Here is a spotlight on what happened today up at the Capitol:
Budget
CSSB 1 (Nelson), general appropriations bill, was unanimously voted out of the Senate and sent to the House for further consideration. House Appropriations has published its calendar stating the committee plans to take up the general appropriations bill tomorrow at 7:30a.
Health Care
HB 10 (Price), Relating to access to and benefits for mental health conditions and substance use disorders, has been set on the April 4th House Calendar.
HB 630 (Howard) Relating to the Internet broadcast and archiving of open meetings of the Health and Human Services Commission, health and human services agencies, and related advisory entities, has been set on the April 4th House Calendar.
SB 507 (Hancock), Relating to mediation of the settlement of certain out-of-network health benefit claims, was passed out of the Senate as substituted (29-2).
Education
HB 21 (Huberty), school finance legislation, was voted favorably from the House Committee on Public Education as substituted (10-1).
SB 22 (Taylor), which would establish the P-TECH program, was passed unanimously out of the Senate as substituted.
Contracts & Public Information
SB 407 (Watson), which addresses details that would be disclosed under the public information law for information related to competition and bidding, was unanimously passed out of the Senate as substituted.
SB 408 (Watson), which addresses the definition of a governmental body for the purposes of the public information law, was passed out of the Senate as amended (28-3).
E-Verify
SB 23 (Schwertner), E-Verify bill, was passed out of the Senate as substituted (22-9).
Voter ID
SB 5 (Huffman), which requires voters to present proof of identification, was finally passed out of the Senate as substituted and amended (21-10).
Coastal Barrier
SCR 32 (Taylor), which is a concurrent resolution supporting development and construction of a costal barrier, was unanimously passed out of the Senate.
HB 2252 (Faircloth), which would establish a joint interim committee to study the feasibility of a coastal barrier system that which would include gates & barriers, was taken up in House Land Resource Management and was left pending.
Railroad Commission
HB 1818 (Gonzales), RRC Sunset bill, passed tentatively in the House on a voice vote. The bill is on the House Calendar tomorrow for a third and final reading. As filed it would require the Commission to publish annual strategic plans, gives them authority to inspect interstate pipeline, and gives authority for a fee on violations by pipeline operators – among other things. Out of the 17 amendments heard before the full body, 5 were adopted.
Adopted amendments included:
- Rep. Darby – Moves annual strategic plan deadline to July
- Rep. Anchia – Provides for routes to investigate employers of undocumented immigrants, requires employers to attest and look into status of employees, among other things
- Rep. Tinderholt – Requires RRC to report human trafficking
- Rep. Bonnen – Requires contractors to register with E-Verify
- Rep. Krause – Would strike language relating to the Alternative Fuel Program
House and Senate Chamber
Both the House & Senate will reconvene tomorrow at 10am and noon, respectively.
To listen to either House or Senate deliberations: House | Senate
Upcoming Committee Hearings
The latest hearing information can be found by visiting HillCo’s “Legislative News from Texas.” Please note that dates and times are subject to change and additional hearings dates may also be added at any time so you will want to re-visit the page frequently to confirm hearings.