Texas State Rep. Salman Bhojani said bipartisan collaboration, respectful dialogue, and private consultation in discussing bills and fostering mutual understanding among colleagues are crucial in legislative endeavors.

"I built some really good relationships on the Senate side; for example, Senator Lois Kolkorst has been really instrumental in helping me pass one of my really good bills," said Bhojani on a recent edition of the Texas Talks Podcast. "And we just met through one of the bills that she had filed early on, and I was asked to speak at a press conference on that bill. The press conference wasn't meant to make her bill look good, it was the other way around. And I felt uneasy about that; I felt like, as a colleague, I shouldn't be speaking publicly about somebody else's bill without conferring with them privately."

"I asked my staff, 'Can you make an appointment with Senator?'" said Bhojani. "And they did, and I met with the senator, and what was supposed to be a 15-minute meeting ended up being a 45-minute meeting, and we got to know each other. We got to know that we are both business owners, we have similar family structure and similar passion to serve our communities. That was really helpful."

Bhojani is a Texas attorney specializing in real estate law, having previously worked at Haynes and Boone, LLP. He was Euless City Council's first minority member, later serving as Mayor Pro Tem, and in 2022, he became the first Muslim and South Asian elected to the Texas Legislature. He holds degrees from the University of Texas at Dallas and Southern Methodist University, along with a Comparative Law diploma from the University of Oxford.

Texas Talks podcast is hosted by Brad Swail. The weekly show is focused on public policy in the state of Texas, with insights from the people and organizations that influence it.

The podcast is available on Simple Cast and YouTube.