The 86th Texas Legislative Session Begins
The 86th Texas Legislative Session begins Tuesday, January 8th. The Texas House of Representatives swearing-in ceremony will be held on the House floor at noon on January 8th. Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick will be sworn in the following week on Tuesday, January 15th on the South Steps of the Capitol grounds. All are welcome to attend these opening day festivities. If you are unable to join us, I would like to invite you to come to Austin sometime during the 86th session and visit our Capitol office. We want you to be a part of your Texas Legislature and the decisions that are made and the impact that it may have on your daily lives. Our office is located on the First Floor of the Texas Capitol building, at the room number 1W.5.
This week, I would also like to mention some of the bills that had been pre-filed for this session, which began in November of 2018. Some bills include:
• HB 21 is relating to exempting textbooks purchased, used, or consumed by university and college students from the sales and use tax for limited periods.
• HB 26 is relating to the creation of an alert system to notify affected persons of certain releases of water from certain dams.
• HB 34 is relating to a statewide disaster alert system.
• HB 70 is relating to a strategic plan goal by the Department of Agriculture to prevent crop diseases in this state.
• HB 274 is relating to the creation of the disaster reinvestment and infrastructure planning revolving fund and the permissible uses of that fund
• HB 412 is relating to an annual football game between The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University.
• HB 443 is relating to a limitation on the amount of school property tax revenue that is subject to recapture under the public-school finance system.
If you would like to follow the Texas House and learn more information on news, committees or other aspects of the legislative body, you can access its website at Texas House of Representatives. The site features live streaming from the House floor, committee hearings as well as access to several other resources. You can also follow the Texas Senate. The Texas Governor’s official website can be found at Office of the Governor of Texas.
As a reminder, the 86th Texas Legislative session is beginning. As always, I want to hear your ideas and suggestions. 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.texas.gov or at 512-463-0672.
