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The TEXAS Insider

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News from across the State

Statewide News Round-Up

On Thursday, First Lady Cecilia Abbot relaunched the statewide "Can You See Me?" human trafficking awareness. The campaign highlights the realities of human trafficking through billboards displayed in public spaces and transportation hubs across more than seventy Texas cities. (Official press release)

Here's a quote on the campaign by Senate Finance chairwoman Joan Huffman (R-Houston) "In the base budget that I filed, the Texas Senate is committing $57.5 million to prevent and combat human trafficking," said Senator Huffman. "Providing financial resources across the state is critical to ending this form of modern-day slavery, but resources alone won't help us win the fight. We must continue to raise awareness, and the 'Can You See Me?' campaign will do just that."

Governor Abbott also issued a disaster declaration for communities in Southeast Texas impacted by recent storms and tornadoes. The Governor's office recommends all impacted Texans complete the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) iSTAT self-reporting damage survey to help officials better understand the damage. (More here)

In an interesting move, Wednesday, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick tweeted at the clients of former legislator, now lobbyist Chris Paddie to let them know that he would not be welcome in the Lt. Governors' office due to his conduct last session. The disagreements between the Lt. Governor and Representative Paddie are no secret, but to specifically mention his clients on social media is an unorthodox move. (Official social media post)

A recent report by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services showed improvements in the last year, with fewer children spending nights in unregulated places while waiting for foster placement and more accurate investigations. In 2015 a U.S. District Judge ruled that Texas had violated the constitutional rights of foster children and gave a list of reforms. Subsequently, the state has been found in contempt multiple times for not meeting those reforms. In the most recent update, an average of 60 children were without placement on a given night from January 1, 2022, through November 30, 2022. (More here, and here is the full report)

Last week we reported on the state GOP's radio ad buy against House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont). This week Phelan's local party chair wrote an op-ed in the Beaumont Enterprise, giving his opinion on the situation. In their eyes, Speaker Phelan has been immensely successful for Beaumont and the state's conservative priorities, while the state GOP has done little to elect conservative candidates in recent years. (The full story here)

The Legislature is recessed until next week, and from what we are hearing, committee assignments for the House could be at the end of next week or the week after. Once the House finalizes committees, the legislative process starts to pick up, and it won't be long till bills start moving. The Senate has already scheduled its first Senate Finance committee hearings, where they will bring in the heads of state agencies to walk through their budget requests, and they'll begin to further illustrate Senate priorities.

In 2022 Texas made a record-setting $24.7 billion of oil and gas. (More here)

Legislative Report

Over 2,408 bills have been filed as of 1/27/23.

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

43 days till bill filing deadline

Agriculture

HB 1750 by Representative Dwayne Burns (R-Cleburne) would, among other things, limit cities from imposing requirements on agricultural operations in the corporate boundaries of a city. Unless there is evidence necessary to protect persons or public property from the agricultural operation.

Broadband

Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) filed SB 377 and SJR 27, establishing a constitutionally dedicated fund to promote broadband infrastructure by using 50% of the sales tax receipts on telecommunications services. This would likely eliminate any surcharge currently on phone bills for funding Texas Universal Service.

Elections

SB 396 by Senator Hall (R-Rockwall) would require counties to provide paper ballots to all votes who request one at a precinct or early voting polling place.

Education

HB 1760 by Representative Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant) would add similar prosecutorial authority for bringing an unauthorized gun on a higher education campus.

HB 1655 by Representative Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) would, among other things, establish procedures requiring parents to consent if their student seeks to check out a book deemed as sexually relevant or explicit. Sexual conduct would be defined by Section 43.25, Penal Code.

Energy

SB 624 by Senator Kolkhorst would, among other things, establish a permit process required for renewable energy operators regulated by the Public Utility Commission (PUC). SB 624 would create certain distance restrictions for permitted facilities and other nearby properties.

Your Legislators

Representative Gary VanDeaver has filed twelve bills as of 01/27/23. If you'd like to reach out to his office, they can be contacted at (512) 463-0692.

Senator Bryan Hughes has filed forty-three pieces of legislation as of 01/27/23. If you'd like to reach out to his office, they can be contacted at (512) 463-0101

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