AUSTIN, TEXAS – True to her tradition, Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini today (Nov. 12) filed the first 34 Senate bills (SB) and 4 Senate Joint Resolutions (SJR) to be considered by the 89th Texas Legislature that will convene on Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Bills are numbered chronologically, which confers priority for their referral to committees and when they will be scheduled for hearings. Because numbers 1-40 are reserved for the lieutenant governor’s priority legislation, Dean Zaffirini’s first legislative measures are SB 41-SB 74 and SJR 6-9.

“Filing bills early demonstrates the commitment my staff and I have maintained throughout the interim to address the needs and priorities of families in Senate District 21,” Dean Zaffirini said. “We look forward to filing additional bills, especially as Senate committees finalize interim reports.”

These bills reflect her longstanding priorities, namely, education and health and human services.

SB 42, for example, would provide free full-day prekindergarten; SB 58 and SB 57 would require school districts to make accommodations for students with disabilities regarding their individualized education programs and during disaster and emergency situations; SB 52 would allow students to take excused absences for mental and behavioral health reasons; and SB 56 would qualify chronically absent students to receive at-risk support services.

Her higher education bills include SB 43, which would establish the Texas Promise Grant Program, guaranteeing full tuition for Texas students from households with annual incomes under $100,000; SB 44 would reconstitute the B-On-Time Loan program, providing zero interest loans to qualifying students at public universities who are graduated on time; SB 48 would extend paid parental leave benefits to employees of Texas higher education institutions; and SB 49 would expand funding incentives to community colleges for students transferring to private universities.

Dean Zaffirini’s bills relating to health and human services include SB 45, which would expand Medicaid coverage to all persons who apply for assistance and meet federal eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act; SB 46, which would make the immunization registry opt-out rather than opt-in; and SB 51, which would streamline the license reciprocity process for out-of-state marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors and social workers who move to Texas, reducing the existing shortage of mental health professionals.

Another notable pre-filed bill is SB 41, which will raise the age of purchasing an assault rifle from 18 to 21.

“I hope that 2025 is the year we pass this common sense bill, which almost three of four Texans support,” the senator said. “Great progress was made last session when similar legislation, House Bill 2744, was recommended with bipartisan support by the Select House Committee on Community Safety.”

Reflecting her bipartisan effectiveness and legendary work ethic, Dean Zaffirini has passed 1,388 bills, making her the highest bill-passer in the history of the State of Texas. In 2025 she hopes to extend her 72,132 consecutive votes, a state and national record.

“As always, my staff and I invite constituents and stakeholders to participate in the legislative process and share their feedback and suggestions,” she said. “Our door is always open.”

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