With the deadline for filing bills for the ongoing state legislative session having passed March 14, lawmakers in the New Caney and Porter areas filed their final bills, which covered topics such as county and city spending, and school district elections.

The big picture

The 89th legislative session began Jan. 14, and Nov. 12 marked the first day state legislators could file new bills. As of press time March 26, almost 3,500 bills have been filed by state senators, while about 6,600 bills have been filed by state house representatives, according to the Texas Legislature’s website.

Per the website, filed bill totals for New Caney-and-Porter-area lawmakers include:
  • 71 bills authored and 23 coauthored by Rep. Cecil Bell Jr., R-Magnolia
  • 35 bills authored and 22 coauthored by Rep. Janis Holt, R-Silsbee
  • 165 bills authored and 27 coauthored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe
Breaking down the bills

One of Bell’s newest bills, House Bill 5267, would limit the annual expenditures of counties and cities to the amount they spent in the previous fiscal year, according to the filing. Should the bill pass, cities and counties could spend an amount determined by a rate that accounts for population growth rate and inflation, if the rate is larger than the previous year’s expenses.


According to the filing, HB 5267 includes exceptions for the expenditure cap, such as:
  • Voters choose to approve the additional expenditures in an election
  • The area is under a governor-declared state of disaster
One of Holt’s most recent major bills, House Bill 4241, would change the process for filling a vacated board of trustee position for a public school district, according to the filing. Instead of temporarily filling the position with a board-appointed replacement, school districts would have to keep the position vacant until the next election or order a special election.

Other recently filed bills authored by Bell or Holt hit on topics such as:Bills to watch

In the Senate, one of Creighton’s latest bills—Senate Bill 2624—would give cities and counties the power to prohibit nonprofits and government providers from offering services for people experiencing homelessness within 1.5 miles of a school, playground or higher education institution, according to the filing. A related bill, Senate Bill 2623, would create a task force responsible for enforcing the restrictions.

According to the filing, examples of a school, playground or higher education institution, under SB 2624, include:
  • Private or public day care centers and elementary and secondary schools
  • Public outdoor playgrounds not connected to schools
  • Public or private junior and senior colleges, technical institutes or medical/dental units
Other bills from Creighton relate to:Stay tuned


The session is scheduled to end June 2, barring no special sessions are called.