The Texas Senate adopted the conference committee report on Senate Bill 29 72, a measure setting time, place and manner rules for expressive activities at public institutions of higher education, with Senator Brandon Creighton moving adoption. The measure passed on the floor by a vote of 22 ayes to 9 nays.

The conference committee report modifies how universities may manage protests and expressive activities. It expands the definition of who may be treated as part of the “university community” to include current and former students, faculty and staff, and clarifies that campus leaders may designate appropriate public fora. The report also restored a content‑neutral requirement previously intended to ensure restrictions apply equally regardless of viewpoint.

Senator Creighton described compromises in the report: it extended statutory protections to a broader group of “university community” members and reverted a house change that removed the Senate’s time‑based restriction. On campus noise and housing proximity, the conference report returned language to the Senate version that restricts expressive activities on campus between certain hours and retains a mechanism for distance protection from residential housing.

Senator Roland Gutierrez (questioning) and Senator José Menéndez (floor questioning) sought clarifications about who counts as a member of the university community and whether the bill preserves viewpoint neutrality. Creighton said the conferees restored the content‑neutral language and emphasized the bill’s intent to balance First Amendment protections with campus safety and academic operations.

Senator Eckhardt asked whether the law provides a proactive or post‑event mechanism for student groups to challenge time, place, and manner restrictions; Creighton responded the bill does not create a statutory pre‑approval challenge process and leaves local campus procedures to handle appeals and disputes.

The conference committee report passed on the floor by a 22–9 roll call. The measure’s authors said it preserves free‑speech protections while giving campus leaders discretion to designate appropriate public fora and to manage disruptions to academic operations.

What happens next: With the conference committee report adopted, implementing guidance and campus policies will determine how universities operationalize the bill’s time‑place‑manner framework.