The Texas Insider

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Happy Monday!

Statewide News Round-Up

The State Board of Education (SBOE) released its priorities ahead of the 88th session. Some of the key proposals include:

• Granting the SBOE veto authority over charter expansions

• Regulating charter schools to ensure they follow the same rules as ISDS

• Rejecting all attempts to divert public dollars away from public schools through programs like vouchers or any other mechanism that may reduce funding. (Official priorities list)

In a recent social media post, Governor Abbott is once again signaling his support for some form of a voucher program and has taken to referring to it as "educational freedom." (Official post here)

Ron DeSantis will visit Texas in March as the headliner for the Harris County GOP Lincoln Reagan Dinner on March 3rd and then another dinner in Dallas County the next day. Individual tickets start at $500 for the Reagan Day Dinner in Dallas and $250 for the Houston event. Desantis is seen by many as a presidential hopeful for 2024, and a survey by CWS Research found DeSantis trailing Trump by only one percentage point among likely Texas primary voters. (More here) (Official Poll)

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has released a new supply and demand graphic that shows the current power supply (capacity) and projected demand. During the recent freeze, there were little to no issues with grid capacity. Most areas that lost power were due to tree limbs falling into powerlines. (Supply and Demand Graphic)

The Texas Comptroller recently released a report on the impact of Fentanyl in the state of Texas, and efforts being done across the state to stop the spread of the lethal drug. Per the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Fentanyl overdoses have steadily risen since 2018.

• 210 (2018)

• 317 (2019)

• 886 (2020)

• 1,612 (2021)

• 1,428 (through Oct. 31 of 2022. )

The El Paso Field Office saw an increase of 936% in Fentanyl seized at the border from 36 pounds in 2020 to 373 pounds in 2021. Fentanyl is fifty times more powerful than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that six out of ten fentanyl-laced prescription pills contain a potentially lethal dose. (Full Report)

The General Land Office (GLO) is encouraging all Texans to show their appreciation to veterans this February and write letters thanking them for their service. The GLO has posted the mailing location for the nine Texas State Veterans Homes on their website with more information for anyone interested in writing. (Mailing locations) (Campaign kickoff)

Attorney General Ken Paxton recently joined in on a multi-letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding policies for certain abortion drugs. Paxton and the other Attorney Generals are urging the FDA to reverse recent decisions made on prescribing and administering certain abortion drugs. (Link to the full letter)

To better understand the Texas Legislature, I'll include some basic information on how the legislative process works. 

Division of power: 

Texas is divided into three branches: 

• Executive (Headed by the Governor)

• Judicial (Includes the Texas Supreme Court and all state courts)

• Legislative (House and Senate)

The Legislature is made up of thirty-one senators and 150 representatives. The House of Representatives is led by the Speaker of the House, elected by the other representatives. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) is currently in his second term as Speaker. In the Senate, The Lieutenant Governor is the presiding officer and is chosen by the voters of Texas, not the senators. The Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor decide on committee assignments for the members of each chamber. 

I'll include some information like this every week.

Legislative Report

Over 2,634 bills have been filed as of 2/06/23.

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

32 days till bill filing deadline

State Budget 

Senate Finance met Friday and continued reviewing Article I of the state budget. Essentially state agency heads present their funding requests, while the committee members evaluate and ask questions to better understand what they need to appropriate. This week Senate Finance will review Article III, which deals with public and higher education.

Article I deals with General Government, like the Governor, Secretary of State, Commission on the Arts, and much more. During the hearing, while the Secretary of State's office was testifying, Senator Bob Hall (R-Rockport) expressed interest in replacing our current voting machines with only paper ballots. Senator said this would be an essential step in shedding light on our elections process. For anyone interested in watching more of the Senate hearing, here's this link.

Elections

HB 1877 by Representative Valoree Swanson (R-Houston) would, among other things, establish a new "election marshal" appointed by the secretary of state. The state marshal would appoint another election marshal for each Department of Public Safety region, so there is one marshal for every 1,000,000 people. Marshals will be responsible for investigating alleged violations of the election code. Additionally, it would create a new process that by the 60th day before an election, the presiding judge of each judicial region shall appoint visiting judges to serve as emergency election review judges. 

HB 1862 by Representative Jacey Jetton (R-Fort Bend) adds language that clarifies if a presiding judge is not present at a polling location, then the alternate judge shall serve as the presiding. Additionally, alternate presiding judges must be allowed to freely occupy or observe the areas in which voters are being accepted for voting. 

Education

SB 693 by Senator Morgan LaMantia (D-El Paso) proposes increases in salary and wages for public school employees. 

SB 701 by Senator Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) A toll project entity may not require a school bus to pay a toll. 

HB 1837 by Representative Terri Leo-Wilson (R-Chambers) Would create a new "essential knowledge and skills review" committee appointed by members of the state board of education to review and make recommendations to the board for revisions of certain curriculum. 

Energy

HB 1780 by Representative Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) would, among things, establish a Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative between the Texas Education Agency, the Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas Workforce Commission focused on transitioning workers into renewable energy jobs. 

Economic Development

HB 1899 by Representative Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) would establish new state felonies for insider trading. For example, if the person convicted of the offense benefited by less than $150,000, it would be a third-degree felony.

HJR 97 by Representative Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) would, among other things, propose a constitutional amendment to authorize resort-style casino locations. If this passes the legislature, it would then have to be approved by Texas voters. The locations would include two resorts in DFW, two in Houston, one in San Antonio, one in Corpus Christi, and one in the McAllen area. 

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Happy Monday!!