Victor Ortega RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Both chambers of the Texas legislature have created new special committees on Civil Discourse and Freedom of Speech in Higher Education that will oversee the enforcement of new legislations on college campuses state-wide.
According to a press release from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the new special committees will help identify ways of protecting free speech rights.
The decision to form the new committees comes after the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, who Patrick said was, “assassinated for simply expressing his first amendment rights.”
The new committees will overlook Senate Bill 2972 and Senate Bill 37.
SB 2972 puts restrictions on assembly on campus.
SB 37 gives major power over institutions of higher education to political appointees.
Bryant Sculos, a political science professor, said committees like these are not uncommon within the legislature.
“So, the legislature can basically create these [committees] whenever they want for anytime a special issue that needs kind of unique attention emerges,” Sculos said.
Sculos said he believes the effort behind the committees is politically motivated.
“I think there’s a lot of evidence to suggest that their motivations are not genuine,” Sculos said. “Particularly given that this comes out of the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing that particularly interested in protecting the speech of conservatives and people representing conservative perspectives.”
KVAQ-TV reached out to multiple members of the Texas House of Representatives and Senate but was unable to schedule any interviews.
