During a June 10 presentation to Georgetown City Council, Clark discussed which bills will affect the city, what officials might see in the next legislative session and how informed Georgetown residents felt about what lawmakers were doing at the Capitol.
Something of note
According to a June 23 news release from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, he will call a special session—or a session no longer than 30 days after the regular legislative session ends but before the start of the next regular session—July 21. Abbott signed 1,155 bills into law as of June 23.
“This session has seen monumental success, but there is more we can do,” Abbott said in the release.
Abbott has identified six initial bills that will be discussed at the special session, one of which includes Senate Bill 3, per the release. SB 3 would close a “loophole” state lawmakers inadvertently created in 2019 when they legalized hemp sales in an attempt to boost the agricultural industry, Community Impact previously reported.
How we got here
Over a year ago, a legislative agenda was put together by a group of Georgetown residents appointed by council members, Clark said. Georgetown’s agenda is centered on three pillars: preserving local control, planning for growth and preserving a high quality of life.
This session, Clark said the city submitted written comments for over 25 bills, while both elected officials and staff testified at the state Capitol. Additionally, Clark said she offered bill amendments to lawmakers, paid weekly visits to Georgetown’s entire delegation and more to advocate for Georgetown’s priorities.
“I really think there's a lot of good news from this session,” Clark said. “In February and March, it felt like there was countless amounts of really detrimental legislation that would have hugely impacted the city and other cities in Texas. I think we got really lucky this session.”
The impact
Clark highlighted a number of bills that elected officials believe could positively impact Georgetown residents.
SB 616—an aquifer storage and recovery bill sponsored by Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, and Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, R-Round Rock—was signed by Abbott and is already in effect, Clark said.
SB 616 allows the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, by rule or permit, to authorize injecting, or storing, water in a portion of the Edwards Aquifer east of I-35 in Williamson County, according to the Texas Legislature Online.
House Bill 517, authored by Davila, prevents a property owners association from fining someone for having brown grass during a declared drought or watering restriction. HB 517 goes into effect Sept. 1, Clark said.
All seven of Abbott’s top priorities passed, which he said would make Texas “stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever,” Community Impact previously reported. These include:
- An $8.5 billion school funding package
- A $1 billion education savings account program
- Three bills aimed at tightening restrictions on bail
- A San Antonio-based cybersecurity center
While several bills Georgetown officials were watching passed, a handful also got stalled or killed in different chambers, Clark said.
HB 3241 became HB 2974, a bill that would have authorized certain municipalities to receive tax revenue from a hotel and convention center project, and to pledge tax revenue for the payment of obligations related to the project. HB 2974 died when the Senate and House couldn’t agree on a specific amendment, Clark said.
“We’ll have to go back and try and pass that next session,” Clark said.
City leaders also worked hard to pass SB 1586, a bill that tried to ensure the TCEQ had better “guardrails” in place around how they permit package plants, Clark said. SB 1586 passed in the Senate but got stalled out in the House.
“We’ll definitely be asking for an interim hearing request on that and working on the bill more,” Clark said.
None of the three priority bills outlined by Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, passed this session. Clark said she imagines officials will see all three bills again this interim.
- HB 23: would authorize a third-party review of plats and property development plans, permits and other documents
- SB 2858: would extend state preemption over penal, health, safety and elections code
- SB 3016: would extend state preemption over municipal and county regulation on land use, land use, structures, businesses, municipal boundaries and annexation
City officials advocated for maintaining the ability to plan for future growth in Georgetown by speaking on several affordable housing bills this session, Clark said.
SB 15 is aimed at making housing more affordable by allowing property owners in new neighborhoods to construct single-family homes on lots as small as 3,000 square feet without approval from local officials, Community Impact previously reported.
As SB 15 only applies to cities with at least 150,000 residents in counties with populations of at least 300,000, Clark said the bill’s approval will not affect Georgetown.
“I 100% credit this win to ... the mayor being very vocal about it, but also, the people of Georgetown really making their voices known,” Clark said.
Additionally, HB 1522 requires government meeting agendas to be posted three business days before the day of the meeting, Clark said. This is an amendment to previous state law which required postings to be 72 hours before the meeting’s start time, according to Texas Legislature Online.
Public input
In a survey conducted by the city in early June, 51% of respondents agreed Georgetown provided the right amount of legislative updates this year, with residents marking the main source of information coming from the city’s email newsletter, per Clark’s presentation.
While 60% of respondents said they did not directly engage with a state legislator or their office, 19% said they contacted legislators more than once. A small portion of engaged residents reached out to member offices weekly, Clark said.
“Those people, I think, are largely responsible for the impact that we saw this session, really kind of protecting Georgetown, but also making Georgetown a force to be reckoned with,” Clark said.
One more thing
Read more about major legislation lawmakers passed in the 89th legislative session related to Community Impact’s core coverage areas here.
