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- House Committees are scheduled to hear priority legislation this week
- ESA bill scheduled for a hearing in the House
- SB 19, the ban on “Taxpayer Lobbying,” heard in the Senate
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The 89th Texas Legislature is picking up the pace with less than 90 days remaining in the legislative session as the March 14th bill filing deadline approaches. By the end of last week, lawmakers had filed over 6,000 bills and resolutions. The Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees continue to devise their respective versions of the 2026-2027 state budget. The budget for the past two sessions reached the Floor of the originating chamber in the first week of April.
The House began referring bills to committees last Tuesday, including the appropriations bill and several education-related bills. Before the weekend, additional referrals were made Thursday and Friday. The House will make more referrals on Monday afternoon before returning to the Floor on Tuesday at 2:00 pm. Multiple House committees have scheduled meetings this week, including Public Education, Ways & Means, and State Affairs. House Public Education will take up HB 2, public school finance, over two days: invited testimony will appear before the committee on Tuesday, and public testimony will be held on Thursday. NTC is excited to support HB 2 as it invests much-needed money into our public schools.
Furthermore, the House version of Education Savings Accounts (ESA), HB 3, has been posted for a public hearing on Tuesday, March 11th. Chairman Brad Buckley announced 75 coauthors on HB 3, signaling he has the minimum number of votes needed to pass the bill in the House. The Senate version of the ESA bill, SB 2, has also been referred to the House Public Education Committee and is the only Senate bill that has been referred to any committee in the House to date.
House Ways & Means Chairman Morgan Meyer introduced a package of property tax relief bills last Monday. Meyer filed HB 8 and HB 9 in an effort to reduce property taxes. HB 8 reduces property taxes by lowering the maximum compressed tax rate for the next biennium. HB 9 will increase the personal property tax exemption, also referred to as the inventory tax, from $2,500 to $250,000. This bill will require voter approval in November if passed by the legislature. These bills were heard in House Ways & Means earlier today.
All but a few Senate committees have held at least one hearing at this point. Committee activity has been primarily focused on advancing bills that align with Governor Abbott’s list of emergency items or Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s legislative priority list. Last week, the Senate passed SB 26, teacher compensation, and SB 28, pertaining to lottery ticket sales.
Additionally, Senate State Affairs took up SB 19, Senator Mayes Middleton’s bill that would restrict the use of public funds by political subdivisions for lobbying activities. SB 19 threatens a local government’s ability to contract with a government affairs firm or professional to advocate for their city. This legislation has been filed several times in past legislative sessions and has not been passed. NTC submitted written testimony and registered in opposition to the bill. It was left pending before the committee following public testimony. You can find a complete list of Senate committee hearings for this week here. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene at 11:00 am Tuesday.
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock delivered the biennial State of the Judiciary to a joint session of the Texas Legislature last Wednesday. Blacklock was appointed in January by Governor Greg Abbott to serve as chief justice following the mandatory retirement of former Chief Justice Nathan Hecht.
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As the end of the session approaches, ensure you are staying up to date with all the Legislature's internal deadlines. Bookmark this helpful End-of-Session Deadline calendar to ensure your priorities get across the finish line.
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Join the NTC and NDCC for a legislative lunch here in Dallas.
Register HERE.
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