Gavel to Gavel 88th Legislative Session - End of Session Report

In a whirlwind five-month stretch, the 88th Texas Legislature operated at full throttle. Over this period, the Texas Senate and House of Representatives combined filed a remarkable total of more than 8,000 bills and 11,700 resolutions. However, amidst this flurry of legislative activity, only a fraction of these proposals —15% of the bills and 34% of the resolutions— passed successfully at the close of the session (although some may have passed as amendments to other legislation).

Comptroller Glenn Hegar set the tone for the session, handing the legislature an unprecedented $33 billion budget surplus but emphasizing the importance of judicious and strategic allocation. Following a fiercely-contested election season, legislators found themselves confronted with a series of urgent and dire issues, several of which were identified by Governor Greg Abbott in his State of the State address.

The session saw its share of tension and disagreements, with the two legislative chambers often at odds, especially on issues of property taxes and public school choice. Many bills died due to legislative deadlines and friction between the chambers, leading Gov. Abbott to indicate the numerous loose ends would need to be tied up in future special sessions.

After 140 rigorous days, the legislative session officially adjourned "Sine Die" on May 29th . However, Gov. Abbott swiftly called a special session to begin that evening at 9pm, with an agenda encompassing property taxes and border security, and hinted at the possibility of several more in the future.

Before the Governor's announcement, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick publicly appealed to Gov. Abbott to include several other topics in the special session, to expand educational options, strengthen border security, and enhance electoral integrity. Even so, the House and Senate face disagreement regarding their respective property tax relief plans. The House moved swiftly - in a mere 6.5 hours filed and passed House Bills 1 and 2, along with House Joint Resolution 1, focusing on property tax relief and border security, and again adjourned Sine Die. These bills now await review and consideration in the Texas Senate.

In the midst of the typical bustle of legislative activity, this session will be remembered for it’s scandal and controversy. Most notably, the House impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton, in the wake of Paxton's request to use $3.3 million in taxpayer funds to settle a whistleblower lawsuit brought by eight former top deputies who claimed they were wrongfully dismissed after accusing Paxton of bribery and various abuses of power. Following an intense four-hour debate, the House voted decisively 121-23 in favor of impeachment. This marked a significant moment in Texas history — the first impeachment of a Texas Attorney General, and only the third impeachment proceeding in the past 120+ years. The Senate subsequently set a deadline of no later than August 28th for Paxton's impeachment trial, but the Texas constitution calls for the Attorney General to vacate the office pending trial. Gov. Abbott has appointed former Secretary of State John Scott to man the post for the near term.

In addition, Rep. Bryan Slaton was expelled from the House after the House General Investigating Committee conducted an internal investigation into allegations of his sexual misconduct with a staff member. This incident makes him the first representative to be expelled from the Texas House since 1927.

The Unprecedented Budget

Before the session commenced, Comptroller Hegar released the annual Biennial Revenue Estimate, predicting a record revenue of $188 billion for general-purpose spending in 2024-25. This represented a staggering 26% increase from the 2022-23 budget, a testament to the post COVID-19 economic recovery, surging energy prices, and high inflation.

House Bill 1, also known as the Texas General Appropriations Act for 2024-25, by Rep. Greg Bonnen, is a historic $321 billion budget for the state's operations over the next two years. Nearly $18 billion was appropriated for property tax relief, $9 billion for public schools, $9 billion for mental health services, $5 billion for border security, $1.5 billion for broadband expansion, $1.4 billion for school safety, and $1 billion for financing new water projects.

Additionally, Senate Bill 30, the supplemental spending plan, added more money to the current fiscal year, allocating $13 billion towards higher education endowments, school safety grants, state employee salary increases, enhanced teacher retirement benefits, and mental health hospitals. Specific areas of funding included $2.3 billion for expanding inpatient mental health capacity, $1 billion for water infrastructure and supply projects, $1.4 billion for new semiconductor investment, $1 billion for school safety grants, and $2.5 billion towards the Medicaid shortfall.

Leadership Priorities

At the outset of the legislative session, Gov. Abbott outlined seven priority areas, including promotion of school vouchers, property tax relief, lifting COVID-19 restrictions, school safety, border security, and curbing Fentanyl smuggling. However, by the conclusion of the session, three key goals - the new border patrol force, property tax relief, and a public school voucher program - were left unresolved. Despite this, the Legislature passed significant legislation like power grid reinforcement and a new corporate tax incentive program. Twenty-two of Lt. Gov. Patrick's thirty priority bills passed, including a teacher retirement bump, ending gender modification procedures for minors, and law enforcement reforms. House Speaker Dade Phelan's priorities included H.B. 12, extending Medicaid eligibility for new mothers to a full year, S.B. 379 exempting feminine hygiene products and diapers from state sales taxes, H.B. 4 limiting how companies collect and monetize private data and H.B. 18, reducing the risks to children from social media, all have been sent to the Governor’s desk.

School Safety

Lawmakers passed H.B. 3, a comprehensive school safety measure inspired by the tragic events in Uvalde. The bill mandates an armed security officer at every school and mental health training for certain district employees. It creates a safety and security department within the Texas Education Agency, compelling districts to implement and adhere to robust active-shooter protocols. Those not meeting the agency's standards may face state supervision.

Increasing Texas Grid Resiliency

S.B. 2627, or the “Powering Texas Forward Act,” was sent to Gov. Abbott. The bill establishs a state-funded, low-interest loan program for companies wishing to construct gas-fueled power plants. It offers bonuses for plants completed and connected to the state's primary electric grid by 2029.

Water Infrastructure

The passage of S.B. 28 and Senate Joint Resolution 75 marks significant strides towards improving Texas' aging water infrastructure. These legislations, now awaiting Gov. Abbott's approval, allocate $1 billion for new water projects and infrastructure upgrades. The final decision to create and implement the Texas Water Fund will be determined by Texas voters in a November constitutional amendment. The new “Water Supply For Texas” Fund will commence on September 1, 2024, provided it receives the necessary voter approval.

Electric Vehicles

Starting September 1, Texas drivers selecting cleaner driving options will need to pay a little more. Gov. Abbott signed into law S.B. 505, establishing a $400 initial registration fee for electric vehicles in Texas, supplemented by an annual fee of $200. This is in addition to the standard Texas vehicle registration fees, which stand at $50.75 for most passenger vehicles or trucks. The legislation resolves the complaint that because they do not pay gasoline taxes, electric vehicles do not contribute to maintain the state’s highway infrastructure.

Economic Development

H.B. 5, the “Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act,” replaces the previous Texas Economic Development Act, also known as Chapter 313. The new act halves the previous 10- year school property tax discount for large businesses moving to Texas, enhances public involvement, increases job and salary prerequisites, and strengthens oversight and accountability measures. However, it excludes wind, solar, and battery power storage projects and eliminates the controversial component of direct payments by companies to participating schools. This bill has been sent to the Governor’s desk.

Data Privacy

H.B. 4, known as the “Data Privacy and Protection Act,” by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, targets companies that profit from Texans' personal information. It empowers Texans with new data privacy rights, including the ability for parents to safeguard their children's data. Additionally, H.B. 18, the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment” or “ SCOPE Act,” introduced by Rep. Shelby Slawson, provides parents with several tools to exert more control over how their children's data is shared. This includes awareness of the type of data being collected and the authority to erase it. These legislative proposals fortify the digital safety of Texans and their families.

What Didn’t Pass?

School choice emerged as a key issue, but the two chambers failed to reach consensus on the implementation of a school voucher program, leading to the downfall of S.B. 8 and H.B. 100— both designed to increase school funding and education savings accounts. Attempts to strike a compromise on property tax relief was also met with significant opposition as S.B. 3 also died, leaving the outcome hanging in the balance of a special session. Gov. Abbott has affirmed that a special session focusing on public school choice will be scheduled, likely in the fall, pending the ongoing negotiations regarding property tax relief. This disagreement among both chambers and parliamentary procedures extended to the demise of other high-profile bills such as H.B. 7, which bolstered border security funding and controversially created a border safety unit, H.B. 2744, which raised the age limit to purchase semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21, H.J.R. 102 for legalizing online sports betting, H.J.R. 155 for casino authorization, H.B. 1422 for permanent daylight saving time adoption, S.B. 23 and H.B. 4843 for increasing minimum sentences for gun crimes, and finally, S.B. 147, designed to curb foreign land ownership.

Conclusion

As we progress to the next phase in the legislative process, a host of critical bills sit on Gov. Abbott's desk, awaiting his decision to become law. To date, he has received 1,354 bills and, as of Friday, June 2nd, he has signed 290 of these into law. The governor is given a 10-day period to either sign a bill into law, veto it, or allow it to automatically become law without his signature. If the legislature is still in session, a bill that has been vetoed can be overridden with a two-thirds majority vote in each house, effectively making it law. If the governor doesn't sign or veto the bill within this 10-day window, the bill becomes law automatically. However, for bills submitted to the governor within the final 10 days of adjournment, the governor is allowed up to 20 days post-adjournment to make a decision. The 88th Legislature was distinguished by dynamic debates addressing a comprehensive list of economic and policy sectors throughout Texas. But, as usual, legislative deadlines, intricate parliamentary procedures, and various obstacles resulted in many bills failing to become law. Also as usual, the budget played a key role, with the historic surplus affording lawmakers to make substantial investments across various segments of state government. And, in what is becoming the “new normal” for the Texas Legislature, the conclusion of this session merely signals the start of special sessions, suggesting we all could be here for a little while longer.