The Texas Senate has approved bills reauthorizing the Texas Medical Board and other state agencies whose operations were jeopardized by similar measures stalling in May.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick convened an unusual floor session after midnight Thursday for the move on just the third day of a special legislative session.
Patrick let the normally routine bills die during the regular session, forcing Gov. Greg Abbott to call lawmakers back to work so they could revive key conservative priorities.
Abbott has directed the Republican-controlled Legislature to tackle 20 major issues during the special session, including a previously stalled "bathroom bill" targeting transgender Texans.
But work couldn't begin on anything else until the Senate passed the agency oversight bills, and Patrick's chamber rushed to approve them.
Texas House approval is expected soon.
