AUSTIN, Texas — Wednesday was a busy day in the Texas Senate, as lawmakers passed 15 bills, including those addressing AI child pornography, judicial pay and school safety. Some bills are top priorities for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the chamber.
AI child pornography
The Senate unanimously passed legislation a package of bills that would give police in Texas more tools to crack down on AI-generated child pornography.
Senate Bill 20 would create a new criminal offense for having offensive material that depicts a child under 18, whether the child in the material is real or not. Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) authored the bill.
Flores said the bill’s passage shows those who try to prey on children that the Texas Senate won’t stand for it.
The offense is a state jail felony, but it can be elevated to a third-degree felony if the person has a prior conviction on similar charges, or a second-degree felony if there are two or more previous convictions.
Lawmakers said it is an important step to keep up with advancing technology and close any loopholes to ensure that AI-generated images, videos and deepfakes can’t be shared with impunity.
“There is no issue more important to all of us than protecting our children,” Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) said. “SB 20 is an effective tool for law enforcement to crack down on this evil and hold these perpetrators accountable.”
The bill is a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. In a statement after the bill was passed, he said Texas needs to take a careful approach to AI.
“With the proliferation of AI-generated pornography, steps must be taken to protect Texans, and specifically children, from harmful computer-generated content and the crimes that arise from it,” Patrick said. “I named SB 20 as a priority because Texas law must do more to eliminate all types of child pornography and stop the crimes that result from it. SB 20 keeps Texas up to date with technological advancements and cuts off any loopholes in the law to protect our kids. I thank Sen. Flores for his diligent work to address this important issue.”
Senate Bill 1621 essentially rewrites the State’s current child pornography statute to better factor in AI-generated content.
It makes it a crime to possess or view visual material that contains a visual depiction of a child engaging in sexual conduct. It is a third-degree felony if depictions are of a real child and a state jail felony if it is a computer-generated child. There are steeper penalties if a depicted child is under ten years of age and for increased quantities of the illicit material.
“This bill sends a clear message that the production and distribution of sexually explicit material involving children will not be tolerated, regardless of if it involves actual images of children or is computer generated,” the bill’s author, Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), said.
Senate Bill 442 increases criminal punishments for producing or distributing sexually explicit material.
“Existing laws fail to fully address the unique threat posed by deepfake media, as they do not specifically criminalize its production or distribution in the context of intimate depictions,” the bill’s author, Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen), said.
Under SB 442 ensures, deepfake media can only be legally produced and distributed if the person depicted has given explicit consent in writing. Producing or distributing deepfake media without consent would be a Class-A misdemeanor, with harsher penalties, a third-degree felony for repeat offenders.
‘Make Texas Healthier’
On Wednesday, the Senate passed a pair of bills that lawmakers said would make Texans healthier. The legislation bans certain products in school lunches and requires new warning labels on some items.
This is an extension of a push originating from the federal government and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He has called for restrictions on ultra-processed foods and food additives, which he says are “poisoning” Americans.
State lawmakers dubbed the bill package “Make Texas Healthy Again,” a nod to President Donald Trump’s push to “Make America Healthy Again.”
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) called her bill, SB 25, a call to action to give Texans longer, more productive lives. She said the labels will help people make informed decisions so Texans can curb chronic disease and increase their life expectancy.
“The statistics are irrefutable in how much chronic illness is rampant in our country and what it is doing to their lives, what it is doing to all of the budgets,” Kolkhorst said. “We spend more money on chronic illnesses in health care in our nation than any other nation in the world and our life expectancy ranks 60th. There are 59 other countries better than us.”
The bill expands physical education requirements for sixth, seventh, and eighth grades to participate in physical activity for at least 30 minutes for at least six semesters at those grade levels as part of the district’s P.E. curriculum. It specifies districts can’t restrict participation for a student’s “academic performance or behavior.”
It would also require nutrition education for all Texas physicians, medical students or residents.
Senate Bill 25 creates a Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee to examine the link between ultra-processed foods, foods containing artificial colors and food additives, and chronic diseases. The committee would include one expert in metabolic health, one licensed physician certified in functional medicine, one member representing the Texas Department of Agriculture, one representing a rural community, and one representing an urban community.
Committee members cannot own or control a 3% or greater ownership interest in a food, beverage or pharmaceutical manufacturing company or be related to someone who does.
New warning labels would be needed for products containing artificial colors, food additives, or other chemical ingredients banned by Canada, the European Union or the United Kingdom.
“We will arm Texans with information so they can make their food decisions,” Sen. Kolkhorst said. “We protect free markets and free enterprise, but we also protect the Texas consumer. With this bill, it’s simple. If Texans are eating food that includes known health risks that have been proven in other nations, why are we doing it here?”
Kolkhorst said the bill would improve the lives of millions of Texans.
“It’s time that we give this to our loved ones and to every average citizen out there because we are going to expand the average lifespan of every Texan,” Kolkhorst said. “Senate Bill 25 is a coming together to make Texas healthier. We will be improving the lives and the health of our people. This is a big state with many big ideas, and this is one of them. I believe that Texas will lead the nation and that this will be a trend we see across the other nations.”
Senate Bill 25 is also a priority Patrick, who in a statement after the bill passed the Senate called it a “commonsense reform that will help Texas capitalize on its future by highlighting the importance of nutrition and exercise in maintaining overall health.”
“It is more important than ever that Texans are fit and healthy to power our state forward,” Patrick said. “By promoting exercise and educating the public about how damaging ultra-processed foods can be, we can make a positive difference in Texans’ lives.”
The Senate also passed Senate Bill 314 by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola). It would ban certain additives in free or reduced school lunches and the breakfast program.
Seven additives are listed: brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, azodicarbonamide, butylated hydroxyanisole, red dye 3 and titanium dioxide.
“Under this bill, if an ingredient is linked to severe harm and human health is unnecessary and alternative foods are available, state law will prohibit that from being served on our children’s plates,” Hughes said.
Lawmakers said the chemicals are linked to severe harm and shouldn’t be served to children because there is healthier food and ingredients available.
The bill will affect more than 8,000 schools and 3 million Texas schoolchildren. Hughes said 61% of Texas students do not bring their own snacks or meals to school.
“Some states have dealt with this, but Texas will be one of the biggest, as we tend to be, and so far the first red StateState. But of course, this is not a red or a blue matter. This is about our children,” he said. “Lest we become concerned about the marketplace, we’re talking about school meals served to a captive audience. Texas schoolchildren and the taxpayers are the ones paying for these meals. So this message says if you’re going to sell your products for consumption by our Texas students in the school lunch program, here’s what we, the consumer, are looking for.”
School safety
The Texas Senate also passed a bill to increase school safety funding for school districts.
Senate Bill 260 builds on the sweeping school safety measure passed last legislative session, which some school districts are struggling to comply with.
The bill increases the per-student and per-campus school safety allotment by $500 million. The money will go toward safety measures and “hardening schools.”
After the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, which killed 19 children and two teachers in 2022, state lawmakers passed House Bill 3 in 2023. HB 3 required all public schools to have armed guards on campus and mental health training for certain district employees.
School districts have struggled with the costs associated with implementing that mandate and have told lawmakers the current level of funding is not feasible.
SB 260, authored by State Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), doubles the school safety allotment. It increases the amount the states give each school district from $15,000 to $30,000 per campus and increases the amount per student from $10 to $20.
“Ensuring the safety and security of every Texan, especially our children, is a top priority for me and the Texas Senate,” Patrick said. “This bill permanently increases state funding for school safety by an additional $500 million for the next biennium. This funding is in addition to the existing $366 million allocated for ongoing support for public schools, as well as the $1.1 billion designated for school hardening grants from the last legislative session.”
Judicial raises
The Senate also passed Senate Bill 293. It would give district judges a 15% pay raise, less than the 30% the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court called for in his State of the Judiciary address last month. With that raise comes accountability changes.
SB 293 also modifies the process for how complaints against judges are handled by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Huffman, the bill’s author, said there needs to be more transparency and accountability, and there should be no salary increase without needed reforms.
“It’s troubling to see instances where judges appear to stray from upholding the law as it’s written, undermining the trust we place in our legal system. This is especially critical when it comes to bail decisions involving violent offenders where lives are at stake,” Huffman said. “Complaints about the judicial system extend beyond criminal courts and encompass civil and family courts, as well, which some may not be actively working to clear their dockets.”
All 15 bills now head to the House for consideration.