PHCC Legislative Update October 2017

The impacts of Hurricane Harvey continue to be the primary focus of state government at this time. The recovery process is under way and will continue for years to come. A few weeks after the hurricane, Governor Abbott announced the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas and appointed Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp to lead the commission. In addition, multiple legislative committees have conducted or have scheduled Harvey related hearings including the Senate Business & Commerce Committee. They are scheduled to meet at the State Capitol November 1st at 10am and will received invited testimony related to local government regulations, including occupational licensing, to determine if any are a detriment to rebuilding efforts. Comptroller Glenn Hegar recently told the Texas Tribune that the response to the hurricane event will ultimately result in a multibillion dollar hit to the state budget that legislators will address in 2019.

The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is scheduled to review the TSBPE and make recommendations to the legislature between now and January 2019. The Texas Legislature last reviewed TSBPE in 2003 during the 78th legislative session. The Commission is comprised of five senators, five representatives and two public members. The legislature will be required to pass a bill to extend the sunset date for TSBPE when it convenes in 2019. Otherwise, the agency and board are set to expire September 1, 2019. PHCC will be involved in the sunset process by meeting with staff, legislators and other stakeholders. The materials related to the TSBPE sunset can be found HERE. This includes documents for the current review as well as previous reviews of the TSBPE.

Texas voters will be presented the opportunity to vote for or against seven propositions on the November 7th Constitutional Amendments Election. Propositions include issues related to homestead exemptions, home equity loans and charitable raffles among others. Explanatory statements for each proposition can be found on the Secretary of State’s website HERE. Early voting for the election begins October 23rd and runs through November 3rd.

Campaign season is under way for the March primaries. Many legislators have formally declared their intentions to seek re-election while others are holding out making an announcement leading to speculation on future plans. All major statewide offices, half the Texas Senate and all 150 Texas House of Representatives are on the ballot in 2018. So far, one Republican senator and six Republican house members have announced plans to retire or seek a different elected office. Senator Van Taylor (R-Plano) is giving up his seat to run for Congress in place of longtime Congressman Sam Johnson who is retiring. Senator Taylor is expected to win this seat. Several candidates have announced plans to seek replace Taylor in the Texas Senate including Angela Paxton, wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Phillip Huffines, identical twin brother of State Senator Don Huffines. Meanwhile, in the House, Republicans Mark Keough (The Woodlands), Larry Gonzales (Round Rock), Jodie Laubenberg (Parker) and Larry Phillips (Sherman) are retiring from the legislature. Representatives Cindy Burkett and Pat Fallon have announced intentions to run against incumbent state senators, Bob Hall (Edgewood) and Craig Estes (Wichita Falls), respectively. There will undoubtedly be additional announcements before the filing period, November 11 – December 11, ends.

Speaker Straus has announced his intentions to seek re-election and run for Speaker for a record 6th term. Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) announced he plans to challenge Straus for the Speaker position. Straus was re-elected as Speaker of the House by a vote of 150-0 in January 2017. The 86th Texas Legislature convenes January 8, 2019.

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