Legislative Services

Legislative Landscape Set

March 14 marked the session’s 60th day, a critical milestone. Before this date, only the governor’s emergency items or legislation approved by a four-fifths majority was eligible for consideration. The 60th day was also the last day lawmakers could file legislation without a supermajority.

With these critical deadlines now passed, committees and both full chambers are now free to take up any legislation, and we have a look at a mostly set field of proposals (typically very few bills are filed after the 60th day). As is always the case, a flurry of bill filing took place as the deadline approached. On March 14 alone, 849 bills were filed, bringing the total to 8,905, counting bills and joint resolutions — proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution.

This session continues a trend in which each Legislature generally files more bills than the preceding one — indeed, only once over the last decade did the total dip from one session to the next. Two years ago, the 88th Legislature filed 8,345 bills, a big jump from six years prior, when the 85th Legislature filed “just” 6,800 proposed new laws. Packed committee hearings and long days will be the norm as lawmakers work to pass their priorities before the 140th and final day on June 2.

Senate Passes Proposed Restriction on Use of Public Funds

After being amended, Senate Bill 19 by Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) passed the Senate on a 20-11 vote. SB 19 would place restrictions on the use of public funds to pay certain association dues, including to the Texas Association of Counties and associations representing county offices. The bill would also place restrictions on the expenditure of public funds to employ a lobbyist. Archived video of the Senate’s deliberation and vote is available online at around the 1:53:21 mark.

Broadband Update

On March 4, the Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) paused all grants and contracts under the federal State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, citing “ongoing federal government realignment to meet the priorities of the new federal administration.”

Despite this uncertainty, on March 17, the BDO opened preregistration for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, stating:

”Pre-registration is optional and applicants that do not participate will still have an opportunity to apply for funds; however, pre-registration during the initial pre-registration period is strongly encouraged for applicants to begin preparing for broadband infrastructure funding. Applicants that pre-register during this period will have an opportunity to get feedback on the information they submit and resolve any issues identified, but they will not otherwise receive preferential treatment during the application evaluation process.”

More information is available on the BDO’s BEAD website, and applicants may preregister using the BEAD Application Portal through April 4.

Legislative Directory Now Available

TAC’s Legislative Directory for the 89th Legislature is now available. The directory includes contact information for legislative leaders, committees, county official associations and TAC’s Legislative Services team.

Order free your copies here.

Grant Opportunities

This newsletter will highlight new grant opportunities on the last Friday of each month. Look for updates in the March 28 edition of County Issues, or visit TAC’s continuously updated Grant Opportunities webpage.

TAC also maintains a listserv community to foster discussion between county officials on available grants. To join the listserv or share a grant success story, please contact Zelma Smith.

Week in Review is a collaborative column from TAC Legislative Services.