BILL FILING DEADLINE OVER: BILLS TO WATCH
In previous articles, I began outlining several of the bills which were filed for the 83rd Texas Legislative Session. Over the past several months members and their staff having been working on drafting and filing bills in the House and the Senate. March 8th represented the 60th day of the Legislative Session and the final day to file bills in both the Texas House and the Texas Senate.
As of March 8th, 5,944 bills, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolutions have been filed with the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate’s respective offices. Of the 5,944 bills, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolutions which have been filed, 4,046 of those bills were filed with the Chief Clerk of the House and 1,898 were filed with the Secretary of the Senate’s offices. Below is a selection of those House bills which have been filed to-date:
• HB 638 is relating to the establishment of an advisory committee to study the feasibility of requiring dental examinations for certain public school students.
• HB 649 establishes a tax reimbursement for businesses that refuse to comply with certain federal health care coverage requirements based solely on the religious convictions of the owners of the businesses; authorizing tax refunds and credits.
• HB 690 is relating to reimbursing public institutions of higher education for tuition and fee exemptions for certain military personnel and their dependents.
• HB 773 is concerning a requirement that students at an open-enrollment charter school recite the pledges of allegiance to the United States flag and the state flag.
• HB 830 relates to the portion of designated tuition set aside to provide student financial assistance at institutions of higher education.
• HB 862 is relating to the transfer of the limitation on school district, county, municipal, or junior college district ad valorem taxes on the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to a subsequent homestead of that person.
• HB 883 addresses the franchise tax, including the $1 million total revenue exemption and alternative revenue sources and spending priorities for this state; repealing the franchise tax.
• HB 972 is relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of and certain other locations associated with institutions of higher education.
Below is a selection of the Senate bills which have been filed to-date:
• SB 291 is relating to notice requirements for gas utilities and municipally owned utilities entering certain real property; providing an administrative penalty.
• SB 299 relates to the unintentional display of a weapon by a person licensed to carry a concealed handgun.
• SB 326 related to financing programs for low-income electric customers and certain other electric customers.
• SB 363 is relating to prohibited exemptions from state bar examination requirements for attorneys who hold law licenses issued by certain other states.
• SB 373 addresses indexing fees charged for certain nonresident hunting and fishing licenses to fees charged for certain resident hunting and fishing licenses.
• SB 380 deals with the recording of an informal settlement conference to resolve a complaint to the Texas Medical Board against a physician.
• SB 399 relates to the confidentiality of certain communications involving an ombudsman program established by an employer as an alternative dispute resolution service.
The filed bills for the 83rd (R) legislative session are available for the public to view at Texas Legislature Online.
If you have questions or comments regarding any of the filed bills 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).
