HB 2847 (Goldman/Hancock) Relating to the licensing and regulation of certain occupations was sent to the Governor on 5/28 and includes an includes an amendment added by Sen. Schwertner that reduces the required hours of training for a cosmetology license from 1500 to 1000.
HB 2102 (Capriglione/Zaffirini) Relating to the payment of insurance deductibles related to property insurance policies was sent to the Governor on 5/29. The bill would amend the Insurance Code relating to the payment of insurance deductibles related to property insurance policies; creating criminal offenses.
HB 4032 (Guillen/Taylor) Relating to the permitting and taxation of certain boats and boat motors was sent to the Governor on 5/29. The bill would make various changes to the tax code including limit the amount of tax imposed on the sale of a taxable boat or boat motor to $18,750.
SB 1152 (Hancock/Phelan) Relating to the payment of certain fees to municipalities by entities that provide telecommunications and cable or video services was sent to the Governor on 5/25.
SB 21 (Huffman/Zerwas) Relating to the distribution, possession, purchase, consumption, and receipt of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and tobacco products was sent to the Governor on 5/25. The bill seeks to raise the minimum legal age to access tobacco products from 18 years old to 21 years old. Language in the bill also creates an exception to prosecution for active duty personnel with presentation of a valid military identification card.
HB 3082 (Murphy/Birdwell) Relating to investigating and prosecuting the criminal offense of operating an unmanned aircraft over or near certain facilities. The bill was amended by Sen. Powell when she amended language from SB 2299. The bill was sent to the Governor on 5/29. Language was amended to also show military bases as critical infrastructure. The House concurred in Senate amendments on 5/24.
HB 3800 (Thompson/Huffman) Relating to required reporting of human trafficking cases by peace officers and prosecutors was sent to the Governor on 5/29.
HB 234 (Krause/Nelson) Relating to the local regulation of the sale of lemonade or other beverages by children was sent to the Governor on 5/29.
SB 476 (Hancock/Goldman) Relating to requirements for and municipal regulation of dogs in an outdoor dining area of a food service establishment was sent to the Governor on 5/21.
HB 2754 (White), the bill would limit the authority to arrest a person for certain misdemeanors punishable by fine only. This bill was reported in the media for the method in which it died. The bill as amended was passed out of the House on 5/8 with 126 ayes and 20 nays; however, there was a motion made to reconsider the bill so that a previously adopted amendment could be removed. The bill was brought back to the floor and the amendment was withdrawn, but this time the bill failed to pass back out with 55 ayes and 88 nays. Rep. Coleman made a motion the following day that he intended to ask the body to reconsider the vote by which HB 2754 failed to pass. Then on 5/10 the motion to reconsider was made and the vote failed to pass only after vote verification was called with 70 ayes and 37 nays (2/3 vote was required to reconsider).
