87Th LEGISLATIVE SESSION and COVID RESTRICTIONS On
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87th LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND COVID RESTRICTIONS On January 12, 2021, lawmakers from across the state will convene the 87th Texas Legislative Session, meeting for the Regular Session over the following 140 days through May 31. This will be the first time that all 181 legislators will come together since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the virus is top-of-mind for everyone involved. While the Governor recently announced the re-opening of the Capitol building on January 4, we have minimal knowledge of the health and safety protocols the members, staff and Capitol visitors will have to follow when they enter the building next week. It will surely be a much different environment than previous sessions. We know the following requirements will be in place as of today, per a memo released by the State Preservation Board last week: • The Capitol building will only be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; it will be closed Saturday and Sunday for cleaning. • The public may only enter through the North Capitol entrance. • Covid testing will be encouraged and provided on the North Plaza at no expense. • A mask will be required to be worn inside the building at all times. • All deliveries to the Capitol, including food and beverage, must be left at the loading dock; no delivery personnel will be allowed beyond the loading dock or through the public entrance. • No public tours or groups or sponsored event space will be available. • The House and Senate will manage public access to their offices once convened and rules are adopted, and the public will need to check with the offices directly for specific guidelines. • We do know that offices have been encouraged to: o Conduct temperature checks for staff and guests o Conduct rapid Covid testing (15 min. response) for staff and guests inside the office; testing will also be provided to the public by the National Guard on the North Plaza before entering the Capitol building o Wear masks while in the office o Maintain at least 6 feet of distance between the Member, staff, and guests o Stagger staff schedules and work remotely when able to do so o Ensure that food delivered to the office is individually packaged o Discourage outside deliveries and request electronic copies of handouts and advocacy materials; establish a contactless delivery process, if needed o Conduct virtual meetings or schedule meetings outside of the Capitol, and limit meetings to 10 or less when in person; discourage drop-ins at the office Both the Texas Senate and House of Representatives have set up working groups to provide suggestions and guidelines identifying best practices for how the broader session will operate. Legislators will vote on these recommendations and other rule changes when session convenes next week. In the meantime, we have learned a little bit about how the session may commence and run through the first 60 days until vaccines are more widely distributed. At a recent meeting of the Senate Republican Caucus, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick laid out his cautious approach to running the body. The House will have to adopt rules governing Covid restrictions but House Administration recently released a similar Opening Day plan. Some of those details are as follows: • Members will only be allowed one person on the floor and one in the gallery on Opening Day, both of which will be tested for Covid. • The Senate will most likely plan to take off the next week of January 18. • Senate Finance will begin meetings the week of January 25. • For the remainder of January and then February, the Senate will gather late on Tuesdays and meet on the floor on Wednesdays. • Beginning the third week of February, other Senate committees (announced the Friday after rules are adopted) will start to meet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. • No one will be allowed on the floor for resolutions throughout the first couple months in either body. • Those who testify in-person in committee hearings will have to sign up online well in advance. A big question that remains: Will members be allowed to vote remotely or be required to do so on the floor of each body? State Representative Briscoe Cain recently requested the Attorney General’s opinion on whether members may vote on legislation from a location other than their respective chambers, and we are awaiting the AG’s response. Patrick has advised the Senate to brace for a drastically pared down session with far fewer pieces of legislation making their way through the process, and the same is expected in the House. TIPRO will keep you updated on these processes as we learn more in the coming weeks. COMPOSITION OF THE LEGISLATURE The political makeup of the Texas Legislature is almost completely unchanged from the prior legislative session with Republicans still controlling both the Senate (18-13) and the House (83- 67). Senate Republicans lost a seat and Democrats gained one with the loss of Pete Flores (R- Pleasanton) to challenger Roland Gutierrez, a former House member from San Antonio. There were a few other new Senate members elected in November, including: • Cesar Blanco (D-El Paso) replaced retiring Jose Rodriguez • Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) replaced Kirk Watson following his retirement earlier this year • Newly-elected Drew Springer (R-Muenster) replaced Congressman-Elect Pat Fallon after he was chosen by voters to represent Texas Congressional District 4 in November. The House remained unchanged with the loss of one Republican seat, Sarah Davis (R-Houston) to Democratic challenger Ann Johnson, and the pick-up of Republican Mike Schofield who won his old seat back from Democrat Gina Calanni (D-Katy). The House also gained the following new members in open seats, all of which were maintained by the party who held them during the 2019 Legislative Session: • Elizabeth Campos (D-San Antonio) replaced Roland Gutierrez • Jeff Cason (R-Bedford) replaced Jonathan Stickland • David Cook (R-Mansfield) replaced Bill Zedler • Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) replaced Lorraine Birabil who won a special election in November 2019 to fill the seat when it was vacated by Eric Johnson when he became Mayor of Dallas • Jake Ellzey (R-Midlothian) replaced John Wray • Lacey Hull (R-Houston) replaced Dwayne Bohac • Jacey Jetton (R-Sugar Land) replaced Rick Miller • Eddie Morales, Jr. (D-Eagle Pass) replaced Poncho Nevarez • Claudia Ordaz Perez (D-El Paso) replaced Cesar Blanco • Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) replaced Mike Lang • Penny Shaw (D-Houston) replaced Jessica Farrar • Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) replaced Dan Flynn • Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville) replaced J.D. Sheffield • Cody Vasut (R-Angleton) replaced Dennis Bonnen A special election for HD 68, previously held by Drew Springer has been set by Governor Greg Abbott for Saturday, January 23, 2021. Early voting will begin on Monday, January 11. Thus far, Cooke County Judge Jason Brinkley (R) and David Spiller (R), Jacksboro ISD Trustee, have announced their intentions to run for the seat that is very much considered a safe Republican district. The deadline for candidates to file is 5 p.m. today. For photos and more information on each new member, you can visit the Senate member website here and the House member website here. LEGISLATIVE AGENDAS Lieutenant Governor Patrick has shared his legislative priorities for the Senate, which include: • Passing a conservative, balanced budget; • New redistricting maps as required by the Constitution; • Election reforms; • Limited liability protections for business as it relates to Covid; and • Support for law enforcement. Patrick has planned for a couple changes that will play to his advantage when it comes to votes. In an unexpected move, he replaced Chuy Hinojosa (D-McAllen) who has served as the Vice Chair of Senate Finance for more than a decade with Eddie Lucio, II (D-Brownsville), a more conservative Democrat who often votes with Republicans in support of Lieutenant Governor’s agenda. Patrick also announced that he intends to ask the Senate to change the number of votes required to bring a bill to the floor from 19 votes to 18. The loss of Republican Pete Flores and reduction of the number of Senate Republicans to 18 means that without the rule change, there would be more procedural options available to Democrats to prevent a bill from making it to the Senate floor. This will be the second time Patrick has asked for such a vote during his tenure as Lieutenant Governor, giving his agenda and that of other Republican Senate members an advantage. The first was in 2015 when he lowered the requirement to 19 to allow the chamber’s 20 Republicans to control the flow of legislation and pass a bill without Democratic support. For 70 years prior the Texas Senate had a “two-thirds rule” requiring 21 of the 31 senators to vote to bring a bill to the floor. On the House side, the legislative tempo and agenda, committee makeup and chairmanship designations are expected to see a major shake-up, to be determined by the next speaker. Presumptive Speaker-Elect Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) will almost certainly replace outgoing Speaker Dennis Bonnen. Having secured the support of more than a super majority of the House, Phelan has already set up a transition team and named his executive and policy staff to ensure a smooth and easy transition of power. While Phelan’s legislative agenda has yet to be laid out, it has been announced that his team will be led by capitol veteran Julia Rathgeber who will serve as his Chief of Staff. Rathgeber was a former Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst.