Texas Senate passes package of bills on school bus seat belts, forensic apprenticeships, AI likeness rights and other measures

A majority of the Texas Senate convening April 22 in Austin passed a multi‑issue package of bills addressing school transportation safety, workforce development for forensic laboratories, digital‑replication rights, and other topics.

The chamber approved bills on second and third reading throughout the day, adopting floor amendments and, in most cases, suspending the three‑day constitutional rule to move several measures to final passage. Key measures approved included a Texas Forensic Analyst Apprenticeship Pilot Program, a requirement that school districts report buses lacking three‑point seat belts, a statute on digital replication rights for voice and visual likenesses, and assorted bills on water financing, fuel transport regulation and health‑care price transparency. Several additional bills and constitutional changes related to impeachment procedures and the administration of corrections were also adopted.

Why it matters: the measures affect public‑safety rules (school‑bus equipment and hazardous fuel transport), workforce pipelines for public crime labs, and privacy‑property rights around digital replications. Lawmakers said the bills aim to reduce safety risks, fill specialized job shortages, and update statutes to reflect new technologies and cross‑border criminal practices.

Major items and outcomes

• Committee substitute Senate Bill 16 20 — Texas Forensic Analyst Apprenticeship Pilot Program: The Senate adopted a floor amendment adding health science centers as eligible contracting institutions and passed the bill on final passage (vote: 30 ayes, 1 nay). Senator Joan Huffman, sponsor of the floor amendment and floor mover for final passage, described the bill as “a proactive solution to address forensic workforce shortages in Texas, ensuring the continued delivery of reliable forensic evidence and improving the efficiency of the criminal justice system.”

• Committee substitute Senate Bill 5 46 — Seat belts on buses that transport children: The Senate adopted an amendment setting reporting timelines and requirements for districts and required the Texas Education Agency to collect district reports on buses that lack three‑point seat belts. The bill was finally passed (vote: 25 ayes, 6 nays). Senator Roland Gutierrez (floor sponsor for the adoption motion) said the measure will “help all children in Texas ride on a bus with the three‑point seat belt and have their lives be protected.”

• Senate Bill 19 60 — Digital replication rights in voice and visual likeness: The chamber passed the bill (final passage recorded) after debate and procedural motions; the bill’s caption and sponsor’s description in the transcript state it “establishes an individual’s voice or visual likeness as a property right and enables the individual or other applicable right holder to authorize its use,” and prohibits unauthorized digital replicas from being produced or commercialized without written consent. The roll call for final passage was recorded as the bill being passed (vote: recorded as passed in transcript).

• Committee substitute Senate Bill 12 61 — Financing of water‑supply projects in the state water plan: The Senate passed a committee substitute that would change borrowing terms for state programs that finance water supply projects. Floor amendment number 1 (technical/renumbering language) was adopted; the committee substitute was passed to engrossment and finally passed (vote recorded as 31 ayes, 0 nays).

• Committee substitute Senate Bill 29 49 — Regulations involving motor fuels and hazardous materials: The Senate adopted several amendments that clarified the definition of motor‑fuel depots and narrowed certain penal and investigative provisions to overweight hazardous‑materials vehicles with specified axle counts; the bill passed final passage after floor debate (final passage recorded in transcript).

• Committee substitute Senate Bill 3 31 — Health care cost disclosure by certain facilities: The Senate amended the bill to clarify covered facilities and set a compliance date of Aug. 31, 2029, and passed the measure on final passage (vote recorded as 31 ayes, 0 nays).

Votes at a glance (selected measures from the session transcript)

- Senate Bill 19 51 (relating to imposition of a penalty for failure to timely file a rendition statement or property report with the chief appraiser of an appraisal district): passed to engrossment and finally passed (roll calls during the day show the rules suspended and final passage recorded; at caption/readings the transcript records the bill passed with 26 ayes and 5 nays on earlier suspension votes and final passage recorded as passed).

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 12 61 (financing of water supply projects included in the state water plan): passed (final passage recorded as 31 ayes, 0 nays).

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 16 20 (establishing the Texas Forensic Analyst Apprenticeship Pilot Program): passed (final passage recorded as 30 ayes, 1 nay). Sponsor description emphasized partnerships with academic institutions and public crime labs.

- Senate Bill 5 30 (relating to accreditation of certain postsecondary institutions): passed (final passage recorded as 24 ayes, 7 nays).

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 13 98 (procedures in suits affecting the parent‑child relationship for children in DFPS conservatorship): passed (final passage recorded as 31 ayes, 0 nays).

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 5 46 (seat belts on buses that transport children): passed (final passage recorded as 25 ayes, 6 nays). The enacted measure requires school districts to report buses lacking three‑point belts to TEA and sets reporting timelines.

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 22 52 (early literacy and numeracy measures and related funding): passed (final passage recorded as 30 ayes, 1 nay); floor amendments added reporting and teacher‑support provisions.

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 24 05 (Sunset changes for TDCJ, Board of Pardons and Paroles, Windham School District and related entities): passed (final passage recorded as 31 ayes, 0 nays). The bill includes multi‑year facilities and staffing planning and other Sunset recommendations.

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 29 49 (regulation related to motor fuels and hazardous materials): passed (final passage recorded in transcript); floor amendments narrowed some definitions and added exceptions for lawful bulk facilities.

- Committee substitute Senate Bill 3 31 (health‑care price transparency by certain facilities): passed (final passage recorded as 31 ayes, 0 nays); the bill will require disclosure of specified service prices by covered acute care facilities and set a 2029 compliance date in amendment language.

What legislators said: Sponsors and committee chairs framed the measures as targeted fixes — for example, Senator Huffman called the forensic apprenticeship bill “a proactive solution” to workforce shortages in forensic labs; Senator Menendez stressed timelines and a TEA reporting requirement for the seat‑belt reporting bill, and Senator Middleton described stricter rules on inactive oil and gas wells as a long‑term measure to reduce orphan‑well costs.

Next steps: Each bill approved on final passage in the Senate will follow normal legislative procedures for enrollment and transmission according to Texas legislative rules. The transcript records final passage and vote tallies where recorded; any additional procedural milestones (enrollment, transmission to the House or governor) are not described in the transcript excerpt.