Texas Senate approves wide-ranging bills on emergency powers, homeland security, housing and more

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate on Thursday passed a broad slate of legislation and constitutional measures covering emergency-declaration rules, homeland security, higher education, and a set of regulatory and criminal-law changes, while advancing several other bills for later action.

The chamber voted on and approved bills that require the legislature to be called into special session under certain large-scale disaster thresholds, authorize a Homeland Security Division inside the Department of Public Safety, and tighten rules governing foreign funding at Texas public universities. Several bills that change local or administrative rules — including limits on healthcare noncompete agreements and expanded eligibility for flood‑infrastructure funding — won final passage as well.

Why it matters: The measures passed and advanced Thursday affect state responses to large disasters, how state government coordinates security and infrastructure protection, and how state agencies and institutions manage grants, contracting and regulatory authority. Collectively these bills alter the balance between executive authority and legislative oversight in emergencies, create a new structure for state homeland security work, and change eligibility and transparency rules across higher education, local government and regulatory programs.

What the Senate did - Passed a constitutional resolution and companion bill creating statutory triggers for automatic legislative involvement when a disaster reaches set thresholds of geographic scope or population impact. That package (Committee Substitute SJR 40 and SB 871) drew sustained floor discussion about preserving the legislature’s role while ensuring the governor can act quickly; both measures were approved by the Senate. - Approved a bill that authorizes establishment of a Homeland Security Division inside the Department of Public Safety to centralize and coordinate border security, critical‑infrastructure protection and threat analysis functions currently spread across several state entities. - Enacted an outcomes and data-focused higher-education bill to expand reporting and align community-college credentials with labor-market needs, and approved a separate bill directing the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to…