Legislative Update – March 6 to Sunday, March 12
Nearly 10,000 Bills/Resolutions Filed by Deadline
Texas House and Senate members filed a total of 9,114 bills and resolutions (see data) by the 6 p.m. Friday, March 10 deadline.
Bills filed after the deadline have to address a topic that was declared as an emergency item by the governor (or otherwise meets one of the other narrowly specified criteria).
School Choice is Among Topics of Latest Republican-Backed School Bills
Among the crush of bills filed on the last filing day was SB8 by Senate Education Committee Chair Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, and the identical companion, HB5267, by Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, in the House.
The bill — backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and all Senate Republicans, covers a wide range of topics, including a provision that would give Texas families up to $8,000 in taxpayer money, per student, to pay for private schooling through an educational savings account. (See the Texas Tribune for more info.)
TRS Retirees
Patrick also issued a press release praising SB10-Huffman to enact measures to supplement the retiree pensions via a one time check of $7,500 per retiree over age 75, in addition to a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 2 percent (for TRS members who have been retired for 2 to 9 years, and increasing to 4 percent for those retired at least 10 years.
Public Higher Ed
Three other Republican closely-watched bills — that are a part of Patrick’s legislative agenda — were filed to address public higher ed. They are:
- SB17-Creighton, to prohibit higher-ed institutions from awarding tenure to professors hired on or after Sept. 1, 2023.
- SB16-Hughes, enacting “critical race theory” prohibitions to prevent faculty members from teaching that any race, ethnicity, sex or political belief is “inherently superior to another.”
- SB18-Creighton, prohibiting higher-ed institutions from considering “diversity, equity and inclusion” when hiring new employees.
Senate Passes First Bill
The Senate unanimously approved (March 8) its first bill — SB728-Huffman — that is dubbed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The bill puts Texas in compliance with federal law by prohibiting gun sales to people who are involuntarily hospitalized for mental illness between ages 16 and 18. (More info: Texas Tribune.) The bill was awaiting assignment to a House committee.
House Speaker Phelan Endorses Six School Safety/Funding Items
House Speaker Dade Phelan announced (March 8) that he is endorsing a six-item list of five bills and one joint resolution (for a constitutional amendment election) addressing school safety and funding. (More info: Texas Tribune.) They are:
- HB3-Burrows, streamlining and clarifying the roles of the Texas School Safety Center and TEA so that school safety standards can be properly enforced. The bill would require at least one armed security officer to be on every campus and would provide $15,000 per campus of annual school safety funding.
- HB11-Dutton, seeking to improve teacher recruitment, preparation and retention by restructuring the minimum salary schedule, providing free public school prekindergarten for the children of teachers, and creating grants for teachers receiving special education or bilingual education credentials. The bill also increases the mentor program allotment for first- and second-year teachers.
- HB13-Ken King, increasing the school safety allotment to $100 per student and requiring districts to develop active shooter preparedness plans that outlines the chain of command and points of contact during active shooter events. The bill also increases funding for mental and behavioral health resources for schools.
- HB100-Ken King, converting school districts to enrollment-based funding from average daily attendance. The bill also increases special education funding and the transportation allotment.
- HB600-Bonnen, providing a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for retired educators by providing a one-time COLA based on years of retirement and a bonus for the state’s oldest retirees if authorized by voters under HJR2-Bonnen.
