By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
AUSTIN – Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick released a third set of 2026 interim charges earlier this week for the upcoming year’s legislative session.
Patrick released five initial priority charges back in January for the Texas Senate to focus on involving conservative policies, infrastructure, and state oversight in preparation for the 90th Legislature.
This included a Sharia Law ban, a power grid priority evaluating the integrity and reliability of the Texas electrical grid and infrastructure, and an educational focus with a look at foreign connections between public schools and hostile countries.
In March he went for round two focusing on property tax relief to advance the “Operation Double Nickel” plan, lowering the senior homestead exemption age to 55, and raising homestead exemptions.
He also made assessing long-term electric transmission needs, grid resiliency, and the booming power/water consumption of large data centers and crypto mining a priority as well as school choice monitoring and expanding the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (school vouchers).
Patrick’s final priority focus in March pointed to the state’s budget growth and general oversight with his requesting committee reviews spanning criminal justice, border security, health and human services, and water management
For his latest interim charges Patrick has identified seven saying “I released an additional seven interim charges for Texas Senate committees to study in preparation for the 90th Texas Legislature, reflecting issues facing Texans for the Senate to study. We released 74 charges earlier this year, many of which have already had public Senate hearings.”
These latest priorities involve charges to the Business and Commerce Committee, the Religious Liberty Committee, the State Affairs Committee and the Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee.
The short version is the Religious Liberty Committee will be studying the current state of religious liberty and compare and contrast state laws protecting religious liberty with federal laws, including Article 1, Section 6 of the Texas Constitution — Freedom of Worship — and the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The committee is asked to make recommendations to ensure all Texans have the right to practice their religion, free from discrimination or government interference.
Religious school absences will also be addressed monitoring the rollout of Senate Bill 1049, which allows public school students excused absences for off-campus religious courses.
The State Affairs Committee will be reviewing online gaming platforms targeting children to ensure strict age verification and block contact from adult strangers. The committee will make recommendations to prevent minors from accessing violent and sexual content in games. Additionally making recommendations to prohibit communication between minors and adult strangers on gaming platforms.
The committee will also study the unnecessary burden placed on Texas children and families who suffer from inefficient or inconsistent divorce and child custody proceedings. They will identify inefficiencies in these proceedings that result in unpredictable timelines, unnecessary delays, repetitive child evaluations, or other needless complications and make recommendations to ensure Texas families have access to fair and consistent procedures in family courts and truly prioritize the best interests of children.
The Business and Commerce Committee will be evaluating online ticket platforms to prevent predatory secondary market scams and increase transparent pricing for consumers. They have also been asked to identify ways to protect Texans from unfair or deceptive practices, especially within the secondary ticket market.
Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee members will be determining ways to modernize governance, reviewing interstate compact compliance, and securing long-term reliability for the Pecos River Basin. The committee will make recommendations to modernize special district governance, enhance interstate coordination, and ensure long-term basin reliability. “Come January, the Senate and I will advance the priorities of Texas’ conservative majority,” Patrick concluded.
Rita Cook is a world traveler and writer/editor who specializes in writing on travel, auto, crime and politics. A correspondent for Texas Metro News, she has published 11 books and has also produced low-budget films.
