See below for the upcoming interim legislative hearings. Hearing dates and times are subject to change. Please note that additional hearings dates may also be added at any time.

The standing committee hearings can be found at the following links: House | Senate

House

House Health Care Reform, Select – 8/4/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will hear invited testimony on the following interim charges. If the Committee does not complete its hearing of all invited testimony, it will recess to Friday, August 5, at 9:00 a.m. in Room E2.010 to continue hearing invited testimony only on these interim charges.

  • Study the implications of excessive health care costs on the efficacy of Texas Medicaid and the private health insurance market and the resulting impact on individual Texans, businesses, and state government.
  • Examine the interaction of specific factors of health care affordability such as transparency, competition, and patient incentives.  Make recommendations to expand access to health care price information to allow consumers to make informed decisions regarding their care;
  • Examine the impact of government benefit, administrative, and contractual mandates imposed upon private insurance companies and their impact on employer and consumer premiums and out-of-pocket costs, including the effects of specific benefit and any-willing-provider requirements.  Make recommendations for state and agency-level mandates and regulations that could be relaxed or repealed to increase the availability and affordability of private health coverage options in the state;
  • Review access to and affordability of prescription drugs;
  • Monitor the implementation of, and compliance with, current price transparency requirements and study ways that the state can support patients and increase competition.  Make legislative and administrative recommendations, as appropriate;
  • Evaluate innovative, fiscally positive options to ensure that Texans have access to affordable, quality and comprehensive health care, with an emphasis on reaching low-income and at-risk populations.  The evaluation should include a study of strategies other states and organizations have implemented or proposed to address health care access and affordability.  Make recommendations to increase primary health care access points in Texas.

House Juvenile Justice & Family Issues – 8/9/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will discuss the following interim charges:

  • https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/schedules/html/C3402022080910001.HTM

House Public Education – 8/9/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:

  • HB 3906 (86R), relating to the assessment of public school students, including the development and administration of assessment instruments, and technology permitted for use by students.
  •  Study the unfulfilled recommendations from the 2016 Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability. Evaluate the state’s progress on assessments and accountability and consider possible legislation to support the recommendations from the report. Study and recommend measures needed at the state level to prevent unintended consequences to students, campuses, and districts, including changes that could improve the system for students or help public schools serving a disproportionate number of educationally disadvantaged students impacted by the pandemic.

House Higher Education – 8/11/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:

  • Monitor the implementation of the following:
    •   HB 4544, relating to providing children committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department with certain documents on discharge or release, authorizing a fee.
  • Interim Charge #4: Explore ways to modernize the juvenile justice system for youth on probation and incarcerated youth. Review statewide resource allocation, including available staffing, and identify potential geographic limitations. Investigate the best practices of smaller specialized facilities for youth committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department while leveraging the Department’s current facilities and staff. Analyze the current gaps in county-level services and funding and make recommendations to address those gaps.
  • Interim Charge #5: Examine workforce issues at state and local juvenile correctional facilities and consider the state’s incentives to recruit quality staff. Consider the geographic areas where specialty providers are concentrated and the viability of opening specialized facilities for the state’s youth with the highest therapeutic need to relieve the state’s current rural facilities struggling with staffing. Consider consistent investments the state can make in local probation to encourage their facilities to divert youth from the juvenile justice system.

House Higher Education – 8/10/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:

  • Monitor the implementation of the following:
    • SB 1102, relating to the establishment of the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education (TRUE) Program to support workforce education;
    • SB 1295, relating to financial support and incentives for comprehensive regional universities.
  • Examine factors that have contributed to the rising costs of higher education, including the effect of statutory tuition and fee waivers and exemptions, the cost of compliance with state and federal mandates, and the increase in the number of non-faculty staff. Make recommendations for controlling these costs and ensuring a sound fiscal approach to managing college affordability for the future.
  • Review the impact of investments of endowment and other trust funds, including the Permanent University Fund, by university systems and institutions of higher education in businesses and funds owned or controlled by the Russian government or Russian nationals, and determine the need for investment restrictions. Consider the impact of any proposed investment restrictions on fund performance.

House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services – 8/16/22 at 11:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:

  • Monitor the implementation of the following:
    •   HB 3898, relating to the funding of public retirement systems.
  • Review and evaluate the actuarial soundness of the Employees Retirement System (ERS) pension fund.
  • Evaluate the actuarial soundness of the Law Enforcement and Custodial Officer Supplemental Retirement Fund (LECOS) and Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan 2 (JRS 2). Identify strategies to reduce and eliminate existing unfunded liabilities and recommend structural enhancements that improve the financial health and viability of the funds moving forward.
  • Review the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act (TLFFRA) to ensure proper governance and financial oversight. Examine whether the Pension Review Board has proper oversight and authority to implement necessary corrective measures.

House Natural Resources – 8/23/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will meet to consider the following items:

  • Monitor the implementation of SB 1160, relating to the creation of the Gulf Coast Protection District, and explore ways in which the state can further support the construction of a coastal barrier system.
  • Review the adequacy and efficiency of current mechanisms used to compensate water right holders when the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality temporarily transfers a water right under an emergency authorization. Make appropriate recommendations for the protection of private property rights of water right holders.
  • Monitor newly adopted and proposed federal regulations that could impact activities that fall within the jurisdiction of the committee, including regulations under consideration by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to the definition of waters of the United States.

House Natural Resources – 8/24/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will meet to consider the following items:

  • Examine the condition of Texas’ water and flood mitigation infrastructure capabilities and consider future infrastructure needs. Evaluate sustainable funding sources to provide for water project development and infrastructure repair and replacement. Examine and make recommendations for cost-effective improvements that enhance the state’s available water supply.
    • Committee note: the desalination portion of this charge will be held at a later date
  • Examine the state’s groundwater management policy and regulatory framework. Include a review of large-scale water transfers and their impact on groundwater resources. Make appropriate recommendations for legislation or state agency action to:
    • promote the achievement of planning goals under Chapter 36, Water Code, including those involving desired future conditions
    • provide adequate transparency to the permit application process
    • further the state’s groundwater quality protection efforts, including an assessment of risks posed to groundwater by abandoned and deteriorated water wells and orphan oil and gas wells
    • promote conservation and waste prevention.

House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services – 8/25/22 at 11:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following:

  • Monitor the implementation of the following:
    •  HB 1258, relating to data matching with financial institutions to facilitate the collection of certain delinquent taxes
    • HJR 99, proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing a county to finance the development or redevelopment of transportation or infrastructure in unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted areas in the county; authorizing the issuance of bonds and notes
  • Review the impact of investments by public retirement systems of their endowment and other trust funds in businesses and funds owned or controlled by the Russian government or Russian nationals, and determine the need for investment restrictions. Consider the impact of any proposed investment restrictions on fund performance.
  • Review state and federal regulations surrounding blockchain, including virtual currencies. Examine how these technologies impact industries in the state, and possible consumer protections.
  • Review the state’s investment in the Texas Bullion Depository. Evaluate available information on the status, condition, operations, participation, and prospects to assess the value of the state having its own precious metals depository.

House Public Health – 9/13/22 at 11:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:

  • Monitor the implementation of the following:
    • HB 4 relating to the provision and delivery of telemedicine and telehealth services
    • HB 1616 relating to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
  • Study the impact of fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths in Texas. Evaluate existing data collection, dissemination, and mitigation strategies regarding opioid abuse in Texas. Make recommendations to improve coordinated prevention, education, treatment, and data-sharing.
  • Study current telemedicine trends by assessing and making recommendations related to standardizing required documentation healthcare providers must obtain for consent for treatment, data collection, sharing and retention schedules, and providing telemedicine medical services to certain cancer patients receiving pain management services and supportive palliative care.

House Public Health – 9/14/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:

  • Examine existing resources and available opportunities to strengthen the state’s nursing and other health professional workforce, including rural physicians and nurses.
  • Assess ongoing challenges in the rural health care system and the impact of legislation and funding from the 87th regular and special sessions on strengthening rural health care and the sustainability of rural hospitals and health care providers. Evaluate federal regulations authorizing the creation of a Rural Emergency Hospital provider type and determine if promoting this type of facility could increase local access to care in rural areas of the state.

Senate

Senate Border Security – 8/10/22 at 8:30 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charge:

  • Community Impact: Study and report on the impact of Operation Lone Star on border, rural, and urban communities throughout Texas.

Senate Health & Human Services – 8/23/22 at 10:00 AM

The committee will hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charge:

  • Health Care Workforce: Study the impact of the global pandemic on the health care workforce in acute and long-term care. Identify health care staffing challenges and examine how staffing services and payment models changed the economics of the health care workforce. Identify and recommend ways to increase the health care workforce pipeline.

Agency Meeting Spotlight

Texas Water Development Board – 7/27/22 at 9:30 AM

ERCOT Board of Directors Meeting – 7/29/22 at 9:00 AM

Texas State Library and Archives Commission – 7/29/22 at 1:00 PM 

State Board of Education Special Meeting – 8/1/22 at 8:00 AM

Public Utility Commission – 8/4/22 at 9:30 AM

Texas Water Development Board – 8/4/22 at 9:30 AM

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality – 8/10/22 at 9:30 AM

ERCOT Board of Directors Meeting – 8/16/22 at 9:00 AM

Public Utility Commission – 8/25/22 at 9:30 AM

Railroad Commission – 8/30/22 at 9:30 AM