The Texas House is now in its final stretch of the session, where lawmakers begin to wrap-up official business and hash out final bill details in conference committee debates.
At midnight Wednesday morning, the Texas House reached its final deadline to consider Senate Bills on 2nd Reading. The result is any bill that did not get heard -- and was not considered on the final Local & Consent calendar later that morning -- is effectively dead. However, as the saying goes, a bill or policy idea doesn't officially die until the Texas Legislature adjourns the 87th Regular Session on Sine Die (May 31st, 2021).
Fortunately, there are still many important policy debates that will be ironed out in these final days. The Senate and House will be concurring on changes to bills passed, sending those bills to a conference committee, or adopting conference committee reports on previously passed bills. Here's a look at some of the bills on the verge of being sent to the Governor's Desk to be signed into law:
HB 4 by Four Price makes permanent telemedicine practices in Texas and seeks to expand those opportunities for remote access to care for a variety of health services.
HB 5 by Trent Ashby would develop a plan to expand high-speed internet services in rural Texas and underserved urban communities.
HB 18 by Dr. Tom Oliverson establishes a self-replenishing fund to give Texans access to rebate on prescription meds, reducing costs for as many as 3 million Texans.
HB 1900 by Craig Goldman creates a penalty for large Texas cities or counties that defund their police.
HB 1925 by Giovanni Capriglione creates a statewide ban on public camping in urban centers and non-recreational areas.
SB 2 & SB 3 sponsored by Chris Paddie provides much-needed reforms to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and creates stricter standards for power generators and producers to weatherize against extreme conditions.
SB 1365 sponsored by Dan Huberty seeks to restore accountability and oversight of independent school districts and create a more clear framework for due process and intervention practices.
HB 3712 by Ed Thompson ensures that law enforcement agencies are properly conducting pre-employment investigations and developing model hiring policies and training curriculum for peace officers.
For more policy updates for the 87th Texas Legislature, click the news article links below. To view a list of all the bills sent to the governor so far, click here.