HB 11 (D. Bonnen/Birdwell) an expansive border security bill which facilitates the hiring of additional troopers, review and make any necessary improvements to the agency's information technology system, creates a transnational intelligence center on the border, among other things. The bill was signed by the Governor June 9, 2015 and becomes effective September 1, 2015.
- $800.0 million in state funds was also provided in HB 1 to help fund border security initiatives and in part HB 11
SB 529 (Hancock/P. King) relating to the eligibility of a landman for unemployment compensation was signed by the Governor May 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.
SB 1812 (Kolkhorst/Geren) requires a city to provide to the state comptroller detailed information regarding the city’s use of eminent domain authority. The bill directs the Comptroller to create an internet database with information regarding public and private entities authorized by the state by a general or special law to exercise the power of eminent domain. The bill would specify certain information which must be included in the database for each affected entity relating to that entity's eminent domain authority. The database would be updated annually and, to the extent possible, present information in a manner that is searchable and intuitive to users. The Comptroller would be required to create and post the database not later than September 1, 2016. Each entity would be required to provide information to the Comptroller to operate and update the database. The bill would create civil penalties to be imposed on an entity which does not provide information to the Comptroller for the database and would require the Comptroller to maintain a list of noncomplying entities in the database. The bill was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.
HB 1949 (Springer/V. Taylor) relating to the annexation of county roads. The bill would amend the Local Government Code requiring a municipality that proposes to annex a certain area must also annex the entire width of county road and the adjacent right-of-way on both sides of the road. Under the provisions of the bill, if the road annexed is a gravel road, the county would retain control of granting access to the road and its right-of-way from certain property. An adopted Senate floor amendment also allows for an area of land that does not meet the contiguity requirement may be eligible for annexation under certain conditions. The bill was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015 and becomes effective September 1, 2015.
HB 565 (Burkett/Kolkhorst) relating to powers of private toll project entities regarding eminent domain. The bill also requires TxDOT to hold a public meeting before approving a private turnpike or toll project and the meeting will be held in the region in which the project will be located. The bill was signed by the Governor June 20, 2015 and became effective immediately.
HB 1190 (Guillen/Zaffirini) relating to the compensation of property owners whose property is damaged as a result of a pursuit involving a federal law enforcement agency. The bill was signed by the Governor June 19, 2015 and became effective immediately.
SCR 5 (Estes/Flynn) expressing dissatisfaction with the federal government's inadequate efforts to secure the Texas-Mexico International Border. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 9, 2015.
SB 1389 (Lucio/Lucio) directs the Governor to designate a Border Commerce Coordinator and assign certain duties to the Coordinator including: study the flow of commerce at certain ports of entry. The bill would direct the Coordinator to appoint a border mayor task force. The bill was signed by the Governor June 10, 2015 and will become effective September 1, 2015.
