Bill Analysis

BILL NAME SESSION ANALYSIS
HB 1118 87(R) - 2021 HB 1118 would require that employees and certain elected officials of counties, municipalities, special districts, school districts, junior colleges, and other political subdivisions submit a certification of compliance with cybersecurity training requirements in grant applications. Local governments would be required to repay grant money for failure to comply with the cybersecurity training requirement and would remain ineligible to reapply...Read More
SB 739 87(R) - 2021 SB 739 would require the governor to designate a presiding officer of the board of certain river authorities to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor. This would apply to any river authority for which the governor appoints at least one of the members of the board. Read More
SB 1122 87(R) - 2021 SB 1122 would allow an officer or employee of a qualified cooperative entity engaged in official business of the qualified cooperative entity to participate in the comptroller's contracts for travel services. The cooperative entities include a local government, community center for mental health services, an assistance organization, and a political subdivision. The comptroller would have to adopt rules and make or amend contracts as necessary. Read More
SB 737 87(R) - 2021 SB 737 would prevent certain localities from prohibiting first responders that are licensed to carry a handgun and certified by the state from carrying a handgun while on duty or storing it in their vehicle. This policy would apply to cities with 30,000 or less people and counties with 250,000 or less people who have not adopted the state collective bargaining law for police and firefighters. The Department of Public Safety would be...Read More
SB 2175 87(R) - 2021 SB 2175 would establish and clarify the boundaries of the Port of Orange so that the United States Corps of Engineers may be able to attribute tonnage of waterborne cargo originating or departing within these boundaries to the Port of Orange. Proper assignment of tonnage would ensure the Port of Orange received any qualifying federal funds.Read More
SB 1900 87(R) - 2021 SB 1900 would allow the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending commissioner to examine and regulate the activities of a state savings bank's affiliates and the activities or services a third-party service provider that a state savings bank or state savings bank affiliate has contracted for.  The bill would allow the commissioner to collect a fee from an examined third-party service provider or...Read More
SB 1055 87(R) - 2021 SB 1055 would make it a Class A misdemeanor criminal offense to, with criminal negligence, operate a motor vehicle in the area of a crosswalk and cause bodily injury to a pedestrian or person operating a bicycle or other type of vehicle. The offense would be a state jail felony if the victim suffers serious bodily injury. It would be an affirmative defense to prosecution if the victim was violating a law relating to movement on a crosswalk.Read More
SB 207 87(R) - 2021 In a civil action where medical or health care expenses are actually paid by the claimant or certain plans and public health providers, SB 207 would allow a party to introduce into evidence only the amounts actually paid to the medical or health care provider for services that led to the injury or death which is the subject of this action. In any other kind of civil action, a party would be allowed to introduce evidence that has...Read More
SB 232 87(R) - 2021 SB 232 would create timing requirements for the service of an expert report by a claimant in a health care liability claim. Claimants would be permitted to file a motion for a court to make a preliminary determination as to whether or not they are required to serve the expert reports. If the court does not make this determination within 90 days of the motion being filed, it would have to automatically determine that the claim is a health...Read More
SB 1118 87(R) - 2021 SB 1118 would require the State Soil and Water Conservation Board to develop and administer a program to maximize public benefits by facilitating priority conservation measures and other soil and water conservation land improvement measures of landowners and operators. Priority conservation measures include improving soil health characteristics, conserving and managing water resources, preventing and managing flooding, controlling invasive...Read More
HB 2262 87(R) - 2021 HB 2262 would allow the TxDOT to develop and implement a system of registration to allow the owner of a government owned vehicle, public school bus, firefighting vehicle, county marine law enforcement, and U.S. Coast Guard auxiliary vehicle to register vehicles in the fleet for an extended registration period of one to eight years. Such a system would allow the owner of the fleet to select the number of years for registration and register...Read More
HB 460 87(R) - 2021 HB 460 would prohibit inmates convicted of offenses requiring them to register as a sex offender from soliciting pen pals on an Internet website.Read More
HB 1394 87(R) - 2021 HB 1394 would require a court to automatically issue an order of nondisclosure of criminal record information for a qualifying person convicted of most misdemeanors seven years after the completion of their sentence or their discharge from community supervision. The only misdemeanors excluded would be fine-only traffic offenses and certain alcohol offenses.Read More
SB 152 87(R) - 2021 SB 152 would try to address transparency and regulations in regards to groundwater conservation districts (GCD) in Texas. The bill would create judicial discretion in the awarding of attorney's fees in court cases involving a GCD. It also would allow a process to petition for rule-making changes and outlines the executive administrator's response to a petition challenging the reasonableness of a desired future condition by declaring a...Read More
HB 2057 87(R) - 2021 HB 2057 would change the date each commissioners court shall determine whether the county election precincts comply with existing law from March or April of an odd-numbered year to an even-numbered year.  The bill would also change the date of a county election precinct boundary takes effect, from the first day of an even-numbered year year following the year in which the change is ordered, to the first...Read More
HB 3907 87(R) - 2021 HB 3907 would create a new tax credit for a taxable entity if they own interest in certain qualified developments and would allow for carry-forward or backward and recapture of this tax credit. Read More
HB 326 87(R) - 2021 HB 326 requires each home and community support services agency, health care provider, hospital, nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, freestanding emergency medical care facility, and mental hospital to establish a workplace violence prevention committee or authorize an existing facility committee to develop and implement workplace violence and prevention plan. The committee must include at least on registered nurse (RN) and...Read More
SB 861 87(R) - 2021 SB 861 would allow a governmental body to hold open meetings via telephone or video conference without the existing emergency requirement necessary to trigger a remote open meeting. The governmental body in question would still be required to provide notice of any remote open meetings allowed by this bill.Read More
HB 1593 87(R) - 2021 HB 1593 would permit a nursing facility to file an action against a resident’s responsible payor for an amount owed if the payor misappropriates the resident’s financial resources during the course of their stay to the extent that they can no longer afford care. A nursing facility would not be permitted to recover more than the total amount the payor has misappropriated in such an action. The prevailing party in the action would be entitled...Read More
SB 18 87(R) - 2021 SB 18 would amend current law to limit the authority of the governor and certain political subdivisions to prohibit or restrict the business or operations of a firearms or ammunition manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, supplier, or retailer or a sport shooting range, in connection with a disaster and would prevent the suspension or limitation of the sale of explosives or combustibles used as components of firearm ammunition. Read More