Quick Takes
- The House and Senate saw an increase of billing filings, bill referrals, and committee meetings.
- North Texas Representatives author low-number House bills.
- Governor Abbott announced the creation of the Statewide Street Takeover Task Force.
- Texas Education Agency (TEA) released the Teacher Vacancy Task Force final report.
State Report
The tempo of the legislative session picked up last week with an increase in the number of bill filings, committee organizational hearings, and the referral of bills to committees in both chambers. Through the end of last week, House and Senate members had filed more than 3,900 bills with two weeks remaining before the filing deadline passes March 10th.
Although Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick previously released a list of legislative priorities, most of the related bills remain unfiled. However, last week State Affairs Chairman Bryan Hughes filed SB 2, a priority bill, which increases the penalty for voter fraud from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony. Senator Hughes has scheduled a hearing on SB 2 for today. Meanwhile, late last week, House Speaker Dade Phelan issued a press release detailing four House priorities:
- HB 4 by Representative Giovanni Capriglione (HD 98 – Keller), the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act
- HB 12, by Representative Toni Rose (HD 110 – Dallas), extension of Medicaid eligibility to one year postpartum
- HB 18 by Representative Shelby Slawson (HD 59 – Stephenville), the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act
- HB 300 by Representative Donna Howard (HD 48 – Austin), a sales tax exemption for diapers and feminine hygiene products
Nearly half of the Senate bills filed have been referred to committee, and a few of those bills are scheduled for public hearings this week. Otherwise, Senate committees continue to organize and receive invited testimony from agencies under their committee jurisdiction. The House began referring bills on February 23rd, but committees are still mostly organizing. However, a few House committees, including Criminal Jurisprudence and Agriculture and Livestock, have scheduled bills for public hearings this week. Additionally, House State Affairs will meet Wednesday to discuss matters pertaining to the Texas electric grid. Subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee continue to meet to hear public testimony on the House budget recommendations for the various state agencies. Lawmakers will spend the months of March and April in committee hearings deliberating the bills before them and vote to advance them from committee.
A few special committees were announced last week. Governor Greg Abbott announced the appointment of a Statewide Street Takeover Task Force following recent incidents that have endangered law enforcement officers and the public. The Texas Department of Public Safety will lead this effort. The governor’s office also released the final report of the Teacher Vacancy Task Force, which was formed in March of 2022. The Texas Education Agency was charged with addressing staffing challenges school districts face. Speaker Phelan announced last week the appointment of the House Select Committee on Community Safety. This special committee is chaired by Representative Ryan Guillen, who also chairs the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. Twelve other members join Chairman Guillen on this committee to review gun-related legislative proposals.
The Senate will reconvene Tuesday at 11 am, and the House will meet at 2 pm Tuesday afternoon.
For questions regarding the legislative session, please reach out to Patrick Brophey.
