Filed Bills For The 84th Texas Legislative Session
I want to begin the New Year by outlining several of the bills that have been filed within the pre-filing period for the 84th Texas Legislative Session. The 84th Legislative Session’s pre-filing period officially began on November 10th, 2014. It is important to remember that unlike the U.S. Congress, the Texas Legislature is scheduled to meet for only 140 days in every odd-numbered year. The established pre-filing period allows the legislature the opportunity to hit the ground running at the beginning of the session which officially starts on January 13th of this year.
During the pre-filing period so far, there have been close to approximately 900 bills, joint resolutions, and concurrent resolution filed with the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate’s respective offices. Below is a selection of House bills which have been filed to-date:
• HB 67 is relating to the issuance of specialty license plates to honor recipients of certain military medals.
• HB 115 is relating to the criteria for awarding the Texas Purple Heart Medal to members of the armed forces wounded or killed at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009.
• HB 118 is relating to a fee waiver for a combination resident hunting and fishing license for certain military personnel.
• HB 140 is relating to driver’s licenses and personal identification certificates issued to veterans; reducing certain fees.
• HB 142 is relating to the authority of the governing body of a local authority to impose a civil penalty for certain violations recorded by an automated traffic control system or a photographic traffic signal enforcement system.
• HB 164 is relating to the authority of a person who is licensed to carry a handgun to openly carry the handgun; providing penalties.
• HB 188 is relating to the continuation and duties of the human trafficking prevention task force.
• HB 193 is relating to the phaseout and repeal of the franchise tax; lowering the rates of the tax.
• HB 215 is relating to waiving the fee for a fishing license for residents of this state who are at least 65 years of age.
Below is a selection of the Senate bills which have been filed to-date:
• SB 55 is relating to the creation of a grant program to support community mental health programs for veterans with mental illness.
• SB 78 is relating to the matters to be considered in developing the state water plan.
• SB 156 is relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation.
• SB 157 is relating to exempting books purchased, used, or consumed by certain university and college students from the sales and use tax for limited periods.
The filed bills for the 84th (R) legislative session are available for the public to view at Texas Legislature Online
As a reminder, the 84th Texas Legislative session is fast approaching and we will be back in session in January of 2015. As always, I want to hear your ideas and suggestion. Your ideas and information are important forms of feedback and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact my office.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week’s article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to contact my office regarding constituent services. 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).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter currently represents Part of Nueces County. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
