Committee Spotlight:
House and Senate committees are now taking up bills referred.
Budget/Appropriations:
House Appropriations wrapped up discussions on the articles in budget bill this week and may vote the bill out of committee late next week. To review adopted decisions – Adopted Decision Documents – House Appropriations Committee.
HB 2 (Otto) the supplemental appropriations bill was filed this week. Among other things the bill would provide an additional $60 million out of the general revenue fund to address the Medicaid Shortfall.
Senate Finance is continuing to work through the appropriations process. The Legislative Budget Board has posted the following documents for this stage of the process:
Contracts:
SB 20 (Nelson) was heard in Senate Finance Committee on May 11. The intention of the bill is to reform state agency contracting by clarifying accountability, increasing transparency, and ensuring a fair bidding process. Members expressed a desire to continue working on bill language as the bill progresses.
SB 20 in addition to some tax relief bills may be voted out of Senate Finance next week.
Constitutional spending limit:
Discussions continued this week on the constitutional spending limit. SB 9 and SJR 2 (Hancock) were filed relating to the constitutional limit on the rate of growth of appropriations. Both SB 9 and SJR 2 would change the way the Legislative Budget Board calculates the state spending limit. By adjusting the formula to population plus inflation, instead of personal income as it is set currently.
Education:
House Committee on Public Education heard bills relating to pre-k programs this week and Senate Committee on Education heard SB 6 (Taylor) relating to A-F performance school ratings. Bills were left pending.
Bond Indebtedness:
Investments and Financial Services subcommittee on Bond Indebtedness will be meeting next week on March 18. Bills relating to capital appreciation bonds and annual financial reporting of debt information will be on the agenda, among others.
Upcoming hearings:
House and Senate Committee hearing will continue next week, the latest 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.
The standing committee hearings as well as floor discussions, live and archived, can be listened to at the following links: House | Senate. Please note that formal hearings may not be broadcasted.
Spotlight on Bills on the Move:
The Senate Calendars are now being populated with bills. The House is moving forward referring bills to committees and has set its first calendar for Monday.
Bill Filing Deadline TODAY:
This Friday, March 13 is the bill filling deadline.