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78Th Legislative Session Was Lawsuit Reform, Also Known As Tort Reform

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78Th Legislative Session Was Lawsuit Reform, Also Known As Tort Reform The Texas A&M University System Cumulative End of Session Report ( thru 3rd Called Special Session) Office of Governmental Relations Table of Contents Preface .................................................................................................................... 1 Session Overview ................................................................................................... 3 Appropriations ......................................................................................................... 8 Appropriations Related Legislation ....................................................................... 18 Riders: Article III .................................................................................................... 21 Riders: Article IX .................................................................................................... 30 Bill Facts .................................................................................................................. 36 Legislative Overview .............................................................................................. 37 Institution/Agency Specific Legislation ................................................................. 70 Bills of Interest That Passed .................................................................................. 75 Bills of Interest Not Passing ................................................................................... 83 1st and 2nd Called Special Sessions ...................................................................... 100 3rd Called Special Session ..................................................................................... 101 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ 104 PREFACE Each legislative session provides its own challenges and opportunities, and especially so for institutions and agencies whose base funding and public policy guidance depend on its outcomes. This session proved to be no different. The Texas A&M University System and its member institutions submitted an aggressive set of requests. In order to earn legislative support this session, the operative principles were efficiency and prioritization of core services. A&M System institutions and all of higher education had to demonstrate to elected policymakers that they were prepared to streamline and manage their operations prudently in order to earn legislative support. Although each proposed Act or Bill is important, the appropriations process demands extraordinary attention and involvement at the highest level. Beginning in the spring of the year preceding the Session, each agency and institution of higher education is required to prepare a detailed Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) setting forth its resource needs and service plans for the next biennium. Then, staff of the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) and Governor’s Office of Budget and Planning (GOBP) conduct LAR Hearings during the summer. Formal presentations of budget requests are made early in the session before the House and Senate budget committees; another opportunity for testimony before each committee is provided mid-session. Then each committee “marks up” and thereby prepares its version of the bill which is reported to the full House and Senate, respectively. After each chamber adopts its bill, a Conference Committee is appointed to reconcile differences and draft a single bill for House and Senate consideration. Finally, assuming both houses act favorably on the Conference Committee’s Report, the legislatively adopted General Appropriations Act (GAA) is sent to the governor for signature and/or veto. No other legislative activity commands so much focus and energy from the Chancellor, the CEOs, and the governmental relations staff. Because the issues are complex, the stakes are high, and time is constrained, the appropriations process is intense. Because the programs and services of A&M System institutions span the state geographically and programmatically, they are impacted by an extensive range and number of substantive legislative bills. Each one must be analyzed and tracked closely throughout the process; many require preparation and delivery of formal testimony and/or collaborative interaction with the Member(s) to effect changes due to their impact on system or institutions’ operations. And, all this must be done under strict deadlines. The distinct personality and dynamic of each session emerge from the approach taken by the leadership and Members in addressing that session’s key appropriations and legislative issues. Because appropriations and legislative issues interact and impact one another, and the interests of Members, the legislative process is highly dynamic. Through Page 1 TAMUS Office of Governmental Relations close and timely involvement, opportunities and risks arise for our institutions. Our challenge is to respond and propose timely so that Members have the information they need to address our institutions’ needs. This session the budget shortfall was the dominating issue; therefore, our chief challenge was to furnish timely information that demonstrated our institutions’ prudent and judicious use of state resources. As the following Tables will indicate, given the exigent circumstances facing the state this session, A&M System institutions on the whole fared as well as reasonably could be expected. The purpose of this report is to provide a record of the major outcomes of the Regular and first two Called Sessions of the 78th Legislature, with particular attention to their impacts on the Texas A&M System and its institutions. Page 2 TAMUS Office of Governmental Relations SESSION OVERVIEW This was the first legislative session since Reconstruction in which every statewide office and the majority of seats of both legislative houses were held by Republicans. It was also the first session in many years to open under the shadow of such a large budget challenge, an estimated $9.9 Billion shortfall. And even more significantly, this was the first session in memory in which faced with a major budget shortfall, pre-session commitments to hold the line on new taxes were matched by end of session actions. Consequently, many key issues were resolved through intense, last-minute negotiations that included the top three elected state leaders. The Legislature passed a budget which fulfilled the promises of “no new taxes” by Governor Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and Speaker Tom Craddick. The legislature also passed key bills on lawsuit reform and homeowner's insurance. The Governor also led lawmakers to set aside $295 million from the state's Rainy Day Fund as a new “Enterprise Fund” designed to lure new companies to the state and stimulate the Texas economy. Identified potential revenue sources such as including a wider range of corporate entities within the corporate franchise tax never caught wind as business interests and lawmakers failed to find common ground. A GOP attempt to redraw Congressional district lines failed in the regular session due to a quorum-busting excursion to Oklahoma by 51 Democrats of the House. However, undaunted, Governor Perry soon set this item on the agenda for the 1st Called Session, followed by the 2nd Called Session, and at this date, has just announced the 3rd Called Session to address the redistricting issue, among others. The issue of reforming the state's public school finance system is expected to be the principal subject of another Called Session later this year or early in 2004. Congressional Redistricting Perhaps the most contentious issue of the 78th Legislature was a move to redraw Congressional districts, reportedly to increase the number of Republican seats in the state's 32- member Congressional delegation. With control over every statewide office and both chambers of the Legislature, many Republican Members felt the 17-15 Democratic majority in Congress did not correspond to the state’s demonstrated voting patterns in the last several elections. Proponents said the legislature had failed to fulfill its constitutional responsibility by turning over to a panel of Federal Court judges the authority to draw the current map after lawmakers did not take up the issue during the 77th Legislative Session. Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled the Legislature may redistrict but was not required to do so. House Redistricting Committee meetings became somewhat contentious, marked by competing versions of maps, heated arguments among members, and impassioned public testimony. After considering several proposals, a committee substitute by Representative Phil King, R-Weatherford, was approved with the inclusion of an amendment authored by Representative Vilma Luna, D-Corpus Christi. Luna was in turn the only Democrat to vote favorably on the bill that was passed out by the committee. Page 3 TAMUS Office of Governmental Relations Redistricting committee member Representative Richard Raymond, D-Laredo, proclaimed the entire process a violation of the Voting Rights Act and threatened a lawsuit. Nonetheless, since the map was expected to pass the newly Republican House, Democrats turned to House parliamentary rules for recourse. The Sunday before the Monday that the bill Congressional Redistricting bill was scheduled for debate in the House, 51 Democratic House members retired to Ardmore, Oklahoma, thereby breaking the 2/3’s present requirement for a quorum. The Democrats remained absent and out of state until the deadline to
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