An unspeakable tragedy unfolded in our nation’s capital this week after a mid-air collision between an Army Blackhawk helicopter and American Airlines flight 5342 in what may be one of the worst air disasters in decades. Our hearts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, our fearless first responders, and all those affected by this tragedy. 

Here are five things happening around your state:  

1. Senate Finance hearings begin 

This week the Senate Finance Committee, led by Senator Joan Huffman, began our hearings on the state budget. The budget has 11 articles that cover different agencies within the state government. The head of each agency comes before the committee and testifies on their budget requests for the next biennium. It is important to hear from the agency leadership to ask for status updates on current and past work and hear about goals for the future of the agency. Our funding choices reflect our priorities as a state. As such, I take these proceedings very seriously, especially since we must be responsible stewards of tax-payer funds. This week we heard from agencies related to the judiciary, public safety, and general government. Next week, we will hear from health-related and education-related entities. 

2. Abbott surges state resources to border to help federal enforcement

Governor Greg Abbott issued five border-related Executive Orders this week directing state agencies to coordinate and support the federal government with border and homeland security operations. They include directing state agencies to assist federal immigration officers to investigate, arrest, detain, and deport illegal immigrants in the state, directing the Texas Military Department to assist the US Northern Command; deploying additional border barriers; sharing information and intelligence on foreign terrorist organizations with federal law enforcement; and providing Texas land and facilities available for federal partners to lease and use for these efforts. Securing our southern border is vital to the safety of all Texans. The Governor also directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to deploy tactical strike teams to help with immigration enforcement. 

3. Laken Riley Act signed into law 

President Trump signed his first bill into law this week. The Laken Riley Act directs immigration enforcement officials to detain and deport people in the US illegally who have committed a crime, including theft, assault, and murder. It passed both chambers with bipartisan support before heading to the president’s desk. The bill was named in memory of a Georgia nursing student who last year went for a run and was murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant in the US illegally. The man had previously been charged with shoplifting in New York. Proponents of the bill argue that had this law been in place, it would have triggered his deportation earlier and prevented the tragedy. This bill is an important step forward in strengthen our border, improving our immigration system, and ensuring that we’re doing everything possible to keep our citizens safe. 

4. Entergy starts $137 million project to strengthen grid 

The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) gave Entergy permission to move forward with a $137 million grid resiliency project. The project will be implemented over the next three years and includes rebuilding neighborhood-level power lines to storm-resilient standards, replacing long-distance transmission line and poles that are more resilient, and burying overhead power lines in some areas. These projects stem from work done last session. House Bill 2555 from the 88th Regular Session allows transmission and distribution utilities – those in charge of the poles and wires – to file forward-looking resiliency plans to help mitigate the impact of severe weather. 

5. TPWD awards $30.9 million in local park grants 

This week the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) announced $30.9 million in local park grants. This award amount surpasses previous records and will help create and enhance outdoor recreational opportunities. The grants are awarded to local government entities as part of a 50/50 match. Once funded, the sites must remain parkland forever, be properly maintained, and open to the public. For more information about the program and how to apply, visit https://tpwd.texas.gov/business/grants/recreation-grants/about-local-parks-grants. In Senate District 3, two awards were made: 

• The City of Center received a $250,000 grant for American Legion Park and will support a lighted plaza, pickleball courts, yard games, trails, native landscaping, shade installation, site amenities, and program and interpretive signage. 
• The City of Pineland in Sabine County received a $50,000 grant for sustainable and accessible improvements at Pineland Park and playground equipment, surfacing, lighting, and interpretive signage. 

Session is starting to heat up in Austin – the budget has been filed, committees have been appointed in the Senate, and our first hearings are scheduled. We hit the ground running this year and are prepared to accomplish as much as we can in the short time we have.

Here are five things happening around your state:

1. Senate committee assignments for 89^th Session releasedLast week, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced committee assignments for the 89^th Legislative Session. I am honored to once again serve as the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. I am also on the Senate Business and Commerce, Local Government, and Finance Committees. These committees cover a variety of subjects including infrastructure, broadband development, the state’s budget, local regulation, and more. In fact, next week the Senate will begin work on crafting the state’s budget. Senate Bill 1, the Appropriations Bill, was filed this week by Senate Finance Committee Chair Senator Joan Huffman. We will go through each article of the budget, line by line, to ensure that we are responsible stewards of state and federal funds.
2. BOOT II awards announced by Broadband Development Office

   This week, the Broadband Development Office, which is within the Comptroller’s Office, announced awards totaling over $700 million for broadband projects across Texas to connect more than 93,000 homes and businesses that lack access. The Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT II) Program sought to support countywide infrastructure projects in counties with the greatest need. To ensure equity across the state, two counties from each of the Comptroller’s 12 regions were selected based on the percentage of unserved and underserved locations in the county. The program prioritized the deployment of fiber technology to bring connectivity to these areas. In Senate District 3, three counties were selected – Liberty, Newton, and Trinity. These three projects alone will connect more than 23,000 locations.

3. Winter Storm Enzo brings snow to East and Southeast Texas

   For the first time ever, Southeast Texas was under a blizzard warning that stretched from the Golden Triangle east along I-10 into Louisiana. Winter Storm Enzo brought freezing temperatures and snow across the Gulf Coast – coating normally white sand beaches in white, powdery snow. The area saw accumulations up to five to six inches, a new record. The electric grid faired well during the freeze; only local outages due to downed distribution lines were reported. Texas had enough electricity to power the state through the storm. As always, we appreciate our first responders, linemen, and other officials who kept Texans safe and warm during the worst of the weather.

4. State employees fired after data breach, stolen funds

   The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) announced last week it suffered a data breach in which account information for 61,000 individuals was improperly accessed by agency employees. Information accessed included personal identifying information like full names, home addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, Social Security numbers, health information, and more. It may have been accessed between June 2021 and December 2024. HHSC took action and terminated the employees and referred the case for investigation. Individuals should carefully review their accounts and information from health care providers, insurance providers, and financial institutions to ensure their activity is correct. If errors are found, the agency is asking individuals to report any questionable activity to the provider and contact law enforcement. Additionally, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients should check their Lone Star Card transactions for potentially fraudulent activity. If you think you are the victim of SNAP fraud, call 2-1-1 and choose option 3 to report the fraud to the OIG. You should also contact your local HHSC benefits office to have benefits replaced.

5. East Texan to be inducted into Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame

   Ann Thomasson-Wilson of Jasper, TX is set to be inducted into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. She is a two-time bass fishing World Champion, fishing tackle innovator, and owner of Ann’s Tackle Shop which she opened in 1986 near Lake Sam Rayburn. The shop is a destination for anglers. Additionally, she even designed some of the gear in her store, including baits and hooks. At the end of last year, she retired and handed over daily operations of the shop to her daughter, Debra Pryor, and long-time employee Laren Bush.

This week session began! It will be an exciting and fast-paced 140 days. We will do our best to keep East Texans informed about the goings on in Austin. 

Here are five things happening around your state:  

1. 89th Legislative Session begins

On January 14, 2025, the 89th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature began at noon. On the Senate side, members who successfully won in the general election were sworn in. There are three brand new members of the Senate: Senators Molly Cook, Adam Hinojosa, and Brent Hagenbuch. I look forward to getting to know my new colleagues and working with them on their priorities this session. In the House, all 150 members were sworn in on Tuesday, including 31 freshman members. Then, House members had to vote for the Speaker of the House. Representative Dustin Burrows won the Speaker election on the second ballot. Congratulations to Speaker Burrows, I look forwarding to working with him and all of our partners in the House this session.

Here are some important dates to know as we move through the session:

• Friday, March 14, 2025 – 60th day; deadline for the unrestricted filing of bills and joint resolutions, other than local bills, emergency appropriations, and emergency matters submitted by the governor. 
• Monday, June 2, 2025 – 140th day; last day of the 89th Regular Session, also known as Sine Die (Latin for “without days”).

2. Comptroller releases Biennial Revenue Estimate

Comptroller Glenn Hegar released the Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) which he does before every regular legislative session. It projects the revenue that lawmakers have available to spend through the upcoming biennium. Because the Legislature meets every other year, lawmakers create budgets on a two year, or biennial, basis. The 89th Legislature will have a surplus from the 2024-2025 biennium of $23.76 billion. For the upcoming 2026-2027 biennium, the Comptroller estimates the Legislature will have $194.6 billion in total revenue available for general purpose spending. However, several years ago a constitutional amendment passed to limit the state’s spending to ensure fiscal responsibility. The Legislative Budget Board determines the constitutional tax spending limits before each session. That formula is a combination of the rate of growth of the Texas economy, the growth in population, and the level of appropriations from the previous biennium. This year, the LBB announced the amount of appropriation that can be made without a special concurrent resolution is just under $147 billion. 

3. New laws in effect on January 1

Though most bills passed in the 88th Legislative Session went into effect in September 2023, a few had effective dates on January 1, 2025. Here are a few that went into effect this month: 

• House Bill 3297 – Authored by Representative Cody Harris, this bill eliminates the requirement for annual vehicle inspections for personal vehicles. However, some counties have adopted vehicle emissions standards and will require vehicles registered in those counties to undergo an emissions inspection. 
• House Bill 4 – This bill enhancing Texas consumer data protections and allow online users to have control over opting out of certain advertisements, business profiling, and digital sales. 
• Senate Bill 2 – A section of this bill goes into effect this month. The section makes property tax compression and homestead exemption benefits permanent for elderly and disabled homeowners.

4. Changes to Social Security may allow expanded pool to receive benefits

This month, President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law. The bill eliminates the reduction of Social Security benefits for certain populations, including some Teacher Retirement System (TRS) retirees. Two provisions were repealed: the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduced benefits for individuals who also received a pension or disability benefit from an employer that did not withhold Social Security taxes (like many Texas school districts) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which reduced benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers who also received government pensions of their own. This will benefit TRS retirees who were subject to these reductions. Monthly benefits will increase on average by $360 per month and impact 2.8 million recipients nationwide. 

5. New leadership at Texas Department of Public Safety

Toward the end of the last year, a new director of the Texas Department of Public Safety was sworn in by Gov. Abbott. Director Freeman Martin began at DPS as a highway patrolman in 1990 and has held various law enforcement positions since then, including becoming a Texas Ranger and serving as a deputy director of DPS since 2018. He takes over for Director Steve McCraw, who led the agency for 15 years and announced his retirement in August. 

With the holidays right around the corner, now is an appropriate time for reflection, grace, and thanks. I want to express my gratitude to each of you for continuing to allow me to advocate on your behalf. It is one of the greatest honors of my life to represent East and Southeast Texas in the Texas Legislature, and a responsibility I do not take lightly. I hope you all have a safe holiday season and a very Merry Christmas.

Here are five things happening around your state:  

1. Bill filing for the 89th Legislative Session begins

November 12 marked the first day legislators could file bills for the 89th Legislature – kicking off the beginning of the next session. Since bill filing opened, members have already filed over 2,000 bills between the House and Senate. Typically, over the course of the session, members will file upwards of 7,500 bills. While most of those will not pass, we will have an opportunity to read and evaluate many of them. The 89th Legislative Session officially begins on Tuesday, January 14 at noon. Members can file bills until the 60th day of session, March 14th. After that date, members can only work on bills that have already been filed. The regular legislative session lasts 140 days and will conclude on Monday, June 2. I look forward to representing Senate District 3 once again this session and encourage constituents to reach out to my office if they have an interest in any legislation coming before the Legislature. 

2. State Board of Education approves new instructional materials 

Last month, the State Board of Education (SBOE) approved a comprehensive list of K-12 instructional materials as part of the new Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) process. These new materials were developed and approved for statewide use as directed by House Bill 1605 from the 88th Regular Session by Rep. Brad Buckley. Districts that use materials on the approved list are eligible for an additional $40 per student in additional funding. That bill also directed the state to develop its own high-quality instructional materials. The SBOE approved that curriculum, called the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum, which covers kindergarten through fifth grade. Using the state-developed curriculum is optional for school districts, but districts who opt to use it will receive an extra $20 per student, so $60 per student total. There was some disagreement surrounding the content in Bluebonnet Learning because it uses well-known Bible stories and other Christian-based stories. However, there are references to other faiths and traditions in the curriculum as well. The approval of the instructional materials followed a months-long public comment period and open meetings that allowed public testimony. 

3. Dementia research effort announced by Lt. Gov. Patrick 

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced a new initiative to help lead the fight against dementia. The Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT) will be a new research program funded by the state to support researchers and companies coming to Texas and to further their efforts. It’s modeled off a similar state program the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). CPRIT is one of the most successful health programs ever created in Texas, and the goal is for DPRIT to be similar. Together, we can work to offer further insight into this heartbreaking disease. 

4. ETCOG receives emergency radio infrastructure grant

The East Texas Council of Governments announced the approval of $1.75 million in grants awarded to East Texas governments to enhance public safety. The grants will support critical emergency radio infrastructure needs such as integrating and expanding the TxWARN system, interoperability, and VHF system upgrades. The funds are from the State Emergency Radio Infrastructure program which is facilitated by the Governor’s Public Safety Office. These upgrades are critical to ensure public safety in East Texas and will help modernize emergency radio infrastructure in the region. 

5. Leadership pledge funding to stabilize unemployment insurance fund

Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Phelan, Senate Finance Committee Chair Huffman, and House Appropriations Chair Dr. Bonnen pledge to appropriate funding to stabilize unemployment insurance rates for businesses next session. Rates have been increasing due to higher wages and an evolving job market in Texas. The Texas Workforce Commission manages the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and projected it will need an infusion of funding next year. Typically, those additional funding needs would be paid through additional assessments on businesses. By plugging the hole with state funding, businesses can keep more of their hard-earned profits and the state will keep the fee as it currently is.

For Immediate Release Contact: Shelby Conine Vestal
September 18, 2023 Tel: (512) 463-0103


AUSTIN – Today, Senator Robert Nichols released the following statement regarding the Impeachment Trial of Attorney General Ken Paxton:

I voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton because of the credible testimony I heard and the many thousands of pages of evidence presented during trial.

The evidence included testimony from many of his top staff, including First Assistant AG Jeff Mateer, Deputy First Assistant AG Ryan Bangert, Deputy AG for Legal Counsel Ryan Vassar,
Director of Law Enforcement Texas Ranger David Maxwell, Deputy AG for Criminal Justice Mark Penley, Deputy AG for Civil Litigation Darren McCarty and Deputy AG for Policy and Strategic Initiatives Blake Brickman. I believe these individuals displayed tremendous courage by reporting what they witnessed as violations of law.

Their testimony, combined with the totality of all the other evidence presented by the House Board of Managers, proved to me beyond a reasonable doubt that the Attorney General’s actions violated Texas law and his oath of office.

The oath I swore, to render a true verdict based on the evidence presented, did not leave room for politics or second guessing. I have – and always will – vote for what I believe is right.

Copies of the evidence the court considered, as well as a complete audio-video record of the arguments are available online at www.senate.texas.gov/coi.

Senator Nichols was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2006. He represents 18 counties including the greater part of East and South East Texas and Jefferson County.

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