MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — The 90th Texas Legislative Session is two months away, and with Democrats having taken the Texas House majority, Republicans no longer have total control over which bills reach the floor.
WATCH HERE:
State Rep. Pat Curry, a Republican who was recently re-elected by central Texas voters, has already filed 16 bills ahead of the session and plans to file between 30 and 40 total. Despite the Democratic gains in last week's election, Curry said he is feeling optimistic going into his second term.
"I'm not fearful of what's gonna happen in the upcoming session. I'm not fearful of where we are. We have really good people that have been in this house for a long time that know what they're doing, and they're all working together, and Republicans and Democrats alike, and we will continue to do that," Curry said.
Curry's priorities for the session focus on mental health programs, water infrastructure, and creating protections against sexual misconduct through a set of bills he calls "the Hoffman Bills." (Scroll to the bottom to read more on this.) He said he is confident those measures will earn bipartisan support because they're for the greater good of the community.
"I have a high level of confidence that this stuff that I've filed and I'm going to file, and the things that I have in the works will pass," Curry said.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:
On water infrastructure specifically, Curry said he sees common ground with Democrats.
"The Democrats are all about many of the same things that we need for all of our constituents, such as water. I think we'll probably move the needle more towards the statewide water plan, and I'm hoping to be a part of that. I will be a part of that discussion. I think, as far as affordability and making sure that we have some more flexibility from a housing standpoint," Curry said.
Curry also expects a joint effort between parties on statewide issues like data centers.
"I think you're gonna see bipartisan support for a set of guardrails on data centers without necessarily killing the program. I think they're just trying to slow it down a little bit and say, hey, what should we be doing? Those are all local things as well as statewide things that I think people will pay attention to," Curry said.
Bill filing for the 90th Legislative Session opened Monday, with the official start date set for January 12.
MORE ON STATE. REP. PAT CURRY'S "HOFFMAN BILLS"
State Rep. Pat Curry has introduced five new bills aimed at protecting children from abuse and holding sex offenders accountable.
The legislation, which Curry calls the "Hoffman Bills," stems from the Adam Hoffman child abuse case in Waco, where a controversial plea deal reduced felony charges to misdemeanors without requiring sex offender registration.
Curry's proposed bills seek to:
- Tighten rules for school workers convicted of sex offenses
- Make court settings safer for children giving testimony
- Speed up child abuse reporting
- Ban convicted lawyers from practicing law
"So we identified 5 or 6 sections of law where we can make a difference and at least do our best to keep that type of thing from happening again and protect the safety and well-being of Texas children," Curry said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
