7 Major Issues - hro.house.texas.gov

1 House Research OrganizationMajor Issuesof the 85th Legislature, Regular Sessionand First Called SessionNumber 85-8 December 18, 2017 During its 2017 regular session, the 85th texas Legislature enacted 1,211 bills and adopted nine joint resolutions after considering 6,800 measures filed. The Legislature enacted 12 more bills during the first called session held in the summer. This report includes many of the highlights of the regular session and the first called session. It summarizes some proposals that were approved and some that were not. Also included are arguments offered for and against each measure as it was debated. The legislation featured in this report is a sampling and not intended to be comprehensive. Other House Research Organization reports covering the 2017 sessions include those examining the bills vetoed by the governor and the constitutional amendments on the November 7, 2017, ballot, as well as an upcoming report summarizing the fiscal 2018-19 Regulation & Economic Development7 Criminal Justice & Public SafetyNatural Resources & EnvironmentGeneral Government & AppropriationsHealth & Human ServicesHigher EducationPublic Education13235377103113 Taxation & Revenue129145 Civil Jurisprudence & Judiciary153 Transportation45 ElectionsHouse Research OrganizationPage 1 ContentsPageBills in the 85th Legislature, Regular Session 5 Business Regulation and Economic Development 7* HB 1449 Prohibiting linkage fees on new construction.

2 8* SB 1004 Installing network nodes in public rights of way ..9* SB 1289 Using iron and steel in state construction projects ..11 Civil Jurisprudence and Judiciary 13HB 161 Prohibiting certain child support contempt findings ..14* SB 302 Continuing the State Bar of texas ..15SB 667 Monitoring and reporting on guardianships ..18* SB 1913 Court fines and costs ..20 Criminal Justice and Public Safety 23HB 122 Raising the age of adult criminal responsibility ..24*HB 435 Applying handgun laws to volunteer first responders ..27 HB 574 Fine-only misdemeanors ..29* HB 2908 Punishing crimes against peace officers and judges ..31* SB 4 Prohibiting certain local policies on immigration law ..32* SB 30 Civilian-police interaction training ..36* SB 179 Bullying prevention; mental health education in schools ..38* SB 762 Increasing penalty for certain animal cruelty offenses.

3 41* SB 1849 Mental health in jails, diversion, jail safety ..42 Elections 45* HB 25 Eliminating one-punch, straight-party voting ..46* SB 5 Modifying voter identification requirements ..47*SB 5 (85-1)Processes and penalties related to voting by mail ..49*Finally approvedPage 2 House Research OrganizationGeneral Government and Appropriations 53*HB 8 Cybersecurity-related requirements for state agencies ..54 HB 208 (85-1) Statutory limit on growth rate of certain appropriations ..57*HB 501/* SB 500 Financial disclosure requirements; pension forfeiture ..59* HB 3158 Modifying the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System ..62*HB 3921 Preventing financial exploitation of vulnerable adults ..64SB 3 (85-1)Regulating the use of certain public facilities ..66*SB 6 (85-1)Limiting municipal annexation powers ..68*SB 877/*HB 451/HB 1689 State entity liability and sovereign immunity.

4 70*SB 2190 Modifying public retirement systems in Houston ..71*SJR 2/* SB 21/* SJR 38 Calling for an Article V constitutional convention ..73 Health and Human Services 77*HB 4 Changing the payment structure for kinship caregivers ..78*HB 5 Making DFPS a stand-alone agency ..80* HB 13/* HB 215 (85-1) Abortion reporting requirements ..82* HB 214 (85-1) Elective abortion coverage prohibitions ..84* HB 1542 Requiring DFPS to consider least restrictive setting ..86 * HB 3859 Religious rights of child welfare services providers ..87SB 4 (85-1)Prohibiting support of abortion with local taxes ..89* SB 8 Requirements on the disposition of fetal tissue ..91* SB 11 Expanding community-based foster care services ..94* SB 11 (85-1) Creating procedures for in-hospital DNR orders ..96* SB 17 (85-1) Continuing the maternal mortality task force.

5 98*SB 20 (85-1) Continuing five health-related boards until 2019 ..99SB 790 Continuing the Women s Health Advisory Committee ..100*SB 1107 Revising telemedicine and telehealth requirements ..101 Higher Education 103HB 3766 Modifying eligibility for Hazlewood tuition exemption ..104* SB 966/* SB 968/* SB 969 Reporting, responding to campus sexual assault ..106*SB 1781 Increasing oversight over career colleges ..108* SB 2118 Community college bachelor s degrees ..110 House Research OrganizationPage 3 Natural Resources and Environment 113* HB 1920/* HB 1921/ * HB 2180 River authority Sunset bills ..114 HB 2005 Studying aquifer storage and recovery projects ..117 HB 2321 Revising LIRAP and local initiative project requirements ..118 HB 2377 Brackish groundwater operating permit process ..120* SB 319 Continuing Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

6 122* SB 1172 Preempting local seed regulations ..125* SB 1731 Continuing, modifying TERP ..126 Public Education 129* HB 21 (85-1) School finance commission and other modifications ..130* HB 22 Revising public school accountability ..132* HB 3976 Health benefits for retired school employees ..134 SB 3 School funding options for certain students ..136* SB 7 Improper conduct between teachers and students ..139* SB 463 Alternate methods to satisfy graduation requirements ..142 Taxation and Revenue 145 HB 28 Phasing out the franchise tax.

7 146 HB 331 (85-1) Reappraisal of certain property damaged in a disaster ..148 SB 1 (85-1) Changes to property tax procedures and rollback rate ..149 Transportation 153* HB 62 Statewide ban on texting while driving ..154* HB 100 State regulation of transportation network companies ..156* SB 312 Continuing the texas Department of Transportation ..159 Index by Bill Number 163 Page 4 House Research OrganizationHouse Research OrganizationPage 5 Bills in the 85th LegislatureRegular SessionSource: texas Legislative Information System, Legislative Reference Library*Includes 50 vetoed bills 36 House bills and 14 Senate billsHouse bills 4, bills 2, bills 6,6311, SJRs jointresolutions Enacted* Percent enacted2015 2017 Percent changeBills filed 6,2766, enacted 1,3231, vetoed resolutions filed resolutions adopted sent or transferredto Calendars Committee 1,5041, sent to Local andConsent Calendars Committee 1, of ContentsPage 6 House Research OrganizationHouse Research OrganizationPage 7 Business Regulation*HB 1449 by SimmonsProhibiting linkage fees on new construction.

8 8*SB 1004 by HancockInstalling network nodes in public rights of way ..9*SB 1289 by CreightonUsing iron and steel in state construction projects ..11*Finally approvedand Economic DevelopmentTable of ContentsPage 8 House Research OrganizationHB 1449 by SimmonsEffective May 29, 2017 Prohibiting linkage fees on new construction HB 1449 prohibits political subdivisions from imposing certain fees on new construction to offset the cost or rent of other residential housing. The bill does not apply to certain zoning waivers or certain affordable housing and property tax abatement said HB 1449 would prevent localities from imposing short-sighted and counterproductive fees on new construction. Although no texas city currently imposes linkage fees, doing so would drive up the price of housing and reduce the supply of new homes.

9 According to estimates from the National Association of Home Builders, for every $1,000 increase in median new home price in texas , more than 13,000 households are priced out of the market. These fees, which are a de facto tax and directly increase the price of new construction, would exacerbate the shortage of affordable housing in several texas cities. While opponents contend that linkage fees are a way to collect revenue from a broad cross-section of the market, these fees actually skew the market by only taxing new entrants. A home built after the enactment of a linkage fee suddenly costs more than an identical home next door. This drives up the valuation of existing homes, increasing their property tax burden, and disconnects the value of homes from their actual cost to build. The state imposes many restrictions on the ability of localities to collect revenue, like property tax and sales tax rate caps, so HB 1449 would not be an unreasonable infringement on local control.

10 Linkage fees in cities outside of texas have shown a disturbing trend of starting low and quickly rising to a stifling level. In any case, local control is a means to more effective government, not an end in and of itself. Finally, localities with affordable housing shortages typically have many alternatives to reduce the cost of housing. They could expedite permits and zoning, reduce fees, or spend more money on affordable housing from other revenue sources. Localities do not need to be allowed to levy a counterproductive said HB 1449 would be an unnecessary infringement on local control, prohibiting cities from collecting revenue necessary to fund affordable housing. Linkage fees are not counterproductive, and they do not impede economic development because they are low and broadly applicable across all forms of new construction.