State Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, offered his perspective in hindsight of the 86th legislative session during the State of the State address June 27 at the Lone Star Convention Center. "The Pulse Luncheon" event was hosted by the Conroe/Lake Conroe Chamber of Commerce
Metcalf spoke on a number of hot-ticket bills that passed and what they do, including those he co-authored or sponsored concerning property taxes, school funding, disaster relief, health care, gun control—and beer to go.
Metcalf himself championed 18 bills this session as a primary author or sponsor.
PROPERTY TAXES
Senate Bill 2 allows voters to approve increases on property taxes if the local government wishes to increase revenue by more than 3.5%.
"This is a huge transparency bill we've been trying to pass the last couple sessions, and I'm really glad we got that passed this session," Metcalf said.
EDUCATION
House Bill 3 transforms how public schools are funded.
"[This provides] $5 billion in statewide property tax relief. This is your property tax relief bill," Metcalf said. "I'm very proud of this legislation. This provides $4.5 billion for student education reform, including high-quality K-12 reading standards and the first dyslexia identification program in the state's history."
Senate Bill 11 establishes threat assessment teams for school safety to work on identifying threats before they take place.
"Parkland, Santa Fe, that really disturbed me," Metcalf said. "I said look, let's make this one of our priorities this session, school safety."
House Bill 3906 allows State of Texas Assessments of Academic Reading exams to be administered in multiple parts instead of all in one day.
Senate Bill 12 adjusts the TRS-ActiveCare health care system for school district employees who retire, offering supplemental checks beginning during fiscal years 2020-25.
DISASTER RELIEF
Senate Bill 7 was part of the big omnibus flood control package, creating two funds to be able to provide grants and loans for flood mitigation.
"This is not just an issue in Montgomery County," Metcalf said. "This is going to be beneficial for the whole state of Texas—$1.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund."
HEALTH CARE
House Bill 2867 supports Sam Houston State University building its College of Osteopathic Medicine in Conroe.
"I'm thrilled about that, this is going to be a great medical college not only for Montgomery County but also ensuring success throughout the whole state of Texas," Metcalf said.
Senate Bill 22, the Texas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, requires doctors to give care to infants who survive attempted abortions—a rare occurrence.
"This protects infants who survive attempted abortions—this was key," Metcalf said.
House Bill 8 gives support to the rape kit backlog issue.
"This ensures these get processed accordingly," Metcalf said.
House Bill 3809 extends the statute of limitations on rape and child sex abuse to 30 years.
Senate Bill 1264 addresses surprise medical bills from places that do not take a certain patient's insurance, requiring a price menu.
SECOND AMENDMENT
House Bill 1143 allows licensed gun holders to store weapons in their cars on school property.
"You can still drive on that school campus, be a teacher, do your job, and you're safe driving home," Metcalf said.
Senate Bill 535 removes churches from the list of places where guns are prohibited.
BEER, TRAFFIC, COURTS
House Bill 1545 allows breweries such as Southern Star in Conroe to sell beer to go.
House Bill 1631 bans red-light cameras.
"This is something I've been pushing for for many sessions and am glad this got taken care of," Metcalf said.
Senate Bill 891 was an omnibus bill that included first steps toward the creation of a new district court in Montgomery County.
