May 30th marked the official end to the 82nd Legislative Session. The last day of session is commonly referred to as “Sine Die” which means without any future date being designated. This day for legislative members and their staff marks the end to 140 days of the legislative process. The Texas Constitution requires that the Texas Legislature meet in every odd numbered year for a 140 days which begins on the second Tuesday of January of that odd numbered year.
Throughout the 140 days, the Texas Legislature embarks on tackling those issues which may have affected the state during the previous two years, and to envision and address those issues which may be around the corner leading up to the next regular legislative session. Some of the bills that have made their way through the process and passed out of both the House and the Senate still have not made it across the final finish line. Following Sine Die, the Texas Governor has twenty days to sign a bill, veto a bill or to pass the bill into law without a signature. This year the deadline falls on June 19th.
As a recap of the 82nd session, here are several bills which were passed this session and that to date have been signed by the Governor:
• Senate Bill (SB) 14 otherwise known as the “Voter ID” bill, was signed in to law on May 27th by Governor Rick Perry. SB 14 establishes a requirement that an individual present a form of photo identification before that individual would be allowed to vote. This designed to address a concern of fraudulent voting.
• House Bill (HB) 15 otherwise known as the “Sonogram” bill, was signed on May 19th and will take effect on September 1, 2011. HB 15 establishes that a woman wishing to receive an abortion first have a sonogram preformed.
• SB 18 also known as “eminent domain” was signed into law on May 23rd and will take effect on September 1, 2011. SB 18 strengthens individual property rights in the State of Texas requires local and state government entities seeking in acquire an individual’s private property to first make an offer, in writing and based on an appraisal, to the landowner to purchase the property through a voluntary sale for a fair price.
• SB 646 was signed in to law on May 12th and will take effect on September 1, 2011. SB 646 addresses the continuation and function of the Texas Forest Service. The Forest Service is responsible for forest resource management and wildland firefighting.
• SB 1490 received the Governor’s signature on May 19th and will take effect beginning September 1, 2011. SB 1490 puts into place safeguards to prevent false statements or misrepresentations to the courts concerning those cases involving international parental custody determinations. For most International Parental Child Abduction cases, the child is taken to another country with a different legal system, social structure, culture and language. These differences, plus physical distance, make locating, recovering, and returning internationally abducted children especially complex and problematic. Unfortunately, in Texas, our current family law has been used to facilitate the abduction of children from the State of Texas.
As June continues on, the Governor will continue to sign more and more of the bills that made it out of the Texas House and Texas Senate during the 82nd Regular Legislative Session in to law. I invite you to follow the governor’s action or see the bills that are before him awaiting a signature.
On May 30, 2011, the Texas Legislature received notice that there will be a special session. Details will be forthcoming.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
