Austin, TX – 98 new laws authored or sponsored by Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, will take effect on Monday (Sept. 1), addressing issues ranging from consumer protections and healthcare to education and public safety. They are among the 135 bills she passed during the Texas Legislature’s 89th Regular Legislative Session and 1,523 bills she passed in her career, more than any other legislator in Texas history.

“These new laws reflect meaningful progress,” Dean Senator Zaffirini said. “Each one is a thoughtful solution to a challenge facing our state.”

A longtime advocate for consumer protections, she authored Senate Bill (SB) 1036, which empowers the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to crack down on fraudulent solar energy sales. The law aims to restore trust in residential solar power by protecting consumers, especially seniors and non-English speakers, from misleading marketing and predatory contracts. Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) sponsored it in the House of Representatives.

Her SB 916, sponsored by Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro), builds upon her previous efforts to curb excessive billing for ground ambulance services. The Dean’s SB 2476 (2023) banned municipal emergency service providers from balance billing, which occurs when a provider bills a patient the difference not paid by an insurance company. SB 916 extends that ban through 2027 to ensure greater accountability in emergency medical billing.

Dean Senator Zaffirini also passed SB 800, sponsored by Rep. Terry Wilson (R-Georgetown), to improve student access to Title IX resources. The new law requires orientation videos at public colleges and universities to include Title IX contact information, services offered, guidance on reporting assaults, and a list of local and statewide survivor support organizations, such as the Crime Victims’ Compensation Program. It also requires schools to print the National Sexual Assault Hotline number on student ID cards.

Building on her efforts to strengthen legal protections for families, she and Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) passed SB 1559, which will require protective orders issued before or during divorce or custody proceedings to be transferred to the court handling those cases—either at a party’s request or at the judge’s discretion.

Dean Senator Zaffirini also passed SB 1164 to allow peace officers to help persons with severe mental health issues receive better and more timely treatment. What’s more, it will assist peace officers identify mental health issues by using more prescriptive forms to identify signs and symptoms warranting treatment. It was sponsored in the House by Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso).

Her SB 1535, sponsored by Rep. Angie Chen Button (R-Richardson), will create a nuclear workforce development program. The law was informed, in part, by the November 2024 report from the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group, which underscored the need for strategic investment in workforce development. SB 1535 would help meet that need by creating a dedicated workforce program through the Texas Workforce Commission to expand training opportunities, foster public-private partnerships and support university research and curriculum development in advanced nuclear energy.

“Some of these bills were inspired by my constituents, whose insights and suggestions continue to shape my legislative agenda,” she added. “I always welcome feedback and suggestions for future legislation that can make a meaningful difference.”

Responding to constituent requests, Dean Senator Zaffirini passed SB 1662 to require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to notify public water systems no more than 24 hours before conducting water testing in response to a consumer complaint. What’s more, her SB 1663 explicitly authorizes the agency to notify residents within one mile, private well owners and groundwater conservation districts of any new known contamination using any communication method available.

She filed the legislation after families in the Arrowhead subdivision of Wilson County reported murky tap water and illness, only to learn that TCEQ had warned water operators ahead of testing, giving them the opportunity to alter test results by pre-treating their water. Both bills were sponsored by Rep. Ryan Guillen (R-Rio Grande City).

To help address family violence homicides, she and Rep. Christian Manuel (D-Nederland) passed SB 1946 to establish a two-year Lethality Factor Task Force. Modeled after the successful Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force, this new entity will develop policy recommendations to reduce and prevent family violence homicides, improve training and strengthen coordination among service providers.

Dean Senator Zaffirini also sponsored 50 House Bills (HB) set to become law on Monday. They include HB 47 by Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin), which will protect victims of sexual assault by expanding access to post-assault care, barring sexual offenders from working as rideshare drivers and allowing survivors to break leases regardless of where their assault occurred. The new law also will improve trauma-informed training, extend sexual assault nurse examiner certifications to improve survivor care and expand training for emergency room physicians and physician assistants.

HB 4238 by Zaffirini and Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) will prohibit creditors and debt collectors from pursuing payment on fraudulent debts once a victim provides a court order identifying the debt as coerced. The bill builds on their HB 2697 (2019), which expanded the Texas Penal Code’s definition of identity theft to include coerced debt. That law made it possible to prosecute abusers and gave survivors access to key protections under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, helping them repair their credit and regain financial independence.

She and Rep. Ryan Guillen passed HB 322 to expand eligibility for Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants to include nonprofit job training programs. By supporting fast-track certification and technical training, the new law will help more Texans pursue high-wage careers and meet workforce demands in growing industries.

The following additional Senate Bills by Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini are effective Sept. 1: SBs 53, 60, 66, 72, 387, 523, 627, 703, 705, 746, 748, 764, 766, 904, 905, 917, 918, 968, 1164, 1254, 1255, 1335, 1532, 1534, 1535, 1568, 1574, 1666, 1667, 1697, 1760, 1839, 2069, 2073, 2075, 2122, 2124, 2127, 2141, 2443, 2587 and 2589.

The following additional House Bills sponsored by Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini are effective Sept. 1: HBs 114, 171, 201, 272, 630, 766, 793, 908, 1094, 1237, 1562, 1606, 1732, 1734, 1916, 1973, 2259, 2286, 2294, 2340, 2495, 2530, 2596, 2598, 2765, 3104, 3126, 3135, 3146, 3619, 3623, 3697, 3745, 3806, 3909, 4042, 4063, 4219, 4426, 4466, 4748, 4765 and 5320.

Dean Senator Zaffirini holds a state and national record of having cast more than 75,000 consecutive votes. This session Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appointed her to the Senate Committees on Business and Commerce; Finance; State Affairs; and Natural Resources, of which she is Vice Chair. She also is his appointee to the Texas Judicial Council and the Texas Access to Justice Commission.

She made history as the first woman Dean of the Senate on Dec. 31, 2023. She succeeds 24 men who held the title since 1909, when it was first assigned to the longest-serving senator. The seventh of only 25 women who have served with 954 male senators in 89 Texas Legislatures, she and Eddie Bernice Johnson joined Cyndi Krier in 1987, marking the first time more than one woman served in the 31-member body. Today there are eight women senators.

Dean Senator Zaffirini is the namesake of Webb County’s Justice Center, the first state courthouse named for a woman; the student success center at Texas A&M International University; a UISD elementary school; a library at Laredo College; a City of Laredo park; a state park road and soccer mini-pitch in Laredo; a patient suite at the UT Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin; four endowed scholarships; and two grant programs, including the Access to Justice Initiative at the UT Law School.

Photo Credit: Texas Senate Media Services

Dean Senator Judith Zaffirini speaks in the Senate chamber amid floor debate during the 89th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature.

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