Stopping AI/Deepfake Child Abuse, Texas Bitcoin Reserve, Dementia Research and More

Stopping “Deepfakes” and AI Fake Images Used to Exploit Children

This week, the Criminal Justice Committee on which I serve passed numerous bills to address the troubling rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) being used to create fake images of children which can then be used to groom and abuse them. You may have heard the term “deepfakes,” which are AI manipulated images of real people showing them doing and saying things they never did, which typically involves teenagers or adults. However, criminals are increasingly using technology to generate child sex abuse material (CSAM) or non-consensual sexual images of adults. This issue was studied in the interim period since the last session, and these bills ensure bad actors are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Texas would join 37 other states with similar legislation, giving law enforcement the tools they need to go after those involved in these despicable acts.  

Texas DPS officials testified that current law requires there must be a real, actual victim to proceed with investigations. One of our proposed bills provides that if a reasonable person reviews a fake image and it is clear that it is a child, law enforcement can take action. Our committee also approved two bills providing for both criminal and civil remedies for individuals who find non-consensual, computer generated, explicit images of themselves. Additionally, I supported a bill to remove the educational defense for distributing or displaying harmful material to minors to deter harmful acts of obscenity against our kids. I must share that even after all of my years of exposure to criminal elements as a police officer, it is still deeply unsettling to see the tactics of the seedy online underworld that our committee regularly encounters. These people will stop at nothing in their efforts to destroy the innocence of our children and cause pain and embarrassment to victims of all ages.  

Combating Dementia and Brain Diseases

On Wednesday, the Texas Senate passed a measure intended to create the largest brain health research center in America. SB 5 would create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), though it would study all brain diseases, not just dementia. Most of us have friends or family who have been affected by this terrible disease, which robs memories and dignity. Did you know that a person over the age of 55 has a 42 percent chance of developing dementia over the course of their life? If approved by voters in November, DPRIT would be endowed with $3 billion drawn from the current surplus. DPRIT would be modeled after Texas’ highly successful Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, or CPRIT, created in 2009. CPRIT is now the largest cancer research organization in the country and second largest in the entire world. 

Establishing the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

The Texas Senate voted on Thursday to create the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, allowing the state to diversify its investments and lead the nation in this emerging resource. The bill will allow the comptroller’s office to buy, sell, and oversee cryptocurrency holdings. Creating the Reserve was identified by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as a top priority for the current legislative session.  

The bill doesn’t require that we invest in cryptocurrencies; instead, this bill establishes the process for doing so should we choose to invest. The Senate Finance Committee will recommend later in the session what funds – if any – should be invested in Texas’ Bitcoin Reserve. It’s clear that Bitcoin is emerging as a legitimate currency; in fact, on Thursday evening President Trump issued an executive order establishing the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Texas needs to be prepared to have this tool in our investment toolbox.

Our legislation to return posting of the Ten Commandments to Texas classrooms passed the Education K-16 Committee this week. Prior to the hearing, I met with David Barton and Tim Barton of WallBuilders, along with David’s wife Cheryl, all of whom are longtime friends. David, Tim, and Tarrant County Commissioner Matt Krause (representing First Liberty Institute) provided excellent testimony on the tradition of the Ten Commandments being utilized at many levels of government, and in our public schools,
throughout our nation’s history.


Was honored that Coach Joe Kennedy testified in support of our bill to restore the Ten Commandments to public school classrooms; he also spoke in favor of another bill to once again allow prayer in our schools. For simply leading his football team in a moment of prayer, Coach Kennedy was fired back in 2015. He fought a seven year legal battle, resulting in a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court when they ruled against his employer, Bremerton School District. Speaking for the court’s majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that, “The best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.” Coach Joe’s courageous story was featured in the movie “Average Joe,”
which I have seen and highly recommend.  


This week, I had dinner with members of the Texas Holocaust Genocide and Anti-Semitism Commission as well as legislative colleagues from the House and Senate. We discussed my legislation to crack down on the growing antisemitism on college campus and opening a Texas trade office in Israel.

This week I spoke to the Lt. Governor’s Advisory Board, which consists of businessmen and women from around the state. These are mostly business owners who are assigned to a specific board according to their expertise. The individual boards that make up the Lt. Governor’s Advisory Board focus on economic and workforce development, economic forecast, education, energy/oil and gas, health, tax policy, and transportation/port. In my remarks, I outlined how Texas is preparing to accommodate the explosive demand for electricity, driven in large part by the massive growth from new data centers being built in the state. To illustrate the power needed for these facilities, consider that a medium sized data center uses more power than an entire city the size of Waco!