AUSTIN -- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday announced five new legislative priorities for the session that begins in January, including support for a convention of the states and blocking church sermons from government subpoenas.

The new priorities add to a list that now ranges from a balanced budget, school choice and fetal-tissue burial to women's privacy in restrooms and property tax reform.

Several face a contentious debate by lawmakers, and signal that the Senate will be at odds with a majority of the House during a legislative session that will start with tension over less money to spend on the budget than had been expected.

"These bills reflect the agenda that a majority of Texans elected me to push forward," Patrick said in a statement . "They reflect our Texas values including life, liberty and a principled conservative government. These tenets will maintain our strong economy and make us a strong global competitor."

The five new priorities:

SB 21 -- Convention of States to limit the power of the federal government, joining Gov. Greg Abbott in pushing for an Article V assembly to consider changes to the U.S. Constitution.

SB 22 -- Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) designed to create workforce-ready partnerships between K-12, higher education and industry, to "improve Texas' workforce and prepare students to be successful in today's competitive and rapidly changing economy."

SB 23: E-Verify initiatives to mandate electronic verification of employment authorization for "state partners" to ensure that private employees are legal citizens authorized for employment.

SB 24 -- Sermon Safeguard legislation "to protect the most fundamental First Amendment religious liberty rights by protecting pastors from forced testimony and shielding sermons from government subpoena power," an issue that was hot in Houston a few years ago.

SB 25 -- Wrongful Birth legislation "to fight to protect and value the lives of children born with disabilities by prohibiting this cause of action in Texas."

See the Senate priorities previously announced here and here.

Patrick's statement said an additional five low bill numbers –- SB 26 to SB 30 -– have been reserved for priority bills to be announced by the beginning of the 2017 legislative session.