Legislative Update
The House and Senate will reconvene Monday at 11 a.m. and 8 a.m. respectively.
The House will take up its Local Calendar on Friday, April 16.
House Calendars & Senate Calendars
Video Broadcasts: House | Senate
April 22nd Budget Bills on House Floor
Thursday, April 22nd has been targeted as the date for SB 1, as substituted, (General Appropriations Act) to be deliberated on the House floor. Additionally, HB 2 the supplemental appropriations bill has been posted.
The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) has posted the following materials:
House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1
April 13, 2021| Budget
Summary of House Committee Substitute For Senate Bill 1
April 13, 2021| Budget
Deadlines
4/15 is the first day a senator may place up to five bills or resolutions on the Senate Notice of Intent Calendar.
Additional winddown dates can be found at the following link.
Bills on the Move Spotlight
HB 636 (Thompson, Senfronia / Paddie / Lambert / Hernandez / Geren / et al.) Relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners; authorizing a fee was passed out of the House on 4/14 with four amendments including allowing pluming to be taught in community colleges and ISDs. The bill passed out of the House (143-4) and will now move over to the Senate for further deliberation.
HB 1575 (Cyrier) Relating to certain provisions applicable to state agencies subject to review by the Sunset Advisory Commission was passed out of the House on 4/14 with one clarifying amendment that exempts river authorities and others that do not fit model policy in the bill. The bill passed out of the House (147-1) and will now move over to the Senate for further deliberation.
HB 1585 (Lambert / Canales / Paddie / Goldman / Cyrier / et al.) Relating to the operations and functions of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas passed out of the House on 4/14. The bill includes a requirement for TRS to respond in similar timeline to appeals, appointment of ombudsman, and requires TRS to make improved efforts to return benefits to inactive members before forfeiture. The bill passed with no amendments out of the House (148-0) and will now move over to the Senate for further deliberation.
HB 1600 (Canales) Relating to the review date for certain governmental entities subject to the sunset review process is the sunset safety bill that allows certain agencies to be extended to 2023. The bill passed out of the House on 4/14 with no amendments (137-11) and will now move over to the Senate for further deliberation.
HB 2225 (King, Tracy O. / Guillen) provides TPWD the responsibility for promoting the Texas Water Trust. The bill passed out of the House with no amendments (138-10) and will now move over to the Senate for further deliberation.
CSSB 15 (Nichols) relating to the Texas Consumer Privacy Act Phase I was passed by the Senate unanimously on 4/14 as amended and will now move to the House for further deliberation. The bill proposes to protect certain driver and vehicle from disclosure or sale.
CSSB 21 (Huffman) relating to rules for fixing the amount of bail, to the release of certain defendants on bail bond or personal bond, to related duties of a magistrate in a criminal case, was passed by the Senate on 4/14 with 23 ayes and 8 nays and 1 amendment. The bill provisions include limitations on personal recognizance bonds for violent offenders and assessment guidelines for judges when considering bonds. The bill will now move over to the House for further deliberation.
CSSB 28 (Bettencourt) relating to the approval of open-enrollment charter schools and the applicability of certain state and local laws to open-enrollment charter schools was passed to third reading by the Senate on 4/14 with 17 ayes and 14 nays. As amended, the bill would direct charter schools be treated similarly to public schools under local regulations, shift the vote threshold required for the SBOE to veto charter applications to 9-6, and apply the Whistleblower Protection Act to charter schools. The bill will need another vote in the Senate before it is finally passed and moves over to the House for further deliberation.
CSSB 1160 (Taylor) relating to the creation of the Gulf Coast Protection District was passed by the Senate unanimously on 4/14 as amended and will move over to the House for further deliberation. The bill creates a structure for Harris, Chambers, Galveston, Orange, and Jefferson to implement ideas from coastal protection studies done in concert with the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Energy Legislation
The Senate passed CSSB 2 (Hancock) proposing to increase legislative oversight of ERCOT with 30 ayes and 1 nay and CSSB 1278 (Hancock) as amended requiring intermittent resources to pay for proportional ancillary services with 22 ayes and 9 nays. The bills will now move over to the House for further deliberation.