Ask a freshman legislator in the Texas Capitol how the first several weeks of the session are going, and their answer is usually a variation of this:
"I just feel like I'm drinking from a fire hydrant," said newly elected Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels. "I've got my work cut out for me."
By that, she said, she means learning the issues, navigating the marble halls of the "Pink Dome," meeting hundreds of new people every day and doing it all under the watchful eye of the media inside a frenetic 140-day legislative session that can make or break even the most seasoned lawmaker.
These are the trials of the newly elected, and it is not lost on this unusually large crop of new state legislators that voters replaced more incumbents with fresh blood during the past election cycle in Texas than at any other time in memory.
"If there was a mandate from the voters, it is that the status quo is no longer acceptable," said Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake.
Filed bills
State Rep. Steve Toth, a Montgomery County Republican, co-sponsored HB 760, which would ensure that e-learning curriculum used in public schools falls under the oversight and approval of the State Board of Education. Republican Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. of Montgomery County filed a bill allowing volunteers to help firefighters—a direct response to the 2011 wildfires; Bell also has a school finance idea he says would offer more paths to higher education.
Campbell is teaming up with two other medical professionals in the Senate—Greenville Sen. Bob Deuell and Sen. Charles Schwertner, a former House member from Georgetown serving his first term in the Senate—to require that all abortions be performed at an ambulatory surgery center, of which there are only a handful in the state.
That measure has already drawn the ire of abortion-rights advocates who say it is an unnecessary regulation that will shut down access to the legal procedure.
Capriglione said he is prepared to take on immigrant-rights advocates who could object to legislation he has filed, a bill proposing a voluntary Made in Texas certification for businesses that use the E-Verify system to ensure their workers are in the country legally.
Meanwhile, Rep. Bennett Ratliff has a bill giving counties and cities more power in regulating signage for sexually oriented businesses, as well as legislation requiring state contractors to use E-Verify.
Gun rights focus
Much of the freshmen delegation campaigned during a season in which gun rights were a big part of the discussion, particularly in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn.
Several legislators have jumped into the discussion with legislation that seeks to protect or expand residents' rights to carry weapons. Many are involved in bills or constitutional amendments that offer a preemptive strike against any plans the White House might have to limit access to guns.
"I believe this administration has now realized they have woken up a giant," said Toth, who filed the Firearm Protection Act that would, among other things, withhold funding from local governments in Texas if they enforce any federal gun bans. "All over the United States, Americans are crying out for something to be done to protect their Second Amendment rights. The American people understand this is not just about gun rights, but about all constitutional rights. They understand once you compromise one Constitutional right, all others can be in jeopardy."
Williams focused on unemployment, school security, budget
By Matt Stephens
As the 83rd Texas Legislative Session continues, local legislators are writing and contributing to several pieces of legislation, with Senator Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, having authored or co-authored 32 bills this session as of mid-February.
Among them are SB 21, which requires drug screening and possible testing for Texans seeking unemployment benefits. The bill would amend the Texas Unemployment Act by drug testing applicants applying for jobs requiring pre-employment drug screening, Williams said in a press release.
"Critics who claim that withholding unemployment benefits could harm children fail to see the big picture," Williams said. "Illegal substance abuse has as much, or more, effect on those families. SB 21 provides an exemption for unemployed Texans who are on a path to self-sufficiency and enrolled in a treatment program."
In February, Williams also filed SB 509, the Texas School District Security Act, which would give local school boards, parents and taxpayers choices regarding school campus security. Williams said the legislation would allow communities to consider options through public hearings and design a plan to present to local voters to determine whether a tax increase would be worth the security plan.
"Some communities may want to hire trained and licensed peace officers; others may choose to invest in modern technology to better secure their school campuses; some may want to try a combination; and others may decide they want none of the above," he said.
Williams said hearings on the bills would begin soon, while the Senate Finance Committee, of which he is chair, finished hearings with state agencies and subcommittees regarding budget details in February. He said the senate remained on target to pass the budget by Easter.
The Woodlands' senator also authored SB 14, which would require more fiscal transparency and accountability of certain entities responsible for public money.