Legislative Line – Aug. 6, 2017 – Special Session

Friday, Aug. 4, marked a third week completed in the 30-day special legislative session that began on July 18. Gov. Abbott has asked the Legislature to pass 20 pieces of legislation. A recap of last week, the week of July 31, is below.

SENATE:

The Senate was in session very briefly on Monday, Thursday and Friday last week. On Monday, Sen. Kirk Watson convened the Senate in a mostly empty chamber for less than one minute to receive a motion in writing from Sen. John Whitmire for the Senate to recess until 3 p.m. Thursday. On Thursday, the Senate was in session for eight minutes. They conducted routine business but did not take up any legislation. On Friday, the Senate convened again briefly and recessed until Monday, Aug. 7.

HOUSE:

The House was in session Monday through Friday last week. On Monday, the House gave preliminary approval to numerous bills related to maternal mortality. On Tuesday, the House passed bills with subject matter related to retired teachers.

Wednesday was dedicated to property tax policies, and the House approved a number of bills related to reforming the current property tax system including HB 32 by Dennis Bonnen, which would reform property tax appraisals, appeals, notices and rate reporting.

On Thursday, the House Calendar consisted of measures that are not currently on the Governor’s Call, including: HB 26 by Rep. Lyle Larson, which would change the groundwater permitting process; HB 27 by Larson, which would establish a brackish groundwater operating permit process; and HB 275 by Rep. Trent Ashby, which would extend the terms of groundwater exporting permits.

And finally, Friday was public school finance day in the House. where a number of measures were passed to reform the archaic funding methodology currently in place.

COMMITTEE HEARINGS

Wednesday:

House State Affairs Committee took up:
SB 20 by Rep. Van Taylor – The so-called Sunset safety net bill extends the sunset dates for the Texas Medical Board, Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, and the Texas State Board of Social Workers.

House Agriculture and Livestock Committee took up:

• HB 92 by Rep. Eddie Rodriguez – Revises the definition of qualified open-space land to require a chief appraiser to distinguish between the degree of intensity required for various agricultural production methods, including organic, sustainable, pastured poultry, rotational grazing, and other uncommon production methods; and would revise the definition of agricultural use to include the production of fruits and vegetables. Left pending.
• HB 103 by Rep. Phil Stephenson – Establishes the Pesticide Disposal Fund administered by Texas Department of Agriculture composed of pesticide registration fees to administer pesticide waste and container collection activities. It was voted out favorably. This measure was vetoed by the governor during the Regular session. It is not on the Call.
• HB 162 by Rep. Drew Springer – Requires the condemning entity in an eminent domain proceeding pay the change in use penalty if the taking of the property results in a change in use from open-spaced land. Left pending.
• HB 249 by Rep. Larry Phillips – Changes the penalty for a change of use of open-space land from five years to three years imposed at market value plus an annual interest rate of 5 percent instead of 7 percent. Left pending.

House Land and Resource Management Committee took up:
HB 6 By Rep. Dan Huberty – An annexation reform bill that prescribes procedures to be followed by a municipality before annexing property based on the size of the municipality. Left pending. Note: the companion, SB 6, has passed the Senate. A committee substitute was laid out that, among other things, included provisions to correct Section 4 of the bill as it relates to Industrial District Agreements.

House State Affairs Committee took up:
SB 11 by Sen. Charles Perry – Limits the circumstances under which a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order is valid. Left pending. Note: the companion, HB 12, was also heard in the House State Affairs Committee and left pending.

Thursday

House Transportation Committee took up:
HB 327 by Rep. Sarah Davis – Requires local entities to place warning signs in areas where the use of a wireless communication device is prohibited. Left pending.

Friday

House Land and Resource Management Committee took up:
SB 6 by Sen. Donna Campbell – An annexation reform bill that prescribes procedures to be followed by a municipality before annexing property based on the size of the municipality. Voted out favorably as substituted with the language from the committee substitute for HB 6.

THIS WEEK (WEEK OF AUG. 7):

The Senate Business and Commerce Committee will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to take up HB 7 by Rep. Dade Phelan, which would require a municipality that imposes a fee for tree removal to allow the person to apply for a credit for tree planting to offset the amount of the fee.