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The TEXAS Insider

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News from across the State

In somewhat surprising news, Tuesday afternoon Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced that he would seek re-election in 2026. During the campaign trail and even in 2020, Patrick said that his third term as Lt. Governor would likely be his last. However, that may have changed, which is an interesting wrinkle considering the number of politicians eyeing his seat. (More here)

Monday afternoon, Patrick announced Senate committee assignments for the 88th session. (Link to the complete list of assignments)

Senator Bryan Hughes, who represents Texarkana, was re-appointed to chair the powerful Senate Committee on State Affairs and the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence. State Affairs handles the majority of bills and legislation that affects the state as a whole, for instance, the organization of state government, issues pertaining to voting, abortion rights, etc. The Jurisprudence committee was established last session and focuses on judicial, court organization, and civil justice issues.

Some other committee assignments of note:

Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) will continue to chair the Senate Finance Committee after taking over following Senator Nelson’s retirement. Finance is responsible for the creation of the state budget.

Education will continue to be chaired by Brandon Creighton (R-Beaumont), who took over after Senator Taylor retired.

The House likely won’t have committee assignments until early-mid February, but this gives our readers an idea of which Senators wield the most influence for the 88th session.

(Senator Hughes’s statement on committee assignments)

Texas once again leads the nation in job creation. In a December employment release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Texas led all states in job creation for 2022, adding 650,100 nonfarm jobs. (Official press release)

Governor Abbott attended the groundbreaking for the new University of Texas at Tyler Medical School. In 2021, Governor Abbott signed SB1, which approved a new medical school for UT Tyler to expand healthcare access in East Texas. This comes at an important time as rural hospitals across the state face increasing costs, and over twenty-four rural hospitals have closed since 2005, the most of any state.

Governor Abbott further emphasized support for school choice on Monday by posting about “National School Choice Week.” (More here)

Included are some of the proposed budget items for education in each budget. There was significant discussion during the interim about improving the Community College Finance system. Both the proposed House and Senate budgets include substantial increases in state funding for community colleges which is illustrated below. Additionally, these policies are still contingent on legislation passing, so the numbers and programs may change depending on the bill.

S.B. 1 & H.B. 1 Highlights:

• Changes the amount of funding flowing from the instruction and administration formula from $2.84 to $2.94 per contact area

  • Additionally, it proposes adding $214 million for formula funding.

• $62.5 million in funds for the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant

• $16.5 million to establish a grant program for innovations to meet regional workforce needs

• Proposes increased funding for the Professional Nursing Shortage Reduction Program from $9,440,024 to $23,400,000 each year of the 2024-25 biennium

Texas still has a significant budget surplus yet to be fully appropriated, so these numbers are likely to change.

Three Texas counties have sued Attorney General Ken Paxton to get clarity on a recent opinion from his office saying ballots could be quickly released to anyone who requested them instead of waiting for the current standard of 22 months. For decades, counties were advised that ballots were to be kept secure for 22 months after an election which is mandated by federal law and the Texas election code. However, Paxton released an opinion this fall saying they should be given to anyone who requested them, even if it’s right after the ballots were counted.

County election officials now face the pressures of complying with state law which may lead to costly lawsuits or opening themselves to criminal penalties for violating the election code. Harris, Tarrant, and Williamson have all filed suit and are asking a judge to strike down this opinion they see as violating state law.

Legislative Report

Over 2,183 bills have been filed as of 1/25/23.

125 days till Sine Die (Last day of the legislative session)

45 days till bill filing deadline

Agriculture

SB 552 by Senator Donna Campbell (R-San Antonio) would limit business entities or citizens of China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or another designated country from purchasing agricultural land in Texas. This is the latest in a string of bills looking to limit foreign ownership of agricultural land.

Abortion

HB 787 by Representative Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) would prevent business entities from receiving tax incentives if the entity assists an employee in obtaining an abortion.

Elections

HB 1576 by Representative Terri Leo-Wilson (R-Galveston) Creates a Class C misdemeanor for using electronic devices within 100 feet of a voting station.

HB 705 by Representative Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) would require a district attorney to defend an action, including a writ of mandamus alleging that the election judge or clerk violated a provision of the election code.

Education

HB 1569 by Representative Steve Allison (R-San Antonio) would, among other things, establish a grant program to encourage teachers to obtain computer science certification and continue professional development in cybersecurity, computer science, and more.

HB 1541 by Representative Steve Toth (R-Woodlands) would, among other things, require school districts to alert parents of any mental, emotional, or physical health monitoring of their students. Additionally, it would prevent school districts from allowing a third party to provide instruction regarding sexual orientation or gender identity for students enrolled in prekindergarten through eighth grade.

Your Legislators

Representative Gary VanDeaver has filed twelve bills as of 01/25/23. If you'd like to reach out to his office, they can be contacted at (512) 463-0692.

Senator Bryan Hughes has forty pieces of legislation as of 01/25/23. If you'd like to reach out to his office, they can be contacted at (512) 463-0101

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