The Abortion Blacklist Bureau
SB 22 barred certain government transactions with abortion providers or affiliates, turning local contracting into another Patrick loyalty test.
Dan Patrick's idea of local control has always had a footnote: not when Austin wants the contract list.
Senate Bill 22's official caption says it relates to prohibiting certain transactions between a governmental entity and an abortion provider or affiliate of the provider. Texas Legislature Online lists SB 22 as effective on 9/1/19.
The old playbook still matters
This one is not a brand-new headline. It is older Patrick-era infrastructure: use statewide power to tell local governmental entities who they may transact with.
That matters because political habits do not retire. They become templates.
A blacklist is still a mandate
Supporters can argue the policy. Fine. But do not let anyone sell it as hands-off government.
When the state writes a category of organizations into a prohibited-transactions rule, it is not merely expressing a value. It is steering public entities from Austin and making local discretion smaller.
Stop buying the costume
Patrick's brand says freedom. His record keeps saying permission slip.
Dan Patrick is up in 2026. Vikki Goodwin is the alternative for Texans who want the government to solve problems without turning every local contract into a culture-war checkpoint.
Sources
Meet the alternative: Vikki Goodwin
Texas has a choice. State Rep. Vikki Goodwin is running for Lieutenant Governor on a platform of fully funding public schools, protecting the grid, and keeping government out of small businesses it doesn't understand. If you're tired of Dan Patrick's priorities, there's somewhere else to put your vote.