LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: MARCH 13, 2015 DRC ACTIVITIES Jay Barksdale was in Austin this week and hosted the Dallas Delegation breakfast meeting on behalf of the DRC. The delegation, under the leadership of delegation co-chairs Rep. Kenneth Sheets and Rep. Helen Giddings, was briefed on North Texas transportation projects by TxDOT’s Dallas District Engineer, Mr. Kelly Selman. Lanet Greenhaw, the DRC’s Managing Director of Education, represented our Education Team and testified in favor of quality Pre-Kindergarten program bills. DRC members Ken Malcolmson and Mark Melton also testified in favor of quality Pre-Kindergarten programs on behalf of the DRC. As described in detail below, the deadline for the House and Senate to file bills is today at 6:00 PM. Our Public Policy Team has been working hard to ensure that all bills in correlation with our Legislative Agenda are tracked. GOVERNOR Governor’s Economic Development Plan After receiving Site Selection magazine’s Governor’s Cup last week, Governor Greg Abbott took the opportunity this week to announce his economic development proposals. He said, “Texas is once again the top state for job-creating capital investment projects. We have built a framework that allows free enterprise to flourish, including less government, low taxes, reasonable regulations and the right-to-work laws that attract job creators and keep job growth here in the state of Texas. As governor, I intend to do more to build an even stronger business environment, to attract even more businesses and encourage even more Texas entrepreneurs to invest their capital in themselves by opening a business or growing a business” Abbott’s plan includes: • Reducing taxes for employers and property owners; • Reducing the regulatory burden that drives up the cost of doing business, especially for small businesses, women-owned businesses and veteran-owned businesses; • Speeding up the permitting process to help businesses get their projects done faster; • Investing in the roads needed to keep commerce moving without raising fees, tolls, taxes or debt; and • Ensuring our students are equipped with both the technical skills and critical-thinking skills employers demand for the jobs growing here in Texas. 1 Governor Abbott concluded, “With clear economic development policies focused on creating jobs and expanding opportunity, we will take Texas to the next level for business recruitment. Texas is the top state for capital investments, for job creation, for exports, for energy production and more. The Texas model is proof that limited government encourages unlimited opportunity for all. When it comes to doing business, there really is no place like Texas. And we intend to make it even better.” STATEWIDE Bill Filing Deadline The deadline for legislators to file bills to be considered by the Texas Senate and House this session is 6:00 p.m. on Friday, March 13, 2015. Beginning next week, it will take a rules suspension to get permission to introduce a bill. The filing deadline does not apply to local bills, concurrent resolutions or simple resolutions. Monday through Thursday this week 581 Senate bills and 11 SJRs (proposed constitutional amendments) were filed and 1101 House bills and 29 HJRs were filed - for a total of 1,682 bills and 40 proposed constitutional amendments. SENATE This week, the Senate was in session on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday conducting routine business. Total number of bills reported out of Senate Committees this week: ...... 16 Total number of bills passed by the Senate this week: ........................... 0 Next Week: The Senate adjourned until Monday, March 16, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. Monday’s Senate Intent Calendar has 14 bills including SB 17 by Senator Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) allowing concealed handgun licensees to openly carry a holstered gun. Other bills on the Senate Intent Calendar for Monday are included in the issue categories below. HOUSE This week, the House was in session Monday through Thursday conducting routine business. The House mourned the loss of Sandra Lee Anderson, wife of Representative Charles “Doc” Anderson (R- Waco), who passed away on Saturday March 7, 2015. On Thursday, prior to adjourning the House for the weekend, Speaker Joe Straus announced that the House would debate its first bill on Monday (the first time the House will be in session after the constitutional moratorium on passing legislation unless it is designated an emergency by the governor) and stay very busy through the end of the session. He said, “Members, enjoy your last long 2 weekend.” Then added, “And don’t sweat the filing deadline too much, we have already filed a record number of bills. Total number of bills reported out of House Committees this week: ........ 6 Total number of bills passed by the House this week: ............................ 0 Next Week: The House adjourned until 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 16, 2015. They have their first calendar on Monday. It has one bill – HB 10 by Senfronia Thompson, which would amend several criminal and civil statutes involving human trafficking, compelling prostitution, and other offenses. And, it would require the governor’s office to establish the Child Sex Trafficking Prevention Unit within the Governor’s criminal justice division. BUDGET Senate Finance Committee Workgroups: Workgroup on Articles I (General Government), IV (Judiciary), and V (Public Safety and Criminal Justice) met on Friday of this week. Workgroup Article II (Health and Human Services) met on Friday this week. House Appropriations Committee The full House Appropriations Committee met on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. They posted a meeting for Friday, but it was cancelled. House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittees: Subcommittee on Articles I (General Government), IV (Judiciary), and V (Public Safety and Criminal Justice) met on Monday this week. Subcommittee on Article II (Health and Human Services) met on Monday and Tuesday this week. Subcommittee on Article III (Education) met on Monday and Tuesday this week. Subcommittee on Articles VI (Natural Resources), VII (Business and Economic Development), and VIII (Regulatory) met on Monday this week. Local Budget Transparency Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) announced that he has filed two bills to ensure local government transparency. SB 1041 would amend the Texas Election Code to require local bond election ballots – including those effecting cities, counties, school districts, and special taxing districts –to include the following information: 3 • The amount of debt currently outstanding, • Current debt service payments, • Current debt obligations, • The amount of new debt being proposed, and • Estimated per household burden being proposed. Senator Bettencourt said, “SB 1041 will result in voters being more adequately informed about any new debt they are being asked to approve during local bond elections. We need to have clear and concise transparency requirements for the disclosure of debt information to voters. This legislation will mean that voters statewide will be able to confidently cast a more informed vote during these elections.” The second bill, SB 1042, would require all local taxing entities to post their financial statements online. Bettencourt noted, “In the 21st century, every governmental body – federal, state, and local – should be posting this information online. This bill will simply reflect today’s reality." Fund Diversions On Monday, Representatives John Otto (R-Dayton) and Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) announced the filing of HBs 6 and 7 to reverse the practice of collecting fees for one purpose and using them instead to certify other areas of the state budget. HB 6 by Otto would address the amount of unspent money in General Revenue-Dedicated accounts that can be counted for budget certification and reduce unspent balances down to $3 billion from the current use of $4.2 billion used to certify the 2014-15 State Budget. HB 7 by Darby would clarify the appropriate uses for these accounts, and provide an opportunity to eliminate and reduce the fees paid by Texas citizens and businesses. For some accounts where balances are sufficient for appropriations, HB 7 would direct fees to be suspended or ended entirely. Representative Otto, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said, “Since 1991, unspent funds in General Revenue-Dedicated accounts have been used to help certify the budget. These bills ensure that this practice will become a thing of the past - funds collected for a specific program will be spent that way.” House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) endorsed the proposals saying, “Last session, Representatives Otto and Darby passed House Bills 6 and 7 to curtail the use of dedicated funds for budget certification by over $1 billion. These bills were both signed into law and marked the first time since 1991 that the State Budget used a significantly lower amount of unspent balances to certify the budget. The Texas House is committed to making our budget more transparent and accountable. We made significant progress on this issue last session and we'll make further progress in the weeks to come. Taxpayers should know that the taxes and fees they pay will be used as promised." 4 Employees Retirement System On Tuesday, Representatives Dan Flynn (R-Van), Chair of the House Pensions Committee; John Otto (R-Dayton), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee; and Sylvester Turner (D-Houston), Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, outlined a plan to return the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) to solvency. They filed HB 9, which would increase funding to the state employee pension system. The state's Retirement Trust Fund currently has $7.5 billion in unfunded liabilities. Chairman Flynn said, "With this legislation, we are keeping our commitment to our hardworking state employees in their retirement years. This is a vital benefit to employees who earn an average salary of approximately $45,000 a year." Chairmen Flynn, Otto and Turner announced the House's intention to increase the state's contribution to the pension plan, raising it to 9.5 percent of an employee's pay.