitute "(d-1), (d-2), and (d-3)".

(2)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, in added Section 21.3521(d-1)(3), Education Code (page 1), strike "instructional staff" and substitute "classroom teachers" in each of the following places it appears:

(A)  line 51;

(B)  line 54; and

(C)  line 56.

(3)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, immediately following added Section 21.3521(d-1), Education Code (page 2, between lines 1 and 2), insert the following subsection:

(4)  In SECTION 1 of the bill, in added Section 21.3521(d-2), Education Code (page 2, line 2), strike "(d-2)" and substitute "(d-3)".

The amendment to CSSB 26 was read and was adopted by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the adoption of Floor Amendment No. 2.

Senator Menéndez offered the following amendment to the bill:

Amend CSSB 26 (senate committee report) in SECTION 1 of the bill, in amended Section 21.3521(e), Education Code (page 2, between lines 14 and 15), by inserting the following subdivision and renumbering subsequent subdivisions of the subsection accordingly:

The amendment to CSSB 26 was read and was adopted by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the adoption of Floor Amendment No. 3.

Senator Creighton offered the following amendment to the bill:

Amend CSSB 26 (senate committee report) in SECTION 8 of the bill, in added Section 48.158, Education Code (page 4, lines 64 through 68), by striking Subsection (b-1) and substituting the following:

The amendment to CSSB 26 was read and was adopted by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the adoption of Floor Amendment No. 4.

Senator Creighton offered the following amendment to the bill:

Amend CSSB 26 (senate committee report) in SECTION 8 of the bill, in added Section 48.158, Education Code (page 5, between lines 21 and 22), by inserting the following appropriately lettered subsection:

The amendment to CSSB 26 was read and was adopted by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the adoption of Floor Amendment No. 5.

Senator Creighton offered the following amendment to the bill:

Amend CSSB 26 (senate committee report) as follows:

(1)  In SECTION 8 of the bill, strike added Section 48.158(e), Education Code (page 5, lines 14 through 21).

(2)  In SECTION 11 of the bill (page 5, line 42), strike "Section 48.158" and substitute "Sections 48.158 and 48.257(b-1)".

(3)  Add the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumber subsequent SECTIONS accordingly:

SECTION  .  Section 48.257, Education Code, is amended by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:

The amendment to CSSB 26 was read and was adopted by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the adoption of Floor Amendment No. 6.

Senator Gutierrez offered the following amendment to the bill:

Amend CSSB 26 (senate committee report) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumber subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  Subchapter C, Chapter 48, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 48.308 to read as follows:

The amendment to CSSB 26 was read and failed of adoption by the following vote:  Yeas 10, Nays 21.

Yeas:  Alvarado, Blanco, Cook, Eckhardt, Gutierrez, Johnson, Menéndez, Miles, West, Zaffirini.

Nays:  Bettencourt, Birdwell, Campbell, Creighton, Flores, Hagenbuch, Hall, Hancock, A. Hinojosa, J. Hinojosa, Huffman, Hughes, King, Kolkhorst, Middleton, Nichols, Parker, Paxton, Perry, Schwertner, Sparks.

CSSB 26 as amended was passed to engrossment by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the passage to engrossment.

Senator Creighton moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSSB 26 be placed on its third reading and final passage.

The motion prevailed by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.

The bill was read third time and was passed by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.

On motion of Senator Huffman and by unanimous consent, the remarks regarding SR 123 were ordered reduced to writing and printed in the Senate Journal following adoption.

Senator Hughes submitted a Motion In Writing requesting that SB 760 be withdrawn from the Committee on State Affairs and rereferred to the Committee on Health and Human Services.

The Motion In Writing was read and prevailed without objection.

At the request of the President, the Senate observed a moment of silence in honor of Senator Perry and his family.

On motion of Senator Flores, Senators Kolkhorst and Middleton will be shown as Co-authors of SB 20.

On motion of Senator Creighton, Senators Alvarado, Birdwell, Blanco, Campbell, J. Hinojosa, Huffman, Hughes, Kolkhorst, Menéndez, Middleton, Miles, Nichols, Perry, Schwertner, West, and Zaffirini will be shown as Co-authors of SB 26.

On motion of Senator Hall, Senators Blanco, J. Hinojosa, Hughes, Johnson, Menéndez, Miles, Nichols, Parker, and Schwertner will be shown as Co-authors of SB 28.

On motion of Senator Zaffirini, Senator Eckhardt will be shown as Co-author of SB 55.

On motion of Senator West, Senator Flores will be shown as Co-author of SB 213.

On motion of Senator Creighton, Senator Hagenbuch will be shown as Co-author of SB 317.

On motion of Senator Middleton, Senator Campbell will be shown as Co-author of SB 380.

On motion of Senator Bettencourt, Senator Sparks will be shown as Co-author of SB 505.

On motion of Senator Bettencourt, Senator Sparks will be shown as Co-author of SB 507.

On motion of Senator Eckhardt, Senators Middleton and Sparks will be shown as Co-authors of SB 750.

On motion of Senator Menéndez, Senator Parker will be shown as Co-author of SB 752.

On motion of Senator Kolkhorst, Senator Creighton will be shown as Co-author of SB 843.

On motion of Senator Kolkhorst, Senator Eckhardt will be shown as Co-author of SB 1012.

On motion of Senator Huffman, Senator Flores will be shown as Co-author of SB 1047.

On motion of Senator Hughes, Senator Paxton will be shown as Co-author of SJR 34.

On motion of Senator Creighton, Senator Eckhardt will be shown as Co-author of SR 152.

On motion of Senator Zaffirini, the Senate at 3:16 p.m. recessed until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.

SB 26

SR 56, SR 123, SR 129, SR 132, SR 133, SR 134, SR 138, SR 139, SR 143, SR 145, SR 146, SR 147, SR 148, SR 149, SR 150, SR 151, SR 152, SR 153, SR 154, SR 155, SR 156, SR 157, SR 158, SR 159, SR 160, SR 161, SR 162, SR 163, SR 164, SR 165, SR 166, SR 167, SR 178