The proposed constitutional amendment would affirm that voters must be citizens, a requirement that’s already in state law.

The U.S. Senate must confirm the appointment. The Granbury Republican previously announced he would not seek another Texas Senate term.

Senate Bill 7 would require people to use restrooms that match their birth gender and fine institutions up to $25,000 for repeated violations.

Soon after Birdwell announced his retirement, state Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, said he was running for the seat.

The state constitution’s legislative calendar — not a vote threshold — makes it hard to overrule the governor. Legislators are crafting an amendment that would make more overrides possible.

The bill would have set deadlines for the oil and gas industry to plug inactive wells, which can pose a danger to the environment.

From deliberations to documents, the Texas Senate’s rules create an opaque process for the suspended attorney general’s impeachment trial, set to begin Sept. 5.

The House has already passed the bill, but the two chambers will need to iron out the differences in their versions before it is sent to Gov. Greg Abbott.

The bill would direct Texas agencies to not enforce federal regulations on the oil industry if there’s not a similar state regulation. But it likely wouldn’t apply to most federal environmental rules, experts and lawmakers said.

State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, tacks two of his stalled bills onto legislation that would create a border police unit and increase state spending in border communities.

Senate Bill 18 faces an uphill battle at the Texas House, where Speaker Dade Phelan has expressed concerns with completely eliminating the commonplace job protection.

Texas Military Department leaders say they’ve addressed many of the issues that arose late last year when the mission ramped up to 10,000 service members — but more money is needed to run the mission at its current pace.