Senate finishes multiple high‑profile measures including film incentives, university transfer and grid resilience

A busy April 16 session of the Texas Senate ended with final passage of several record‑level and high‑profile bills, from a long‑debated film incentive program to a university transfer and a grid resiliency bill.

Lawmakers completed action on multiple measures that had been debated in committee and on the floor, including votes recorded for final passage and adoption of floor amendments. The list below provides the formal motions, final vote tallies recorded in the Senate and short descriptions of each measure and relevant procedural steps taken on the Senate floor.

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 22 — Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIP): Final passage 23 yeas, 8 nays. Sponsor: Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (floor manager Sen. Huffman). The bill creates a statutory incentive fund, directs biennial deposits (described on the floor as $500 million) for a decade, contains objective thresholds for in‑state spending and discretionary content standards enforced by the governor’s office. A floor amendment added a 2.5 percent uplift for faith‑based moving‑image projects and was adopted before final passage.

- Senate Bill 23 61 (committee substitute, enacted as the transfer of the University of Houston–Victoria): Final passage 31 yeas, 0…