The Texas Report

March 08, 2023

Happy Wednesday!

Representative Senfronia Thompson, Dean of the Texas House

Written by: Jay Williamson

Statewide News Round-Up

This week Speaker Phelan announced six more priority bills for the Texas House. A little about them:

  • House Bill (H.B.) 9 by Representative Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) would establish a Broadband Infrastructure Fund to administer the state's broadband development fund and appropriate $5 billion for expanding the state's telecommunication infrastructure.

  • H.B. 10 by Representative Tracy King (D-Uvalde) would dedicate billions of dollars towards a new Texas Water fund to assist in financing new water sources for the state.

  • H.B. 14 by Representative Cody Harris (R-Palestine) would require cities and counties that fail to complete approvals and reviews for property development to utilize third-party reviewers.

  • H.B. 15 by Representative Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) would establish a Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of Texas for studying and researching treatment for traumatic brain injuries.

  • H.B. 16 by Representative Joe Moody (D-El Paso) would enhance the court's procedural discretion to remove children from the juvenile justice system and expand community-based services to promote additional rehabilitation.

  • HB 900 by Representative Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) would require book vendors to rate and identify books containing sexually relevant or explicit material before selling to schools. And parents would have to provide written consent before their child could access material with a sexually relevant rating.

*Should H.B. 9 and H.B. 10 become law, they would subsequently have to be approved by the voters of Texas because they propose changes to the Texas Constitution.

Five women and two doctors are suing the state over its abortion ban. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, said that Texas law is creating confusion among doctors who are turning away some pregnant women experiencing health complications because they fear repercussions. The legal representative of the women said, "Nobody should have to wait until they are at death's door to receive health care."

Representative Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) has introduced a bill that, if passed, would have Texas voters decide whether or not Texas should investigate seceding from the Union. Slaton said the following "The Texas Constitution is clear that all political power resides in the people. After decades of continuous abuse of our rights and liberties by the federal government, it is time to let the people of Texas make their voices heard. " (More here)

Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano) and Chairman of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence committee chimed in and said "This same State Representative - who here is violating his very oath of office - will proudly pledge allegiance to the American flag every day. This ridiculous bill is the very definition of hypocritical & seditious treason & it is already dead." (More here)

The Legislature is almost through bill filing and will finish this Friday. Until then, thousands of pieces of legislation will still be filed, but following this week, we will have a much better idea of the landscape for this session. The Speaker and Lt. Governor still have major priority bills that have yet to be released, including the legislation on school choice.

Tuesday night, Governor Abbott spoke at Brazos Christain School in Bryan as stop four on his tour of Texas advocating for vouchers and "education freedom." (Official Video)

Additionally, at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show, the Governor honored first responders who have gone above and beyond to protect their community. The Governor recognized sixteen award recipients, including fifteen Texans and one group organization. The rodeo hosts a First Responder Day every year to honor Houston area law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and other emergency services agencies. (More here)

Tuesday also marked two years of the Texas Border security program Operation Lone Star (OLS). Since the start of OLS, the multi-agency effort has led to the following:

  • Over 352,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions

  • 25,000 criminal arrests

  • 23,000 felony charges reported

  • Seizure of 365 million lethal doses of fentanyl.

Texas is set to spend over $4 billion on border security during the 2024-25 biennium. In a recent House Homeland Security and Public Safety committee meeting Department of Public Safety (DPS) Colonel Steve McGraw testified that "there's been no governor and state legislature that's done more to try to help our Border Patrol partners secure than national border w/Mexico" than Texas. Additionally, in the hearing, the Texas Facilities Commission testified that it is now costing the state between $20-$25 million per mile of wall built on the Texas-Mexico border. (Two Years of Operation Lone Star)

Almost 60 schools districts across Texas have now switched to four-day schools weeks, typically to try and prevent teacher turnover. Crosby ISD is the largest school district to adopt the policy, just outside of Houston. Crosby serves almost 6,500 students and approved the switch in a February 27th school board meeting. (More here)

Crosby ISD Superintendent Paula Patterson said, "Our why is simple and straightforward. We want to find, recruit and retain the best teachers in the state in the classrooms for our students." Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath is not sold on the idea, though, as while testifying in a state Senate Education Committee meeting, Morath said the shift "is harmful for student achievement on balance."

Texas Senators from the Houston area recently filed SB 1662 in response to the TEA's potential takeover of Houston ISD. The legislation would give the TEA additional tools to address low-performance ratings, like requiring hearings before the commissioner and appointing an agency monitor. However, it removes the ability to replace trustees. Representative Alma Allen (D-Houston) has filed a companion bill in the House. Houston area congressman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston) says she plans on bringing the issue to the Biden administration and the U.S. Department of Education. The TEA has yet to confirm if it will, in fact, be taking over HISD. (Learn More Here)

Senator Cesar Blanco (D-El Paso) demanded a public apology from the Texas Medical Association (TMA) after members showed up during his press conference to announce new legislation allowing advanced practice nurses to provide primary care. During his layout of the bill, members of TMA showed up to try and question the sponsor and defend the current practice. Blanco released a statement requesting a public apology to the patients and healthcare advocates who came with him to tell their stories. (More here)

State Leaders Social Media Update:

Governor Abbott recently tweeted that "we must keep dangerous criminals behind bars." In support of a bill recently passed by a Senate Committee to authorize judges to deny bond to people charged with violent crimes. (Learn More)

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick posted a dig at Speaker Phelan and said that "At CPAC, Trump supported school choice, ending gender modification, and stopping boys from playing girls' sports - 3 of my priority bills, so they should be good enough for the House. (More here)

Committee schedule for the rest of the week:

The House will meet Wednesday at 10:00 am. and the Senate at 11:00 am.

Wednesday - Senate Health & Human Services, Education, and the Finance Committee. House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock, Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, Land & Resources Management, County Affairs, General Investigating, and State Affairs.

Thursday - House Culture, Recreation & Tourism, Health Care Reform, Corrections, Defense & Veterans Affairs, and the Elections committee. Senate State Affairs.

Potential Articles of Interest

Check out our Social Media

Legislative Report Full Bill Report Friday

Over 5,798 bills have been filed as of 3/8/23.

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

Two days till bill filing deadline

State Budget

Senate Finance will meet on Wednesday to discuss SB 30 by Senator Huffman (R-Houston), which is this session's supplemental appropriations budget to cover some of the anticipated costs from the biennium. House subcommittees and Senate workgroups are meeting to decide on budget riders which should continue over the next week or so. (Budget riders are additions to the budget proposed by various stakeholders like lobbyists or special interests groups to fund certain budget priorities)

The Senate is set to discuss and likely vote on six bills today, including SB 2 by Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) which would increase the penalty for illegal voting to a state jail felony. Once thee bills are voted out of the Senate they will the ben referred to the House where they will need to be picked up by a House sponsor.

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Happy Wednesday!!

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