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 Agriculture & Livestock – 6/1/22 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear public and invited testimony on the following interim charges:
- Monitor the implementation of legislation:
- HB 2089, relating to the detection and mitigation of plant pests and diseases
- SB 1, Rider 27 (Department of Agriculture), which relates to determining methods to increase the number of grocery stores in food deserts
- SB 1, Rider 28 (Department of Agriculture), which relates to the Experimental Use Program for feral hog abatement
- Â Â Overview of the Herd Certification Program, a summary of the USDA report findings
- Study the access of the state’s agricultural industry to available capital through loans, grants, or other sources. Make recommendations to ensure the agricultural industry has sufficient access to available capital, as well as how the Texas Department of Agriculture can educate farmers, agricultural producers, and others about available sources of capital
- Study the impact on agricultural operations of governmental and regulatory requirements and practices including those that prevent or prohibit an activity that is a normally accepted agricultural practice, and make recommendations to facilitate and encourage agricultural production in the state
House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services – 6/6/22 at 10 AM
The committee will meet to hear public and invited testimony on the following interim charges:
- Monitor the implementation of legislation:
- HB 1585, relating to the operations and functions of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
- SB 1444, relating to participation in the uniform group coverage program for active school employees and to a study concerning health coverage for school district employees
- Review and evaluate the actuarial soundness of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) pension fund
- Study benefit enhancements, including a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Teacher Retirement System (TRS) retirees
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
House County Affairs – 6/14/22 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Monitor the implementation of legislation:
- HB 1545, relating to the continuation and functions of the Commission on Jail Standards
- HB 1906, relating to grants awarded to reimburse counties for the cost of monitoring defendants and victims in cases involving family violence
- HB 2073, relating to quarantine leave for fire fighters, peace officers, detention officers, and emergency medical technicians employed by, appointed by, or elected for a political subdivision
- Study statutorily mandated services provided by sheriffs and constables and determine whether fee schedules are set at sufficient levels to allow for cost recovery without placing undue burdens on recipients of those services
House State Affairs – 6/23/22 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Monitor the implementation of legislation:
- SB 2, relating to the governance of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Office of Public Utility Counsel, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas
- Examine the efforts of power generation facilities to weatherize their facilities
- Review the status of projects intended to reduce transmission congestion within the electrical grid
Senate
Senate Finance – 6/14/22 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Long-term Care Funding:Â Examine state investments in the long-term care system. Study nursing facility funding issues and the impact of the pandemic on capacity and delivery of care. Explore nursing facility quality metrics and recommend strategies to improve the sustainability of the long-term care workforce
- Medicaid:Â Monitor the financial impact of federal decision-making affecting supplemental Medicaid funding for Texas hospitals and health care systems, including negotiations between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Texas Medicaid agency regarding the state’s 1115 Medicaid waiver and other federal proposals reducing supplemental funding streams for Texas
- Public testimony is limited to 2 minutes. If submitting written testimony, please provide 40 copies, with your name on each copy, to the Committee during the hearing
Senate Health & Human Services – 6/27/22 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Public Health Data: Review the processes for public health data collection and coordination by local and state entities as well as regional trauma centers. Identify any continuing barriers to the real-time dissemination of data concerning health care facility capacity-including data that can expedite timely care-and morbidity rates, as well as other information that can assist in public policy decisions
- Pandemic Response: Examine the impact of state and federal pandemic policies-including agency guidance, licensing and regulatory actions, and health care industry policies-on patient care and treatment delivery. Examine how regulatory guidance impacts the patient-doctor relationship. Recommend any changes needed to ensure Texas can develop its own data-driven guidance during public health emergencies
Senate Finance – 6/28/22 at 10:00 AM
The committee will meet to hear invited and public testimony on the following interim charges:
- Federal Funds: Report on the state use of federal COVID-19 relief funds provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Acts, and similar federal legislation. Examine local use of federal relief funding, including funding provided to school districts through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Evaluate the overall fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state agencies, including costs incurred due to federal mandates. Identify barriers to the effective utilization of funds and make recommendations on the expenditure of unappropriated funds. In addition, evaluate and report on the spending by state agencies that have been utilizing “one-time” federal funding (temporary enhancements, e.g. FMAP and ESSER) sources, where federal funding will likely be significantly reduced in future biennia
- Mental Health Delivery: Examine the state mental health service delivery system. Study the state’s Comprehensive Plan for State-Funded Inpatient Mental Health Services and the Statewide Behavioral Health Strategic Plan and evaluate the existing state investments in mental health services and state hospital capacity. Review current forensic and civil mental health service waitlists, and recommend ways to improve coordination and outcomes to reduce waitlists. Explore and report on options for additional mental health service capacity, including building state hospitals in the Panhandle and Rio Grande Valley areas