State lawmakers convene Jan. 10 in Austin for a biennial marathon during which only a two-year budget is certain to pass. Any other bill approved during the five-month legislative session is a bonus, but four issues tend to garner the most attention from both elected officials and Texas residents.
Here is a summary of the top bills filed so far that would address education, health care, transportation and the economy.
Education
Sherri Greenberg, fellow of the Max Sherman Chair in State and Local Government at The University of Texas[/caption]
Sherri Greenberg, fellow of the Max Sherman Chair in State and Local Government at The University of Texas, said a large number of rural state representatives affects the overall House sentiment on school choice. Many legislative districts do not have alternatives to public school, so vouchers are unpopular, she said.
“If there isn’t an alternative, [House members] don’t want money being taken away from their public schools,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg said school finance has also received much attention since last legislative session. Since 2015, the Texas Supreme Court judged the funding formula to be constitutional but “with immense room for improvement.”
Lawmakers have taken notice and have filed a slew of bills as a result. Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, filed a
resolution to amend the constitution to ensure Texas pays half of the cost of maintaining public schools. The state currently pays roughly 42 percent of this cost, Howard said.
Greenberg said she does not expect much progress to be made in the area of school finance reform, although she does expect it to be a prominent debate topic.
Health care
With premiums on the rise, health coverage will likely be a topic of debate in the January; however, there seems to be little consensus on the direction this issue will take.
Two Republicans filed resolutions to call upon Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act; two Democrats filed bills to expand Medicaid under the ACA.
Several other legislators followed the latters’ suit and filed bills to expand coverage in areas of diabetes equipment, breast cancer screening, and other treatment options.
Transportation
As a topic that garnered much attention and interest in the 84th legislative session, transportation is noticeably absent from the 1,000 pieces of proposed legislation filed so far. Just three filed bills address transportation funding and the Texas Department of Transportation.
“Transportation was the beneficiary of sizeable sums of funding last session, so I think it will be an issue, but I wouldn’t look for it to be receiving sizable funds,” Greenberg said.
Economy
At the end of the last session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick charged a special Senate committee to develop a solution to rising property taxes. Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the committee’s chair, said property taxes have increased by 12 percent every year over the past three years.
To tackle the issue, Bettencourt, R-Houston, drafted
SB 2, which would lower the property tax rollback rate from 8 percent to 4 percent.
Another legislator filed a bill to diminish the reach of the state’s second largest revenue generating tax. The bill would gradually eliminate the franchise tax, which is levied to Texas businesses. In 2013, lawmakers enacted a temporary reduction.
Sherri Greenberg, fellow of the Max Sherman Chair in State and Local Government at The University of Texas[/caption]
Sherri Greenberg, fellow of the Max Sherman Chair in State and Local Government at The University of Texas, said a large number of rural state representatives affects the overall House sentiment on school choice. Many legislative districts do not have alternatives to public school, so vouchers are unpopular, she said.
“If there isn’t an alternative, [House members] don’t want money being taken away from their public schools,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg said school finance has also received much attention since last legislative session. Since 2015, the Texas Supreme Court judged the funding formula to be constitutional but “with immense room for improvement.”
Lawmakers have taken notice and have filed a slew of bills as a result. Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, filed a resolution to amend the constitution to ensure Texas pays half of the cost of maintaining public schools. The state currently pays roughly 42 percent of this cost, Howard said.
Greenberg said she does not expect much progress to be made in the area of school finance reform, although she does expect it to be a prominent debate topic.
