The House and Senate will both reconvene Monday, March 13 at 2pm.
Video Broadcasts: House | Senate
House Calendar – The March 14 calendar has been posted
Senate Calendar – The calendar for Monday, March 13 has been posted. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has stated the bills coming up on the floor on Monday will be related to law enforcement with a focus on the safety of Texas law enforcement.
Bill filing deadline today at 6pm.
Budget
The Senate Finance Committee will meet next week on Wednesday, March 15 to take up SB 1 (Nelson, General Appropriations Bill) and consider recommendations from Article workgroups. They will also meet on Thursday, March 16 to continue discussions on recommendations and take up any other pending business.
House Appropriations riders were due to the committee this week – it is anticiapted they will be taken up in committee meetings next week.
Spotlight – Bills on the Move
SB 6 (Kolkhorst) relating to regulations and policies for entering or using a bathroom or changing facility was taken up in Senate State Affairs on March 7. SB 6 was voted out favorably as substituted on March 8 after almost 20 hours of testimony and discussion with 7 ayes and 1 nay. The bill has been placed on the Senate Intent Calendar.
SB 7 (Bettencourt) relating to improper relationships between educators and students was unanimously passed out of the Senate as substituted with 4 floor adopted floor amendments. The bill will now move over to the House for further consideration.
SB 26 (Estes) relating to the Texas emissions reduction plan and other related programs and measures to reduce emissions has been placed on the Senate Calendar for next week.
SB 267 (Schwertner) relating to the licensing and regulation of hospitals in this state was voted favorably from committee as substituted on March 8.
SB 10 (Hancock) relating to insurance claims and certain prohibited acts and practices in the business of insurance was heard in Senate Business and Commerce on March 9 and left pending.
HB 21 (Huberty) and several other bills relating to school finance were heard on March 7 in House Public Education and will be taken up again as pending business on Tuesday, March 14 along with 20 other bills relating to public education.
SB 5 (Huffman) relating to requiring a voter to present proof of identification; providing a criminal penalty will be heard in Senate State Affairs on Monday, March 13.
Texting while driving legislation was heard in the House this week, HB 62 (Craddick) was taken up in the House Committee on Transportation and voted out of committee unanimously. The issue will also be taken up in the Senate next week – SB 31 (Zaffirini) will be in Senate State Affairs on March 13.
Sunset legislation is moving as well – sunset legislation on the Railroad Commission (HB1818/Gonzales) was heard and left pending in House Energy Resources on March 6 and TxDOT (SB 312) is scheduled for hearing in Senate Transportation on March 15.
Election bills including HB 25 (Simmons) which would eliminate straight-party voting is scheduled in House Elections on Monday, March 13 at 2pm or upon adjournment.
SB 226 (Taylor) relating to the procedure for action on certain applications for an amendment to a water right will be heard in Senate Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs on Monday, March 13 along with several other bills.
Legislation relating to the composition of the board of trustees of the Employee Retirement System (HB 265/Hernandez, HB 1014/Alonzo) will be up in House Pensions on Monday, March 13.
HB 43 (Flynn) Relating to the public retirement systems of certain municipalities will be taken up in House Pensions on Monday, March 20.
TCEQ and LIRAP discussion will be taken up in House Environmental Regulation on Tuesday, March 14. Among the bills being heard: HB 815 (Burkett) relating to the regulatory analysis of rules proposed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
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.
Video Broadcasts (Committee hearings and floor discussions): House | Senate