MORE BILLS TO WATCH
In prior 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 have 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 of this month, 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 1031 is relating to the authority of a political subdivision to prohibit the sale of firearms on public property in certain circumstances.
• HB 1051 addresses the application of certain concealed handgun license laws to United States attorneys and assistant United States attorneys and to the authority of those attorneys to carry certain weapons.
• HB 1074 is relating to the contents of and public access to personal financial statements and the creation of a select interim committee to undertake a comprehensive review of personal financial disclosures made to the Texas Ethics Commission and certain other authorities.
• HB 1104 is concerning an exemption from the requirement that a legislative caucus file reports of contributions and expenditures if no reportable activity occurs.
• HB 1185 relates to the retention of certain records in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship by a child’s attorney ad litem, guardian ad litem, or amicus attorney
• HB 1212 is relating to the tax rate for contributions under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act applicable to wages paid to certain honorably discharged veterans; changing the rate of a tax.
• HB 1287 deals with the contents of an application by certain persons for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the person’s residence homestead.
• HB 1304 is relating to the intentional display of a handgun.
Below is a selection of the Senate bills which have been filed to-date:
• SB 416 is relating to restrictions on access to certain personal online accounts through electronic communication devices by employers or public or private institutions of higher education; establishing an unlawful employment practice.
• SB 489 relates to the authority of a taxing unit other than a school district to establish a limitation on the amount of ad valorem taxes that the taxing unit may impose on the residence homesteads of individuals who are disabled or elderly and their surviving spouses.
• SB 503 is related to the establishment of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Council to study and make recommendations concerning expanded learning opportunities for public school students.
• SB 520 is relating to allowing persons acquiring a new residence homestead to receive an ad valorem tax exemption on the homestead in the year in which the property is acquired.
• SB 529 addresses the creation of the offense of installation, transfer, use, or possession of an automated sales suppression device or phantom-ware.
• SB 557 deals with a voluntary contribution to the fund for veterans’ assistance when applying for a driver’s license or personal identification certificate.
• SB 578 relates to o use of countywide polling places for certain elections.
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
– 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.
