There are 34 days left in the 86th legislative session, and to date, the Senators have authored 2549 bills while the House members have authored 4752 bills. If the House does not meet on Saturday or Sunday that means there are only 10 more calendar days that can be considered before the May 7, 2019, 10 p.m. deadline. The work is scheduled now in all committees, and they are meeting nightly and debating daily in the Chambers.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appointed the following Senators to the HB1 Conference Committee: Senators Jane Nelson, Chair of Flower Mound; Larry Taylor of Friendswood; Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham; Robert Nichols of Jacksonville; and Joan Huffman of Houston. For the first time since 1986, there are no Democrats on the conference committee for the biennial budget.
They will join their House counterparts: John Zerwas of Richmond, Chair; Greg Bonnen of Friendswood; Sarah Davis of West University Place; Oscar Longoria of Mission; and Armando Walle of Houston to hammer out the differences in the budget.
On April 15, 2019, the Senate finally passed SB2, the tax reform bill, after earning the support of Senator Kel Seliger by changing the original property tax rollback rate in the bill from 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent for cities and counties. School districts remained at the 2.5 percent tax rollback rate. The current rate is 8 percent. Meanwhile, Chairman of the House Public Education Committee Dan Huberty proposed an $8 billion tax “swap” by increasing the sales tax 1 cent to lower public school property taxes. Chairman Paul Bettencourt of the Senate Property Tax Committee wasn’t supportive of this strategy, as he believes most Texans desire a property tax cut not a property tax replacement only to pay a higher sales tax.
The House is expected to debate HB 2, their version of the tax reform bill on May 2.
Although the focus of the 86th Legislative Session has been on the budget (HB1), tax reform (HB2/SB2), and public school finance (HB3/SB3), there are many legislative initiatives on veterans and our active duty military and their families. Many of the bills address workforce licensing requirements, mental health access, school district policies, and protecting our current military installations across the state. Texas enjoys a vibrant economic input with billions of dollars in Department of Defense expenditures, and this is most important for Military City USA. Almost every day of the session veterans testify in different committees adding their voices to implement policy. They are a constant reminder to Legislators as they meet and debate freely that the price of freedom has been paid by generation after generation of men and women who have answered the call to duty.
