The overview
Local state reps Cecil Bell Jr., Tom Oliverson and Valoree Swanson have filed 50 bills regarding topics such as elections, property taxes and vaccine exemptions.
Meanwhile, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt filed seven bills also regarding elections, and State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst filed 19 bills related to issues such as health care and education.
A closer look
Bell Jr. filed 22 bills through Dec. 2, including:
- House Bill 442: This bill would reduce the limit a home’s appraised value can be increased year over year from 10% to 5% of the previous year’s value.
- House Bill 668: This bill would change the date a handgun license needs to be renewed from the date the license expires to on or before the first anniversary of the date the license expires.
- House Bill 1258: If passed, this bill would require school district boards or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to adopt a policy prohibiting students from possessing a cell phone while on school property during the school day.
- House Bill 1132: This bill would prevent health care facilities licensed by the Health and Human Services Commission from refusing a physician’s alternate license to practice medicine in place of board certification when it comes to employment or practice and admitting privileges.
- House Bill 1134: If passed, this bill would prevent the Department of State Health Services from keeping a record of how many vaccine exemption affidavit forms are sent out each by ZIP code.
- House Bill 1140: This bill seeks to prevent registered sex offenders from living within two miles of public primary or secondary schools.
- Senate Bill 462: If passed, this bill would have local workforce development boards that keep a waiting list for childcare services prioritize the children of childcare workers who are eligible for those services.
- Senate Bill 514: If passed, this bill would require the Texas Education Agency to prepare a report that provides an overview of public education statewide and at school district levels that would include specific data on individual school districts.
- Senate Bill 521: This bill seeks to have higher education institutions also consider an applicant’s performance on a standardized test when it comes to admission decisions.
- Senate Bill 505: This bill seeks to allow candidates, judges or heads of specific-purpose political committees to file complaints and request information for any concerns regarding election results.
- Senate Bill 507: If passed, this bill would limit the number of ballots provided to an elections administrator’s office to the number of registered voters within the jurisdiction of the election.
- Senate Bill 511: This bill would prohibit state and local government employees from distributing voter registration forms unless specifically requested by a potential voter.
Legislators will begin the process of moving through bills filed across the state starting Jan. 14. State senators and representatives can file additional bills until March 14, at which point any new bills must be approved before being submitted to the Legislature. To search through the bills that have been filed, visit https://capitol.texas.gov/search/billsearch.aspx.
