The Latest Breaking News from Dan Patrick

Seventy-seven Texas House Republicans signed on as co-authors to state Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

The leader of the state House also threw his support behind bills to crack down on how companies handle private data and to protect children from “addictive algorithms” by digital companies.

Lawmakers lowered the penalty to a misdemeanor in 2021, but then almost immediately began discussing raising it back.

Texas is the latest state to pitch a version of the program, which lets parents who opt out of their local school districts use tax dollars to pay for private schooling.

Abbott’s spending proposals also include spending $750 million on school safety and mental health services and expanding postpartum Medicaid to a year.

Texas utility regulators are hawking a costly policy for grid reliability.

Many relatives of Uvalde victims back bills that state Rep. Tracy King and Sen. Roland Gutierrez are pushing in the Legislature. But limits on gun access don’t fare well at the Capitol.

Speaking in December, Patrick was less out front about conservative priorities like school book bans and restrictions to rights for transgender people. His priority bill list made clear those are a major part of his focus.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Her 1,400 mile walk took her across the country, to President Joe Biden’s side as he made Juneteenth a federal holiday. Now she is honored on the walls of the Texas Capitol.

The Texas Sports Betting Alliance threw its weight behind new legislation Monday to let voters decided whether to legalize online sports betting.

A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said only a court order could force a redo of elections.