The following list is a compilation of 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, live and archived, can be listened to at the following links: House | Senate.
House
House International Relations & Economic Development – 5/19/2022 at 11:00 AM
The Committee will meet to hear invited testimony only on the following interim charges:
- Monitor and oversee the implementation of legislation:
- HB 619, relating to developing a strategic plan to support the child-care workforce;
- HB 1792, relating to the evaluation of child-care providers participating in the Texas Rising Star Program;
- HB 2607, relating to the powers and duties of the Texas Workforce Commission and local workforce development boards regarding the provision of childcare and the subsidized childcare program;
- HB 3767, relating to measures to support the alignment of education and workforce development with state workforce needs, including the establishment of the TriAgency Workforce Initiative; and
- SB 1555, relating to establishing reimbursement rates for certain child-care providers participating in the subsidized childcare program.
- Economic Recovery – Monitor the state’s economic recovery and identify obstacles impeding the state’s economic recovery
- Workforce – Evaluate labor shortages and Texas’ unemployment numbers. Identify initiatives within the Texas Workforce Commission to expand job training and apprenticeship opportunities to help meet labor demands
House Public Education – 5/24/2022 at 10:00 AM
The Committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony over the following interim charges:
- Monitor and oversee the implementation of legislation:
- HB 1525 and HB 3(86R), relating to public school finance and public education;
- HB 4545, relating to assessment of public school students and providing accelerated instruction;
- SB 1365, relating to public school organization, accountability, and fiscal management; and
- SB 1716, relating to supplemental special education services and instructional materials for certain public school students.
- Study the effects of COVID-19 on K-12 learning loss and best practices that exist to address learning loss
- Examine the impact of COVID-19 on students’ mental health, including the availability and workload of mental health professionals across the state and their role in the public school system
- Examine the causes and contributors for chronic absenteeism in public schools and its impact on student outcomes
House Business & Industry – 5/25/22 at 10:00 AM
The Committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony over the following interim charges:
- Monitor the implementation of SB 22, relating to certain claims for benefits, compensation, or assistance by certain public safety employees and survivors of certain public safety employees
- Study workers’ compensation claims involving public safety employees described by SB 22. This study should include an analysis of medical costs, return-to-work outcomes, utilization of care, satisfaction with care, and health-related functional outcomes.
House Environmental Regulation – 5/25/22 at 10:00 AM
The Committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony over the following interim charges:
- Evaluate the allocation of TERP funds for effective air pollution reduction programs
- Review recent passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law No. 117-58), specifically funds that may bolster efforts to clean up polluted sites and plug wells and how federal funds can be used to complement state efforts on well plugging and pollution clean-up
- Monitor newly adopted and proposed federal regulations that could directly impact economic development, manufacturing, and industrial activities that fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
House Youth Health & Safety, Select – 5/26/22 – 11:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited testimony on the following interim charges:
- Improving the ability of federal, state, and local governmental entities to address the needs of Texas youth through, among other things, expanded coordination between all programs and systems that serve youth and their families, including child protective services, mental health services, educational institutions, and the juvenile court system
- The expansion of prevention efforts and the strengthening of service systems to permit the behavioral health challenges faced by Texas youth to addresses closer to their homes, including efforts and systems that permit youth to remain in their classrooms and stay out of institutionalized healthcare and juvenile justice systems
House Licensing & Administrative Procedures – 6/7/22 at 10 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited testimony on the following interim charge:
- Explore opportunities to strengthen and enforce laws to reduce illegal gaming and the proliferation of unlawful game rooms. Identify how cash-paying game rooms utilizing machines commonly known as “8-liners” have been allowed to proliferate and how the comptroller or other state agencies can assist law enforcement with ongoing investigations
Senate
Senate Business & Commerce – 5/18/2022 at 9:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Supply Chain: Examine the causes and impacts of recent supply chain disruptions on the Texas economy and individual industries. Study the factors that weaken links in the supply chain and the extent the pandemic has exposed those vulnerabilities
- Cybersecurity: Review current state and federal laws regarding cybersecurity protections and requirements for local governments, state agencies, and critical industries of our state. Make recommendations for legislation to improve resilience and protection against cybersecurity attacks and ensure the privacy protection of the citizens of Texas
- State Workforce: Study where state employees are located and the benefits and drawbacks of remote working. Evaluate the impact of the potential growth of remote work and proximity of employees to their place of employment on traffic studies over the next 10 years. Study and make recommendations for establishing uniform statewide standards for remote work
Senate Finance – 5/23/22 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Property Tax Relief: Examine and recommend ways to reduce Texans’ property tax burden. Review and report on proposals to use or dedicate state revenues in excess of the state spending limit to eliminate the school district maintenance and operations property tax
- Tax Exemptions: Examine Texans’ current tax exemptions and report on whether adjustments are merited because of inflation or any other factors
Senate Education – 5/24/2022 at 9:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Educator Talent Pipeline: Examine the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the public school educator talent pipeline, staffing patterns and practices, and declining student enrollment and attendance
- Monitoring: Monitor the implementation of legislation
- House Bill 3 (86th Legislature), relating to public school finance and public education;
- House Bill 1525 (87th Legislature), Relating to the public school finance system and public education; and
- House Bill 4545 (87th Legislature), Relating to the assessment of public school students, the establishment of a strong foundations grant program, and providing accelerated instruction for students who fail to achieve satisfactory performance on certain assessment instruments.
- Bond Efficiency: Conduct a comprehensive review of the school district bond issuance process
- Homestead Exemption: Study the use and effect of the optional homestead exemption available to independent school districts
Senate State Affairs – 5/25/22 at 1:00 PM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Human Trafficking: Examine opportunities and make recommendations to reduce the profitability of and demand for human trafficking in Texas. Determine ways to increase public awareness of the proliferation of human trafficking, as well as resources for victims and survivors. Monitor the implementation of House Bill 1540 (87th Legislature) and examine changes in arrest rates, judicial dispositions, and sentencing amongst offenders due to provisions of the legislation. Examine opportunities for attorneys to combat human trafficking in their local communities, including use of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, to generate revenue for local law enforcement officials combating human trafficking.
- Investment Practices: Study the investment practices of financial services firms and how those practices affect the state’s public pensions. Make recommendations to ensure the state’s public pension funds are not being invested to further political or social causes.
- Privacy and Transparency: Review the current state laws that protect and secure individuals’ biometric identifiers. Explore ways to protect against the use of biometric identifiers for unintended purposes without an individual’s consent and make recommendations to the Senate. Study websites that closely resemble government websites or fraudulently represent companies that they are not, including websites that use names of state agencies or licenses. Make recommendations to ensure that Texans are not mislead, taken advantage, or defrauded, especially when they try to seek assistance from a state website.
Senate Criminal Justice – 5/26/2022 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charge:
- Automobile Parts Theft (Including Catalytic Converters): Review the effect of House Bill 4110 (87th Legislature), relating to the registration of metal recycling, and related catalytic converter theft legislation passed by the 87th Legislature