Within weeks of Gov. Greg Abbott announcing his top four legislative priorities, the Texas Senate has moved legislation on two of the top issues - state ethics reform and sanctuary cities. 

In its first major move of the 2017 session, the Senate passed an ethics reform bill that would take state pensions away from public officials convicted of felonies, require stricter reporting from lobbyists, and make retiring lawmakers wait one full legislative session before becoming lobbyists in the state.

	Sen. Van Taylor

The legislation sponsored by Sen. Van Taylor (R-Plano) - Senate Bill 14 - passed the Senate unanimously and now heads to the House for debate in

The bill passed the Senate in spite of heated debate over a failed amendment that would have required lobbyists to disclose spending on large events to which legislators are invited.

"I'll just tell you, I think the lobby plays a very important role in this process," Sen. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) said in opposition to the amendment. "We cannot possibly be experts in everything. There are good lobbyists and there are bad lobbyists."

Gov. Greg Abbott

The move in the upper chamber comes just two weeks after Gov. Greg Abb ott announced his four "emergency items" in the State of the State address. Each session, the governor declares top legislative priorities for the Legislature to work on. Lawmakers are limited to passing bills only relating to those issues in the first 60 days. This year's 60th day falls on March 10.  

This session, Abbott's four emergency items are reforming Child Protective Services, banning sanctuary cities, implementing ethics reforms and passing a resolution calling for a Convention of States.  Abbott also called for action on ethics reform in 2015, along with his other emergency items last session: border security, early education, higher education research and transportation funding.

The other emergency item the Senate passed to the House was Senate Bill 4

, sponsored by Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock), which would would remove funding from local and state entities that refuse to enforce immigration laws or cooperate with federal immigration officials.

	Sen. Charles Perry

The measure passed on a 20-10 vote along party lines, with Democrats lining up in opposition following 16 hours of committee debate. Perry pushed back against Democrats who called the proposal essentially a deportation bill. "This bill ensures that there is predictability that our laws are applied without prejudice," Perry said.

Former Gov. Rick Perry declared the issue an emergency in 2011, and lawmakers have tried ever since to approve a sanctuary city ban. More than a dozen bills have been filed this year to punish local governments that do not turn undocumented immigrants over to federal immigration officials.