Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued this statement today following the Texas Senate’s unanimous passage of Senate Joint Resolution 1 and Senate Bill 1, Property Tax Relief, both by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is encouraging all Texans to prepare for the 2023 hurricane season, which begins Thursday, June 1 and runs through Thursday, November 30, 2023. Commissioner Buckingham and her Texas General Land Office team are working with coastal and inland communities to encourage all Texans to purchase flood insurance and take measures to protect their families and homes.

Almost immediately after the Texas House and Senate adjourned 2023's Regular Legislative Session Monday Evening – without addressing a significant number of the most important issues they had promised to address – Gov. Greg Abbott called them back to work at 9:00 p.m. for "Special Session #1," saying, "Many critical items remain that must be passed. Several special sessions will be required."

“This was a session with significant victories for Texans – but unfortunately, far too many of the people’s conservative priorities, sponsored by the Senate, were killed in the Texas House. Unfortunately, 9 of the Texas Senate’s top 30 Priority Bills never received hearings in the House, and... thousands of other important bills were killed in the House to the detriment of all Texans," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

For the past 99 years, Border Patrol agents have been responsible for securing our nation’s borders between ports of entry while simultaneously combating the illegal immigration crisis, human smuggling, and drug trafficking. Sen. Cruz has an extensive history of working with Border Patrol to ensure they are provided with the tools necessary to accomplish the tasks of securing our nation’s border.

The interference and aggression coming from the Chinese Communist Party poses a significant threat to our families, businesses, and country. Legislation I led, the China Financial Threat Mitigation Act passed in the House and has been sent to the Senate for a vote.

Here at the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB), we strive each and every day to supply the best benefits in the country to the Texas Veterans who have served our grateful nation. However, for those who've made the ultimate sacrifice and cannot benefit from this support, we honor their Memories & Sacrifices on Memorial Day. On this day, and every day, I encourage Texans to pause and reflect upon the freedoms we enjoy because of their sacrifices.

“We look forward to bringing the 2023 Governor’s Small Business Summit to Amarillo – as well as to about a dozen more communities across Texas this year– to ensure that small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs have the tools they need to succeed," said Gov. Greg Abbott earlier today, announcing the Thursday, June 1st date for Amarillo, as well as future dates and cities for other upcoming summits.

Democrats are really mad that they're losing the messaging battle over the Debt Ceiling negotiations. Even CNN has a poll finding 60% of Americans agree with the Republican position in these talks. So this week I did some messaging back to the Democrats’ dishonest rhetoric on the debt ceiling. They’ve been unwilling to negotiate on their unsustainable spending, while spreading lies about the Republican plan to fix this crisis.

The Texas Workforce Commission's grant awarding "Jobs & Education for Texans" (JET) program will be providing more than $1.2 million to five San Antonio-area schools to assist them in jump-starting Career & Technical education (CTE) Training Programs by helping the schools purchase and install equipment to train more than 1,600 students for high-demand, critical-field occupations.

"It’s up to County Judge Hidalgo to realize that both her appointed Election Administrators – one who already resigned in 2022, and the other who had a history of poor performance in Washington, D.C. – repeatedly failed Harris County. The Legislature’s support (of my bills) is because Harris County is not too big to fail, but because its too big to ignore. It can NOT be tolerated in the Nation’s 3rd Largest County,” said State Sen. Paul Bettencourt.

Governor Greg Abbott highlighted how President Biden's refusal to secure the border is a National Security threat, noting that 16 individuals on the FBI's Terrorist Watch List were arrested just last month. He ​​​​​also recognized Idaho & Florida for having sent assistance to Texas, and urged the others to help provide more personnel to support "Operation Lone Star" following Mr. Biden's ending of the Title 42 restrictions earlier this month.

“Across Texas and the nation, Law Enforcement Officers dutifully – and heroically – act to protect our communities. Too often, rather than gratitude, they face violence and harm. This cannot be tolerated. Criminals who kill or attempt to kill law enforcement should be met with the full force of the law," said Sen. Ted Cruz, who joined Sen. John Cornyn and 37 other Senate Republicans to introduce the "Back the Blue Act."

Energy-efficient products displaying the ENERGY STAR® logo can be purchased tax free this coming weekend, including air conditioners priced under $6,000, refrigerators of $2,000 or less, ceiling fans, fluorescent light bulbs, integral LED bulbs, dishwashers, dehumidifiers, washers and dryers – even lawn & garden products that help conserve water. Here's your complete list.

In order to bring members of Congress together to foster discussions and propose solutions related to School Safety & Security, Congressmen Tony Gonzales & Jared Moskowitz announced the formation of the "Congressional Bi-partisan School Safety & Security Caucus" that will be hosting a School Security Roundtable with educators, security, and mental health experts this week.

Since the COVID-low point in September of 2020, the number of months showing an increase in the upstream Oil & Natural Gas Industries Employment in Texas have outnumbered months of decrease by a 27 to 4 margin. And, that employment growth in Texas saw continued growth during April, edging up by 700 jobs and bringing the job count to within striking distance of a three-year high.

The Texas Climate Jobs Project recently issued a report claiming that the EPA's proposed "methane mitigation" regulations could create between 19,000 and 35,000 in Texas. "For my entire life, liberals have believed that breaking things will grow the economy. It's foolish to believe that any government law, any rule or regulation has created more jobs than it's killed," said Commissioner Christian.

“I’m here in Brownsville today to thank the hardworking men & women who are defending our border for their bravery and courage,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott earlier today, as he visited Texas National Guard Soldiers & Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers at the Southern Border while providing an update on Texas' response to the ongoing Border Crisis during a Press Conference there.

Extreme budget cuts, rogue legal reforms, and media bias against law enforcement have resulted in significant recruitment and retention challenges for state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide. These factors are not only preventing law enforcement from carrying out their duties to protect Americans, but they are also impeding police agencies across the homeland from having the resources to train their officers properly.

Attorney General Paxton joined a multistate amicus brief that is in support of a U.S. Army veteran seeking full access to the educational benefits earned from his patriotic service to the country and multiple tours of duty. The petitioner in the case is a veteran who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, was injured in the line of duty, and received a number of commendations for his service, including a Bronze Star.