Since pre-filing started Nov. 14, nearly 300 bills in the senate and more than 500 bills in the house of representatives have been filed.
Here’s a list of bills Austin-area legislators have filed that may affect you:
State Rep. Paul Workman, R-Austin
- HB 328: Has to do with so-called sanctuary cities, or cities that have local policies which protect undocumented immigrants. The bill says local government entities are required to cooperate with or help federal immigration officers. The bill also says local government entities can’t pass a law that prohibits the enforcement of immigration laws, and if they do, they’ll be denied state funds.
- HCR 37: Calls on Congress to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.
State Rep. Tony Dale, R-Cedar Park
- HB 218: Expands criminal liability for teacher-student relationships to include educators who target students in other schools or other school districts. It also expands culpability to include principals, superintendents and directors as well as criminalizes a failure to report inappropriate relationships to the State Board for Educator Certification.
- HB 460: Along the same lines, HB 460 calls for continuing education requirements for school teachers to include instruction on teacher-student relationships.
- HB 463: Says someone who was terminated by their job ahead of their last day of work after giving notice of resignation is disqualified from receiving benefits.
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin
- HB 219: Calls for a sales tax exemption for feminine hygiene products such as tampons and sanitary napkins.
- HB 221: Calls for a sales tax exemption for child and adult diapers.
- HB 243: Calls for children to be able to be removed from the immunization registry.
- HB 261: Calls for felony charges if a suspect assaults someone who they know is an employee of or volunteer for an abortion clinic or facility.
- HB 281: Calls for a statewide electronic tracking system for evidence collected in sexual assault cases.
- HB 391: Calls for institutes of higher education to be able to decide whether to prohibit guns on campus.
- HB 392: Calls for a ban on guns from hospitals and mental health facilities.
State Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown
- SB 8: Calls for a ban on “partial-birth abortions,” abortions that occur in the late term, and a ban on donating fetal tissue. The bill was co-authored by State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-Austin, and three other senators.
- SB 11: Calls for improving accountability within the Department of Family and Protective Services and addressing the foster care capacity shortage. In filing the legislation, Schwertner also asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to consider this bill within the first 60 days of the legislative session.
- SB 176: Calls for statewide ride-hailing regulations. “Trying to regulate these ridesharing services at the city level will always be challenging because people don’t confine their mobility to just one city,” Schwertner said in his announcement of the bill filing. “Transportation is, by its very nature, a regional concern and decisions made in one city have an undeniable impact on the surrounding communities.”
State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels
- SB 174: Calls for public high school students to be required to take a course on the founding principles of the United States.
State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo
- SB 31: Calls for a ban on texting and driving unless the vehicle is stopped. A similar bill has been filed by State Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland.
- SB 35: Calls for universal pre-kindergarten for all four-year-olds, and expands half-day pre-kindergarten to qualifying at-risk three-year-olds.
- SB 48: Calls for two annual, 10-day periods in which eligible low-income students can buy or rent textbooks tax-free.
- SB 50: Gives more protection from civil or criminal liability to people who voluntarily report instances of student hazing at an educational institution.
See all the bills filed so far in the Texas Legislature here.
