The program, which Gutierrez fought to fund, is designed to provide low-interest loans to help Texas farmers recover from financial strain caused by drought, tariffs, natural disasters, and other economic pressures.

“Our farmers are facing some of the toughest conditions in decades—from historic droughts to supply chain chaos,” said Gutierrez. “This funding is about survival. It’s about keeping Texas agriculture alive and protecting the people who fuel our state.”

Gutierrez, who represents parts of rural West Texas, said the funding came after months of pressure on budget negotiators to prioritize rural needs.

“Farmers are the backbone of Texas. We have to look out for them,” he said. “I asked this body for $50 million in March because of federal budget cuts that threaten farm assistance. Senate Finance Chair Huffman, President Patrick, and I worked hard to secure every dollar for our farmers. We produced $100 million to fund a low-interest loan program over the next biennium, so farmers can have that buffer when times get tough.”

State Senator Roland Gutierrez closed by emphasizing the importance of rural mental health. “Farmers commit suicide at 3.5 times the national average. It’s hard enough to access a physician in rural areas, let alone a therapist. We must fund lifelines like loan programs and the farmer suicide hotline. Our rural communities must know that someone is here, and they care.”

SB 1 passed with bipartisan support and will soon be on the Governor’s desk.

Despite a price tag of over $5.5 billion over the next five years, the bill provides the state no oversight of public taxpayer funds in private schools, and does not hold private schools to the same standards as public schools in many key areas, such as accommodations and safety.

“We know that school shootings happen in private schools as well, we’ve seen it in Tennessee twice. These private schools do not have to comply with anything that is a prerequisite of the School Safety Commission that we dropped over $100 million to, to make sure that our children are safe,” said Senator Roland Gutierrez, who witnessed the carnage of the 2022 Robb Elementary shooting in rural Uvalde, Texas.

Gutierrez criticized the bill for benefiting a handful of wealthy families at the cost of 5.3 million Texas students that will not be able to access or utilize these taxpayer funds, and filed an amendment that would open the program to and prioritize college and trade school students. The amendment failed.

In states where voucher programs have been established, many of the children who benefit come from wealthier families already attending private school, with families from poor communities utilizing vouchers at a lower rate. Studies in multiple states reveal that voucher programs do not lead to a consistent improvement in test scores for low-income students, and in some cases, vouchers have resulted in steep academic declines.

Gutierrez voted against the bill.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Last night, Texas Senator Roland Gutierrez debated against Senate Bill 3, an Operation Lone Star funding bill that expands Abbott’s border wall and death trap buoys, and specifically includes money for use in the community of Colony Ridge despite a debunked hoax of higher crime rates, and Senate Bill 4, a bill that would grant law enforcement officers wide-ranging powers to profile, detain, and deport Latinos and people of color.

WATCH: ROLAND GUTIERREZ DEBATE SENATE BILL 3

Gutierrez introduced an amendment striking mention of Colony Ridge from S.B. 3, citing law enforcement testimony that Colony Ridge has lower crime than surrounding areas and that Governor Abbott should not be creating special session items from conspiracy theories.

“I think it is a disgrace that we sit here as stewards of this money, and tell the taxpayers of Texas that we’re going to blow $40 million dollars of their money on some hoax that the Governor elevated on his soapbox.”

“This is a community of Mexican U.S. citizens, and residents, and a community of immigrants from all across this country. And all of you sit here and you disgrace this country with language like this.”

WATCH: ROLAND GUTIERREZ DEBATE SENATE BILL 4

Gutierrez also debunked Texas Republicans’ overall response at the Texas border and demonstrated why S.B. 4 is unconstitutional and only exacerbates challenges for Texans of color, immigration, and border security.

“What we’ve done at the border is add 400 yards of buoy in the shallow water where a woman and her child drowned. People are dying along the river and getting caught in this razor wire along the border.”

“All these migrants want to do is walk to a port of entry and claim asylum, but they can’t do that with this bill. They get slapped with a private trespassing charge and sent to jail. Federal law states if you come into this country, no matter where you come in, you can claim asylum for up to one year. This bill does not allow migrants to do that,” said Senator Gutierrez, stating that S.B. 4 will interfere with federal law.

“When a person arrives at the border, they sit down with a federal officer and they are asked if they are coming here for asylum. They get a ‘credible fear interview’ and in that scenario, the court or an immigration officer determines if there’s a credible threat to that person’s safety. But here, there’s no officer that’s doing that. This bill is going to be challenged on its constitutionality.”

Gutierrez asserted that S.B. 4 specifically profiles Latinos and people of color and fails to define the elements under which an officer could establish probable cause to determine whether or not a person is an undocumented immigrant.

“This bill creates a new crime for illegal entry into the country, where if an officer is driving down the road, and sees a bunch of brown people working on a roof, he could just stop and claim ‘probable cause’ to come and harass these people about their immigration status. There’s nothing here that says the cop has to suspect that they’ve committed some other crime.”

Senate Bill 3 passed 18-10 and Senate Bill 4 passed 17-11. Both will continue to the Texas House.

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Roland Gutierrez has served as the Texas State Senator for District 19 since 2021, previously serving six terms as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and two terms as a San Antonio City Councilman.