Grapevine - Colleyville - Southlake | July 2025

State

BY CODY THORN

Local representatives co-sponsor bills to create state agencies

State Sen. Tan Parker, RFlower Mound, and State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, RSouthlake, both backed bills that created two new state agencies this year. The details Parker represents District 12, which covers portions of Dallas, Denton, Tarrant and Wise counties. Capriglione represents House District 98, which includes the cities of Keller, Westlake, Trophy Club, Southlake, Grapevine, Colleyville and Euless. They were both sponsors to create the Texas Cyber Command and the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. On June 2, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 150, establishing the Texas Cyber Command at The University of Texas at San Antonio. The com- mand center will take over much of Texas’ digital security responsibilities, according to previous Community Impact reporting. It becomes eective Sept. 1, according to online documents. Zooming in On his Facebook page, Parker said the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas would help the 459,000 Texans diagnosed with Alz- heimer’s Disease. The state will provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and related cognitive disorders by trans- ferring $3 billion from state general revenue to the DPRIT fund, according to state documents. In 2024, approximately 10% of Tarrant County residents aged 45 years and older reported expe- riencing confusion or memory loss in the past 12 months that was happening more often or getting

worse, according to the Tarrant County Public Health website. In addition, 11.6% of women 45 and older in Tarrant County reported subjective cognitive decline and 8.6% of men 45 and older reported subjective cognitive decline. Tarrant County ranks higher than Texas and United States in Alzheimer deaths per 100,000-person population, according to Tarrant County Public Health. The big picture On April 24, House members voted 121-23 to approve Senate Bill 5. The bill would create the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, according to previous reporting. The institute’s objective is to advance research and prevention strategies for dementia-related disorders, including Alzheimer’s, the bill states. The bill is expected to take eect Dec. 1.

Tarrant County Alzheimer’s Disease mortality rate comparison Alzheimer's Disease is the fth-leading cause of death in Tarrant County, which resulted in 664 deaths in 2023.

40

30

20

10

0

Tarrant County

Texas

United States

SOURCE: TARRANT COUNTYCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Highest Alzheimer’s rates by county A 2024 survey shows Tarrant County had the highest percentage of patients with Alzheimer’s disease compared to other counties in Texas.

Counties

Tarrant

13.7%

Bexar Travis Harris

10.3%

8.8%

8%

Denton

5.2%

Williamson

4.6%

Dallas

3.3%

Percentage of Alzheimer's patients 0% 5% 10% 15%

Texas State Sen. Tan Parker helped pass legislation to create two state agencies for cybersecurity and dementia prevention in the 89th State Legislation.

CODY THORNCOMMUNITY IMPACT

SOURCE: TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE PROGRAMCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM

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