AUSTIN, Texas — After news that Louisiana could become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, Texas' lieutenant governor called out Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan for letting similar legislation die in committee.
Thursday, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick made multiple posts on X, formerly Twitter, calling out the Texas House Speaker, Dade Phelan.
"Texas WOULD have been and SHOULD have been the first state in the nation to put the 10 Commandments back in our schools," Patrick said in a post on X. "But, SPEAKER Dade Phelan killed the bill by letting it languish in committee for a month assuring it would never have time for a vote on the floor."
Senate Bill 1515, which died in committee last legislative session, would have required Texas public elementary and secondary schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
At the end of his post, Patrick promises to pass the bill again in the Senate next session.
In another post to X, the lieutenant governor continued to blame House Speaker Phelan for killing another bill, Senate Bill 1396, that would have allowed a "period of prayer and Bible reading" in Texas public schools.
Oklahoma and Utah have floated similar legislation to Louisiana's Ten Commandments bill and Senate Bill 1515. However, none of those bills have made it to law, likely due to the legal battles that would inevitably come.
Louisiana is now the only state to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom in public schools and colleges.