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 nays. Sponsor: Sen. Kolkhorst. The bill transfers governance of the University of Houston–Victoria to the Texas A&M University System and renames it, with transitional provisions for benefits, contracts and existing tuition/fee policies; floor amendments addressed employee benefits coordination and local event authority.

- Senate Bill 75 (grid resilience): Final passage 31 yeas, 0 nays. Sponsor: Sen. Charles Perry (floor sponsor Sen. Hall). The committee substitute creates a Grid Security Commission under the Texas Division of Emergency Management to assess all‑hazard threats to the ERCOT grid, recommend standards for hardening critical infrastructure and propose a timetable for implementation; it includes confidentiality provisions for sensitive data.

- Senate Bill 626 (in‑service training for certain health care facilities): Final passage 31 yeas, 0 nays. Sponsor: Sen. Flores. The measure reduces certain annual training requirements for continuing employees from 8 hours to 3 hours while maintaining full training for new hires; the Senate suspended rules and completed final passage the same day.

- Senate Bill 1806 (inspection/purchase/sale/transport of petroleum products; oilfield theft package): Final passage recorded 30 yeas, 1 nay. Sponsor: Sen. Sparks. The committee substitute enhanced criminal penalties for oilfield theft and authorized procedures for immediate sale of seized crude oil/condensate under existing asset‑forfeiture authorities; final passage recorded on the floor.

- Senate Bill 1080 (committee substitute for S.B. 1080 — occupational‑license provisional issuance for certain applicants with convictions): Final passage 31 yeas, 0 nays. Sponsor: Sen. West. The committee substitute adjusts eligibility and adds a provisional license pathway for some applicants with criminal convictions; a floor amendment refined the legal‑status definition.

- Senate Bill 2420 (regulation of app stores; parental consent for children’s apps): Final passage recorded 30 yeas, 1 nay. Sponsor: Sen. Paxton. The bill requires app stores and developers to obtain parental consent for child users in certain circumstances, includes safe harbors for good‑faith age checks, and exempts emergency/secure testing apps.

- Senate Bill 2425 (automated vehicles): Final passage recorded 30 yeas, 1 nay. Sponsor: Sen. Nichols. The committee substitute requires AV operators to submit authorization materials for Level‑4/5 driverless operation, provides for DPS first‑responder interaction plans and gives regulators enforcement authority to suspend authorizations.

What this means

- Policy and funding: The Senate moved several fiscal or programmatic commitments (notably the film incentive fund and grid work) that will require implementing rules and appropriations/funding mechanisms. Many measures include implementation steps assigned to state agencies.

- Legal and procedural changes: Several measures change administrative processes (university governance transfer, AV authorizations, day‑to‑day enforcement standards) and direct state agencies to produce rules or MOUs to put the laws in practice.

- Next steps: Bills that passed the Senate will proceed to the House (if not already house companion bills), and bills that passed both chambers will be presented to the governor for signature or veto. Where the governor has discretion on discretionary program awards (for example, the film incentives), the bills clarify standard and/or codify practices previously performed by executive offices.

Ending

The Senate adjourned after completing its business for the day. Members repeatedly emphasized implementation details and directed agencies to coordinate on rulemaking or memoranda of understanding where statutes require further operational detail.