At the conclusion of the Regular Session of the 83rd Texas Legislature, 1,631 bills and resolutions were sent to Gov. Rick Perry for his approval or veto. Several hundred of these affect counties. The deadline for veto actions by the governor was June 16. Approved bills may have immediate effect if they received a two-thirds vote in each house. However, many bills will be effective on Sept. 1.
As usual, the success of the session was marked by the failure of many unneeded bills. No additional revenue caps, no additional appraisal caps, and the defeat of most unfunded mandates were important defensive accomplishments. Some significant bills that passed are listed below. More detailed discussions will be presented at our State Association Conference and in future articles.
• H.B. 4 Ritter, Allan (R), Fraser, Troy (R)
Relating to the creation and funding of the state water implementation fund for Texas to assist the Texas Water Development Board in the funding of certain water-related projects.
Last Action: 9- 1-13 Earliest effective date
• H.B. 7 Darby, Drew (R), Williams, Tommy (R)
Relating to the amounts, availability, and use of certain statutorily dedicated revenue and accounts.
Last Action: 6- 5-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 259 Simmons, Ron (R), Paxton, Ken (R)
Relating to the regulation of electioneering at a polling location.
Last Action: 5-22-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 278 Craddick, Tom (R), Seliger, Kel (R)
Relating to the liability of a municipality for certain space flight activities.
Last Action: 9- 1-13 Earliest effective date
• H.B. 584 Rodriguez, Eddie (D), Rodriguez, Jose (D)
Relating to the posting of a notice of foreclosure sale on a county’s Internet website.
Last Action: 9- 1-13 Earliest effective date
• H.B. 585 Villarreal, Mike (D), Eltife, Kevin (R)
Relating to procedural requirements under the Property Tax Code.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 714 Kuempel, John (R), Zaffirini, Judith (D)
Relating to an agreement between a county and the Department of Public Safety for the joint operation of certain fixed-site facilities.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 738 Crownover, Myra (R), Nelson, Jane (R)
Relating to the review of the creation of certain proposed municipal utility districts by county commissioners courts.
Last Action: 5-26-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 1025 Pitts, Jim (R), Williams, Tommy (R)
Relating to making supplemental appropriations and reductions in appropriations and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding appropriations.
Last Action: 6- 5-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 1164 Thompson, Ed (R), Huffman, Joan (R)
Relating to the territory that may be included in a single county election precinct.
Last Action: 5-24-13 Earliest effective date
• H.B. 1384 Bell, Cecil (R), Hegar, Glenn (R)
Relating to the authority of a county road department to accept donations.
Last Action: 5-26-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 1513 Lewis, Tryon (R), West, Royce (D)
Relating to increases in the records archive fees and the records management and preservation fees charged by district and county clerks.
Last Action: 5-26-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 1607 Farney, Marsha (R), Nichols, Robert (R)
Relating to the authority of the commissioners court of a county to alter speed limits on county roads.
Last Action: 5-23-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 2300 Keffer, Jim (R), Uresti, Carlos (D)
Relating to the creation of County Energy Transportation Reinvestment zones.
Last Action: 5-20-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 2302 Hunter, Todd (R), West, Royce (D)
Relating to the establishment of the statewide electronic filing system fund and to certain court fees and court costs to fund the account.
Last Action: 5-20-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 2454 Frank, James (R), Estes, Craig (R)
Relating to reimbursement of health care services rendered by a health care provider for an inmate of a county jail or another county correctional facility.
Last Action: 5-23-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 2612 Flynn, Dan (R), Deuell, Bob (R)
Relating to liability for damage to a county road.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 2741 Phillips, Larry (R), Nichols, Robert (R)
Relating to the regulation of motor vehicles by counties and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor
• H.B. 3793 Coleman, Garnet (D), Hinojosa, Chuy (D)
Relating to county powers, duties and services.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B 1 Williams, Tommy (R), Pitts, Jim (R)
General Appropriations Bill.
Last Action: 6-5-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 265 Huffman, Joan (R), Thompson, Senfronia (D)
Relating to bond requirements for county officers and employees.
Last Action: 5-18-13 Earliest effective date
• S.B. 382 Carona, John (R), Carter, Stefani (R)
Relating to the disbursement of county funds to a person owing delinquent property taxes.
Last Action: 5-22-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 471 Ellis, Rodney (D), Harper-Brown, Linda (R)
Relating to technological efficiencies in the recording of certain open meetings.
Last Action: 5-18-13 Earliest effective date
• S.B. 552 Uresti, Carlos (D), Nevarez, Poncho (D)
Relating to an application filed with a county commissioners court to revise a subdivision plat.
Last Action: 5-22-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 578 Duncan, Robert (R), Sheffield, J.D. (R)
Relating to use of countywide polling places for certain elections.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 634 Davis, Wendy (D), Collier, Nicole (D)
Relating to regulating faulty on-site sewage disposal systems in the unincorporated areas of a county as a public nuisance.
Last Action: 5-16-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 637 Paxton, Ken (R), Flynn, Dan (R)
Relating to notice and proposition language requirements for bond approval elections held by political subdivisions.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 656 Paxton, Ken (R), Button, Angie (R)
Relating to providing transparency in the taxing and budgeting process of certain local governments.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 872 Deuell, Bob (R), Coleman, Garnet (D)
Relating to county expenditures for certain health care services.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 1080 Lucio, Eddie (D), Thompson, Senfronia (D)
Relating to a study on the adequacy and appropriateness of additional compensation paid to certain county judges.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 1189 Huffman, Joan (R), Fletcher, Allen (R)
Relating to the disposition of certain firearms seized by a law enforcement agency.
Last Action: 5-25-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 1400 Estes, Craig (R), Geren, Charlie (R)
Relating to the municipal and county regulation of air guns.
Last Action: 5-27-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 1411 Deuell, Bob (R), Gooden, Lance (R)
Relating to regulation of traffic in a conservation and reclamation district by a commissioners court.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 1510 Hinojosa, Chuy (D), Hilderbran, Harvey (R)
Relating to the public notice required to be provided by certain taxing units before adopting an ad valorem tax rate.
Last Action: 5-25-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 1729 Nichols, Robert (R), King, Ken (R)
Relating to an agreement between the Department of Public Safety and a county clerk or county assessor-collector for the provision of renewal and duplicate driver’s license and other identification certificate services.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.B. 1747 Uresti, Carlos (D), Keffer, Jim (R)
Relating to a fund for certain county transportation infrastructure projects and the creation of County Energy Transportation Reinvestment Zones.
Last Action: 5-28-13 Sent to the Governor
• S.J.R. 1 Williams, Tommy (R), Pitts, Jim (R)
Proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the creation and use of funds in the state treasury to provide financial assistance for certain projects related to economic development and water infrastructure.
Last Action: 11- 5-13 Election date
For more information, please call me at 1-800-733-0699.