District 7 Sen. Paul Bettencourt, whose district includes parts of Cypress, Tomball, Spring and Katy in Harris County, was first elected to the state Senate in 2014. His property tax reform bill, Senate Bill 2, passed the Senate but did not pass the House during the regular session this year. However, his bill SB 7—which increases penalties for inappropriate teacher-student relationships—was signed into law in May. On Tuesday, Bettencourt will return to Austin for the special session. His responses to the following questions from Community Impact Newspaper have been edited for clarity and length:

What are some areas you hope to be able to address in the special session?

Property tax reform and relief remain a top priority of mine during this special legislative session. Texas home and business owners cannot continue to face tax bills that rise faster than their income. In Harris County, average county tax bills have increased by 36 percent over three years. As appraised values go up, tax rates should come down. The Texas Senate passed my bill, SB 2, the Texas Property Tax Reform and Relief Act of 2017 during the regular session; however, it did not pass the House. I will refile similar legislation during the special session.

What emerged as the most divisive or unifying issues in the regular session?

One issue that stands out as a unifying issue during the regular session was the passage of HB 810, [sponsored] by Tan Parker, my [Republican] Caucus Chair counterpart in the House, which I sponsored in the Senate. HB 810 allows patients with terminal illnesses or severe chronic diseases to access adult stem cell treatments that often are their last hope of significantly improving their physical well-being or even saving their own lives. Rep. Springer made an impassioned speech right before a procedural deadline in the House which would have seen the bill die, and the House came together and passed the bill unanimously. This builds upon the work we did last session with the Andrea Sloan ‘Right to Try’ legislation, which I sponsored, to authorize terminally ill patients faster access to safe but experimental drugs to save or prolong their lives. Legislation such as this gives new hope to patients for a future good quality of life. HB 810 passed unanimously in the Senate, with Lt. Gov. [Dan] Patrick turning over the gavel to Reps. Springer and Parker after my speech.

Which of the priorities that the governor has expressed align the most closely with your own?

I agree with Gov. Abbott that property tax reform and relief must be addressed during this special session. Taxpayers know the truth—property tax bills are rising two-and-one-third times faster than personal income. As appraised values go up, tax rates need to come down. I look forward to passing SB 2 as filed, including the rate rollback provisions, to bring about needed property tax reform and relief for all Texas taxpayers during the special session.

Are there any areas you were hoping to be able to revisit that you anticipate will not come up during the special session? 

I filed SB 1886 to create an Office of Inspector General within the Texas Education Agency to help root out waste, fraud and abuse. TEA is the largest state agency that doesn’t have an OIG, and also accounts for nearly 28 percent of the Texas budget. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath testified during a Senate Education Committee hearing on SB 1886 about district procurement officials in one school district that was murdered execution style, as well as pay-to-play schemes and violence used to steer contracts to favored vendors. Texans have a right to know that the agency responsible for nearly 28 percent of the total budget is spending their tax dollars efficiently and correctly. The House Education Committee deadlocked on this issue during the regular session.

Are there any areas of special concern that your constituents have made known to you since May?

Our office receives calls daily on a wide range of issues, all of which we take seriously and do further research on. In a special session however, the governor sets the items that are on the agenda, and he has laid out a strong, conservative agenda with 20 items, and I will work with him to enact these conservative solutions to Texas' challenges. Texans expect us to show up to work and vote on all 20 items. I am additionally concerned about the preservation of Battleship Texas and believe that we need a long-term solution for the battleship.

Do you think that longer or more frequent legislative sessions might ultimately be needed in Texas?

You can just look at New York and Illinois as an example to see why the Texas model of a citizen legislature is the best model. Full-time legislatures mean full-time special interest lobbying, and that is not good for taxpayers.