(Wednesday, March 5, 2025)

The Senate met at 11:10 a.m. pursuant to adjournment and was called to order by President Pro Tempore Creighton.

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

The Reverend Kason Huddleston, Freedom Place Church, Rowlett, offered the invocation as follows:

Mighty God, we lift up the Senators of our great state. Guide them by the virtues of honesty, decency, humility, and above all, wisdom. Be with them, Lord, so they can maximize the hours of this week. Help them to think clearly without confusion, to speak honestly without animosity, to debate without division, and to decide courageously without contention. May their rhetoric honor You and deal with issues and not personalities. As they attend to the work before them, give them the wisdom of Solomon, the obedience of Abraham, the administrative ability of Joseph, the humility of Moses, the courage of Esther, the patience of Jeremiah, the heart of David, the strength of Samson, the speed of Elijah, the insight of Daniel, the faith of three Hebrew children, the boldness of Paul, and the compassion and love of Jesus. Continually pour Your grace over them to work as patriots who love You and count it a high privilege to serve as leaders of our beloved state. It's in Jesus' name we pray, and everybody said, 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.

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

March 5, 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 Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Board of Directors for terms to expire February 1, 2031:

Stephen B. "Steve" Ehrig

Gonzales, Texas

Jennifer L. Storm

Buda, Texas

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Greg Abbott

Governor

March 5, 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 Judge of the 250th Judicial District Court, Travis County, for a term until December 31, 2026, or until his successor shall be duly elected and qualified:

Cory R. Liu

Austin, Texas

Respectfully submitted,

/s/Greg Abbott

Governor

Senator J. Hinojosa offered the following resolution:

SR 203, Recognizing March 5, 2025, as Texas State Aquarium Day.

J. HINOJOSA

A. HINOJOSA

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator J. Hinojosa, joined by Senator A. Hinojosa, was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Texas State Aquarium Day delegation including President and CEO Jesse Gilbert; Chief Government Affairs and Marketing Officer Jennifer Vela; Chief Operating Officer Justin Sefcik; Executive Committee Vice Chair, Dr. Osbert Blow; and Amanda Hinojosa.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Perry offered the following resolution:

SR 172, Recognizing March 5, 2025, as Wichita Falls Day at the State Capitol.

PERRY

HAGENBUCH

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Perry, joined by Senator Hagenbuch, was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Wichita Falls Day delegation.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Menéndez was recognized and presented Dr. Laura Nietfeld of San Antonio as the Physician of the Day.

The Senate welcomed Dr. Nietfeld, accompanied by Drs. Sara Stubbs-Walden and David Walden, and thanked her for her participation in the Physician of the Day program sponsored by the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.

Senator Blanco offered the following resolution:

SR 202, Recognizing March 5, 2025, as Town of Pecos City and Reeves County Day.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Blanco was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Town of Pecos City and Reeves County Day delegation including Town of Pecos City Mayor Teresa Winkles, Coucilmember Conrado Saldana, and Reeves County Judge Leo Hung.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Kolkhorst was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Texas Ambulance Association delegation including President Brett Coghlan, Aaron Castro, and Charles Hinkle.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Miles was recognized and introduced to the Senate Yolanda C. Richardson, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids CEO.

The Senate welcomed its guest.

Senator A. Hinojosa offered the following resolution:

SR 177, Recognizing March 5, 2025, as Kleberg County 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 Kleberg County delegation including Kleberg County Judge Rudy Madrid and Priscilla Madrid; Commissioners Chuck Schultz and Marcus Salinas; County Clerk Salvador Barrera III; City of Kingsville Commissioners Edna Lopez, Norma Alvarez, and Hector Hinojosa Sr.; and Texas A&M University-Kingsville Chief Workforce Development Officer, Dr. Jeffrey West.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Paxton offered the following resolution:

SR 194, Recognizing March 4 and 5, 2025, as Hunt County Days at the State Capitol.

PAXTON

HALL

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Paxton was recognized and introduced to the Senate a Hunt County Days delegation including Greenville Mayor Jerry J. Ransom; Mayor Pro Tempore Terry Thomas; Councilmember Philip Spencer; City Manager Summer Spurlock; CEO of Greenville Economic Development Corporation Greg Sims; Greenville ISD Superintendent, Dr. Joe Lopez; President and CEO of Greenville Chamber of Commerce Shelley Corrales; Lone Oak Mayor Pro Tempore Wes Owen and Councilmember Denise Scott; Commerce City Manager Howdy Lisenbee; Executive Director of Commerce Economic Development Corporation Bonnie L. Hunter; and Campbell ISD Superintendent, Dr. Denise Morgan.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator A. Hinojosa offered the following resolution:

SR 176, Recognizing March 5, 2025, as Port Aransas 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 Port Aransas Day delegation including Mayor Wendy Moore; Port Aransas ISD Superintendent, Dr. Sharon McKinney; The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute Director, Dr. Ed Buskey; Nueces County Judge Connie Scott; and Port Aransas Tourism Bureau and Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Brett Stawar.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Middleton offered the following resolution:

SR 208, Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

The resolution was read and was adopted without objection.

Senator Middleton was recognized and introduced to the Senate a University of Houston-Clear Lake delegation.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator A. Hinojosa offered the following resolution:

SR 193, Recognizing March 5, 2025, as Harlingen 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 Harlingen Day delegation including Mayor Norma Sepulveda, Commissioners Ford Kinsley and Daniel Lopez, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley executive Veronica Gonzalez, Economic Development Corporation Director Orlando Campos, and City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator A. Hinojosa offered the following resolution:

SR 190, Recognizing March 5, 2025, as City of Alamo 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 Alamo Day delegation including Mayor J.R. Garza; Mayor Pro Tempore Roel Moreno Jr.; Commissioners Okie Salinas, Pete Morales, and AJ Garcia; City Manager Bobby Salinas; and Assistant City Manager Alexandra Rangel.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Middleton was recognized and introduced to the Senate delegations from Deer Park and La Porte including Deer Park Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Paula Moorhaj, La Porte-Bayshore Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Martin, La Porte ISD Trustee Mason Peres, and Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Commissioner Tom Butler.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

Senator Campbell was recognized and introduced to the Senate Command Sergeant Major Dewayne Naumann, Texas State Guard.

The Senate welcomed its guest.

The following resolutions were offered:

SR 214 by Eckhardt, Recognizing Sasha Rasco on the occasion of her retirement.

SR 216 by Blanco, In memory of Karl McElhaney.

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

The Presiding Officer 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.

Senator Middleton was recognized and introduced to the Senate an IMPACT Pasadena delegation.

The Senate welcomed its guests.

The Presiding Officer at 12:11 p.m. announced the Senate would stand At Ease subject to the call of the Chair.

The President at 1:28 p.m. called the Senate to order as In Legislative Session.

The President at 1:28 p.m. announced the conclusion of morning call.

On motion of Senator Huffman and by unanimous consent, the regular order of business, Senate Rule 7.13, and Section 5, Article III of the Texas Constitution were suspended to take up for consideration CSSB 5 at this time on its second reading:

CSSB 5, Relating to the creation of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

The bill was read second time and was passed to engrossment by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the passage to engrossment except as follows:

Nays:  Hancock.

Senator Huffman moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSSB 5 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 29, Nays 2.

Yeas:  Alvarado, Bettencourt, Birdwell, Blanco, Campbell, Cook, Creighton, Eckhardt, Flores, Gutierrez, Hagenbuch, A. Hinojosa, J. Hinojosa, Huffman, Hughes, Johnson, King, Kolkhorst, Menéndez, Middleton, Miles, Nichols, Parker, Paxton, Perry, Schwertner, Sparks, West, Zaffirini.

Nays:  Hall, Hancock.

On motion of Senator Huffman and by unanimous consent, the regular order of business, Senate Rule 7.13, and Section 5, Article III of the Texas Constitution were suspended to take up for consideration CSSJR 3 at this time on its second reading:

CSSJR 3, Proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue.

The resolution was read second time and was passed to engrossment by a viva voce vote.

All Members are deemed to have voted "Yea" on the passage to engrossment except as follows:

Nays:  Hancock.

Senator Huffman moved that Senate Rule 7.18 and the Constitutional Rule requiring bills to be read on three several days be suspended and that CSSJR 3 be placed on its third reading and final passage.

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

The resolution was read third time and was passed by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays 2.

Yeas:  Alvarado, Bettencourt, Birdwell, Blanco, Campbell, Cook, Creighton, Eckhardt, Flores, Gutierrez, Hagenbuch, A. Hinojosa, J. Hinojosa, Huffman, Hughes, Johnson, King, Kolkhorst, Menéndez, Middleton, Miles, Nichols, Parker, Paxton, Perry, Schwertner, Sparks, West, Zaffirini.

Nays:  Hall, Hancock.

At the request of the President, the Senate observed a moment of silence in honor of U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner.

On motion of Senator Hughes and by unanimous consent, Senate Rule 11.10(a) and Senate Rule 11.18(a) were suspended in order that the Committee on State Affairs might meet and consider the following bills tomorrow:  SB 914, SB 987.

On motion of Senator Huffman, Senators Alvarado, Birdwell, Hagenbuch, Johnson, Menéndez, Miles, and West will be shown as Co-authors of SB 5.

On motion of Senator King, Senator Blanco will be shown as Co-author of SB 6.

On motion of Senator Bettencourt, Senator Kolkhorst will be shown as Co-author of SB 15.

On motion of Senator Schwertner, Senator A. Hinojosa will be shown as Co-author of SB 21.

On motion of Senator Hall, Senators Gutierrez, Hagenbuch, A. Hinojosa, Miles, Parker, and Sparks will be shown as Co-authors of SB 75.

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

On motion of Senator Kolkhorst, Senator Middleton will be shown as Co-author of SB 504.

On motion of Senator Birdwell, Senator Eckhardt will be shown as Co-author of SB 872.

On motion of Senator Sparks, Senators Blanco and A. Hinojosa will be shown as Co-authors of SB 971.

On motion of Senator Middleton, Senator Campbell will be shown as Co-author of SB 1006.

On motion of Senator Johnson, Senator Middleton will be shown as Co-author of SB 1291.

On motion of Senator Hall, Senator Birdwell will be shown as Co-author of SB 1397.

On motion of Senator Nichols, Senator Hagenbuch will be shown as Co-author of SB 1405.

On motion of Senator Nichols, Senator Johnson will be shown as Co-author of SB 1555.

On motion of Senator Middleton, Senator A. Hinojosa will be shown as Co-author of SB 1715.

On motion of Senator A. Hinojosa, Senator Middleton will be shown as Co-author of SB 1731.

On motion of Senator Birdwell, Senator Hagenbuch will be shown as Co-author of SB 1758.

On motion of Senator A. Hinojosa, Senators Bettencourt, Blanco, Campbell, Flores, Hagenbuch, Hall, Hughes, Kolkhorst, Middleton, Miles, Parker, Perry, Sparks, and West will be shown as Co-authors of SCR 13.

On motion of Senator Huffman, Senators Alvarado, Birdwell, Johnson, Menéndez, Miles, and West will be shown as Co-authors of SJR 3.

On motion of Senator Menéndez, Senators Campbell, Eckhardt, Flores, Gutierrez, A. Hinojosa, J. Hinojosa, Kolkhorst, Schwertner, and Zaffirini will be shown as Co-authors of SR 206.

On motion of Senator Zaffirini, the Senate at 2:14 p.m. adjourned until 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.

The following committee reports were received by the Secretary of the Senate in the order listed:

BUSINESS AND COMMERCE — CSSB 929, CSSB 765

STATE AFFAIRS — CSSB 523, CSSB 62, CSSB 19, SB 18, SB 666, SB 688, SB 707, SB 888, SB 687, SB 706, SB 847, SB 869, SB 890, SB 992, SCR 9, SJR 34

NATURAL RESOURCES — SB 1145, SB 494, SB 290, SB 766

EDUCATION K-16 — SB 11, SB 10, CSSB 13

FINANCE — SJR 18, SB 263

SB 5, SJR 3

SR 172, SR 176, SR 177, SR 190, SR 193, SR 194, SR 202, SR 203, SR 208, SR 214, SR 216