Proposed legislation to watch

The following bills were identified before the start of the 80th Session as key bills to watch; we will bring you updates on them as they see action, either in committee or on the floor.

Public Education

Representatives have proposed various pieces of legislation that will impact the Texas education system. After the 79th Session’s battle to fund public education, this session’s focus will be to enhance services provided by schools and to protect teachers.

HB 369 (Hardcastle) proposes expanding the minimum wage salary of public school employees based on a graduated system. It will also amend the experience-based pay raises teachers receive so they continue to increase after 20 years of experience, instead of continuing at a flat rate.

HB 379 (Allen, Alma) amends the Education Code to ban corporal punishment from being carried out at or during school; specifically, “[a] school district employee or a volunteer or independent contractor of a district may not administer corporal punishment or cause corporal punishment to be administered to a student.”

HB 397 (Cook, Byron) prohibits the use of wireless devices, like cell phones, while operating a vehicle inside a school-crossing zone. Exceptions to the law follow: one may use a wireless device if it is an emergency situation, or if vehicle is stopped, or if the person is a police officer. Use of a wireless device in a school-crossing zone will be punishable as a misdemeanor with a fine of $125 to $200.

Two bills (HB 454 & HB 482) will expand services provided by public education institutions in certain counties. HB 454 (Rodriguez) will expand the number of school districts that benefit from breakfast and lunch programs which provide free or reduced meals to students who qualify. HB 482 (Villarreal) would allow children in foster care facilities or under the Department of Family and Protective Services to attend free pre-kindergarten classes.

HB 557 (Smith, Wayne) provides a legal penalty for parents who do not attend a parent-teacher conference if they have been notified by certified mail and been offered at least three possible dates and times for the conference. If the parent does not respond, or misses a meeting with the student’s teacher without proper notice, the parent may receive a class C Misdemeanor.

Minimum Wage

HB 262 authored by Garnet Coleman will increase the minimum wage to $6.65 on Sept. 1, 2007, and to $7.65 on Sept. 1, 2008. It calls for a graduated pay increase throughout the state of Texas over a two-year cycle. HB 451(Thompson) asks for a pay increase to a lower amount of $6.15 and HB 327 (Leibowitz) asks for the pay increase over a three-year period rather then a two-year period. I am a fan of Coleman’s bill, which calls for the most dramatic increase over the shortest period of time.

Women’s Health

HB 268 will seek to include prescription contraceptives under insurance coverage for all health care plans with prescription drug benefits. Rep. Anchia proposed this legislation, which entails an amendment to the current Texas insurance codes. Rep. Farrar authored HB 301 which will allow women to seek a voluntary abortion if a severe or irreversible abnormality is detected in the fetus.

HB 420 authored by Rep. Veasey allows for the establishment of a team to review infant mortalities that occur in the state of Texas. The review team will be responsible for publishing statistics and reviewing certain infant and fetal deaths.

Criminal Acts and Punishments

Crime in Texas is always an issue worth investigating. This year’s trend in crime legislation is to take a hard-line stance on preventing crime. For instance, HB 284 expands the definition of self defense to allow for three specific actions taken or attempted to be taken by an aggressor to be defended without legal penalty. HB 304 will prohibit registered sex offenders from living in close proximity to other registered sex offenders. HB 460 will make it a felony to impersonate another without legal authorization.

HB 495 will impose a criminal penalty for anyone who assaults emergency service personnel. Rep. Castro authored HB 502, which seeks to increase the minimum penalty of a first-degree felony to imprisonment of at least 10 years. There are many more bills that pertain to creation and increase of penalties; however, this is a sampling of the more interesting ones.

Government, Voting & Ethics Reform

The trend in government and ethics reform is provide a more open and accessible government that records votes (HJR 17 Naishtat), reports consultant gifts and expenses (HB 349 Geren), and reports gifts to public officials (HB 393 Menendez). Democrats are working to make a more transparent government in Austin and a more transparent election cycle. HB 515 from Farabee will expand the telemarketing “No Call List” to include automated campaign call numbers. HB 384 by Rep. Kolkhorst addresses the problem incurred with inaccurate voting machines by requiring a voter-verified permanent paper record.

In a move to increase voter turnout and make elections more open to the public, Rep. Anchia proposed HB 265 which allows for a person eligible to vote to register to vote on the day of an election. I will be very excited to see these bills debated out on the House Floor and see if they pass.

Public Health

Rep. Farabee has proposed insurance coverage for children who suffer from certain mental disorders in HB 510. Rep. Chisum submitted HB 407, which establishes a home-delivered meal grant program under the Department of Agriculture. Rep. Dukes authored HB 533 establishing a prescription drug price registry. The registry will include vital information that medical practitioners and consumers need to be aware of, as well as allowing consumers to compare drug prices.

HB 537 by Thompson enables the creation of the Texas Institute for Regenerative Medicine under related HJR 43, as well as an oversight committee which will be funded under a Stem Cell Research Account. The Institute will be responsible for research and development of regenerative medicine, and will make independent strategic decisions for the most efficient use of research funding. The most interesting point in the legislation is Chapter 173, where it specifically outlines the use of embryonic stem cells and human stem cells for research.

Environmental Legislation

Rep. Strama has proposed HB 344, which will establish a low-emission vehicle program under the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Rep. Hernandez is trying to enact a penalty for individuals who violate emission limits of the Texas Clean Air Act (HB 440).

Rep. Pickett seeks to establish an efficiency products pilot program to encourage tenants and building owners to use energy efficient products by bundling their costs into a monthly service charge from the utility company(HB 467). The trend in environmental legislation this session is to seek out various options for air pollution control, and lower energy reliance by encouraging use of more efficient products.

Higher Education

The debate on higher education will once again revolve around admissions into state universities. HB 400, authored by Rep. Goolsby, will change the Top 10 Percent Rule to the Top 7.5 Percent Rule. HB 415 from Rep. Eissler will change the state university institution application process for students, so that instead of applying to each institution separately, they would apply to each university system and then rank the schools within the system in order of preference. Issues of higher education not yet being tackled are: re-instating grant programs, tuition deregulation, and diversity of applicants.

Miscellaneous

Rep. Naishtat in HJR 23 seeks to prohibit the Department of Criminal Justice from performing executions. HJR 12, authored by Solomons, will give the Texas Legislature the power to deny the public taking of private property if the property is intended to be transferred to someone for private use, which is a wide departure from the usual stance on eminent domain. HJR 10, authored by Rep. Chavez, will allow Indian tribes to conduct gambling or gaming activity on tribal land.

There were some bills that don’t quite fit into any other category and aren’t exactly what we would call weighty legislation – these are the silly ones that smack of Texana and are usually the purview of representatives from safe districts who want a story on the front page of their local daily. With health care issues, a need for clean energy and many other pressing issues in Texas, these bills seem ridiculous but are unlikely to stop showing up, session after session. These pieces of legislation vary from making the Bolo Tie the official tie of Texas, to the U.S. pulling out of the UN, and even a bid by Athens and Friona for the official title of “The Home of the Hamburger/Cheeseburger.” Other ridiculous pieces include making the Blind Salamander the official state amphibian and regulating the barking of a dog to determine if it is a nuisance.