Title: Texas: Care for the Rangers and Troopers Who Carry Our Worst Days

Petition story:

I wrote a bill. Now I need your help to get it passed.

My name is Lorilea Bowers. I wrote the Silver Star Wellness Act, a proposed Texas law that would give our Rangers, troopers, and other state officers the mental health care they have earned.

Under Texas law, a private citizen can't file a bill. Only a state representative or senator can. Your signatures will help me get a lawmaker to take it on. Here is how that will work:

I deliver the bill and your signatures. I will hand the Silver Star Wellness Act and this petition to Texas lawmakers and ask them to sponsor it.
A lawmaker files it. Bill filing opens November 9, 2026, and the deadline for most bills is March 12, 2027. The Texas Legislative Council puts the bill in final legal form.
A committee holds a hearing. Lawmakers hear testimony from officers, families, and the public. You can testify in person or submit written comments.
The House and Senate vote. If both chambers pass it, the bill goes to the Governor.
The Governor signs it into law. The Act would take effect September 1, 2027.
Many bills die because no one speaks up for them. A 2025 bill to cover state officers for PTSD never even got a vote. A long list of signatures tells lawmakers that this bill has people behind it.

Why I wrote it

Texas makes officers pass a psychological exam before it will hire them. When they retire, nobody checks on them again.

A retired Texas Ranger who served 20 years wrote to me:

"As a state police officer we have to take a psychological exam to be selected to continue the hiring process. Yet, when we retire there is no exam provided or assistance really. It is a huge adjustment retiring from a 20 year career with all of its demands and pressure a person puts on themselves."
Rangers investigate the state's worst crimes, including murdered children, ambushed deputies, and whole families killed. They live with those cases for years. Then they go home and carry it in silence, because:

Their careers are at risk. Officers fear a mental health record will end their careers.
Their right to carry is at risk. Under federal law, a mental health finding can cost a retired officer the right to carry a firearm.
The state doesn't cover its own officers. Texas covers PTSD under workers' compensation for city and county officers. It does not cover troopers or Rangers.
More officers die by suicide than by violence. Nationally, at least 184 public safety officers die by suicide each year. Suspects kill far fewer.
What the bill would do

Provide free, confidential mental health care for officers, retirees, and their families, including telehealth for rural areas.
Keep treatment private and bar its use for discipline.
Require a fair process, including a second opinion, before any officer is found unfit for mental health reasons.
Give state officers the same PTSD coverage that city and county officers already have.
Start retirement support a year before an officer leaves and continue it for two years after.
Contact every retiree once a year, starting with those who retired because of injury.
Why your signature matters

Lawmakers listen to voters. Signatures from their own districts show them this matters at home.
It helps the bill get filed. A lawmaker is far more likely to sponsor a bill that already has public support.
It helps the bill get a hearing. Committees choose which bills to hear, and strong support pushes this one up the list.
It speaks for officers who can't. Many serving officers can't speak publicly about mental health. Your name can do it for them.
It honors those we have lost. Every signature says their pain was not in vain.
In honor of Pat Trout

This bill is also for Pat Trout, a retired Texas Ranger who always showed my daughter and me kindness. Pat reminds me what the silver star is supposed to mean: strength paired with a good heart. Rangers like Pat give so much of themselves to others. They deserve care in return.

Why I am asking

I write in memory of my daughter, Sierra Govantes. She was 17. I know what it means when help does not arrive in time. No officer's family should learn that lesson because asking for help was too dangerous.

Please sign, share, and add one sentence about why this matters to you. If you serve, have served, or love someone who does, say so. I will make sure lawmakers read your words.

Gratitude is a feeling. Care is a duty. Our officers deserve both.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988. Texas Law Enforcement Peer Network: (972) 338-1314. Copline: 1-800-267-5463.