Special Session
The Legislature begins the second week of the third called special session later today. The House and Senate are scheduled to reconvene this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m., respectively. This morning marks the first time this special session a House committee will meet when the House State Affairs hearing begins to consider Senate bills relating to the governor's call. While the House had a light week with no committee hearings and only two days on the floor last week, Senators remained busy debating priority bills in committee and passing them on the Senate floor over to the House.
Much of the time spent in committee and on the floor last week by Senators revolved around the topic of Public Education. Senator Creighton introduced two bills impacting public schools. SB 1 was filed in response to the governor's call for an Education Savings Account (ESA) that would provide public tax dollars for private school tuition. The North Texas Commission continues to advocate against any form of a voucher. This morning, the Dallas Morning News published an op-ed co-authored by the North Texas Regional Chamber Coalition that explains the threat vouchers pose to workforce development efforts. You can read that article here. The Senate also passed SB 2, by Creighton, which would provide an increase to the Basic Allotment by $75 per student and a one-time bonus payment to teachers.
The governor has continually stated he will call multiple special sessions, if necessary, and will not expand the call to include increased school funding and teacher pay raises until an ESA bill has passed the Legislature. The Senate swiftly passed its ESA bill last week. The House has referred SB 1 to the Select Committee on Educational Opportunity & Enrichment, where it awaits a hearing date.
Other priority bills passed by the Senate include SB 7 (Middleton), preventing private employers from enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employees; SB 4 (Flores), increasing criminal penalties for human smuggling and operation of a stash house; and SB 11 (Birdwell) creating a state penalty for crossing the Texas border anywhere other than a designated point of entry. The House State Affairs Committee will take up these bills during their hearing this morning beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Today marks the eighth day of the special session, which can last up to 30 days. Bills advanced by legislators must adhere to the governor's proclamation. Despite nearly 300 bills (200 in the House and Senate) having been filed, only a handful of bills filed relate to the governor's call have been filed. The agenda items and accompanying legislation on the governor's call are as follows:
- Legislation providing education savings accounts for all Texas schoolchildren. (Senate Bill 1 – Creighton)
- Legislation to do more to reduce illegal immigration by creating a criminal offense for illegal entry into this state from a foreign nation and authorizing all licensed peace officers to remove illegal immigrants from Texas. (House Bill 4 - Spiller, Senate Bill 11 - Birdwell)
- Legislation to impede illegal entry into Texas by increasing the penalties for certain criminal conduct involving the smuggling of persons or the operation of a stash house. (House Bill 5 - Guillen, Senate Bill 4 - Flores)
- Legislation to impede illegal entry into Texas by providing more funding for the construction, operation, and maintenance of border barrier infrastructure. (House Bill 6 - Jetton)
- Legislation concerning public safety, security, environmental quality, and property ownership in areas like the Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, Texas. (HCR 1 - Olliverson)
- Legislation prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private employers. (House Bill 7 – Leach, Senate Bill 7 – Middleton
Upcoming Elections
The November 7th Constitutional Amendment Election will have fourteen propositions for voters to consider. The Secretary of State's website has a link to the explanatory statements for each of the fourteen propositions. Early voting begins Monday, October 23 and runs through Friday, November 3.
Voters in House District 2 will also have a special election on November 7 to fill the vacancy in the seat previously occupied by former State Representative Bryan Slaton, who was expelled by the House in May. There are six candidates on the ballot, including five Republicans and one Democrat. Many Republicans in the area, including Congressman Lance Gooden, have aligned behind Republican Women of Van Zandt County President Jill Dutton. Greenville Lawyer Brent Money also racked up notable endorsements from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and former State Senator and recent gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines. The runoff election, if necessary, will be held December 9.
