City-Related Bills Filed

PROPERTY TAX

H.B. 2343 (Zedler) – Property Tax Delinquency:  would require a city council to waive penalties and interest on a delinquent tax if an act or omission of an officer, employee, or agent of the city, appraisal district, or other political subdivision or governmental entity caused or resulted in the taxpayer's failure to pay the tax.

H.B. 2366 (Oliveira) – Property Tax Delinquency:  would authorize a city to seize an owner's abandoned real property located in the city for the payment of delinquent ad valorem taxes, penalties, and interest if the taxes on the property are delinquent for each of the preceding three years.

H.B. 2387 (Menendez) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide an exemption from property taxes for a commercial product and other tangible personal property to be attached to the commercial product if the product and tangible personal property is located inside a defense base development authority.

H.B. 2445 (Strama) – Property Tax Lien:  would provide that a tax lien on inventory, furniture, equipment, or other personal property attaches to all such property that is owned on January 1 of the year the lien attaches, irrespective of whether the personal property is located within the boundaries of the taxing unit in whose favor the lien attaches.

H.B. 2497 (Workman) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide that a property that is owned and operated as a child-care facility is exempt from property taxes if the property is used exclusively for providing developmental and educational services and the property is reasonably necessary for the operation of the facility.  (See H.J.R. 115, below.)

H.B. 2500 (Bohac) – Property Tax Exemption:  would require the chief appraiser to use the cost method of appraisal to determine the market value of solar energy property.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1278 by Watson.)

H.B. 2599 (Klick) – Property Tax Exemption:  would exempt property owned by a political party from property taxes. 

H.B. 2675 (Laubenberg) – Property Tax Exemption:  would entitle the former spouse of an individual to freeze the property tax on the residence homestead if: (1) the former spouse is 55 years of age or older when the decree of divorce or annulment is signed or becomes final after appeal; and (2) the residence homestead of the individual: (a) is the residence homestead of the former spouse on the date the decree of divorce or annulment is signed or becomes final; and (b) remains the residence homestead of the former spouse.  (Please see H.J.R. 119, below.)

H.B. 2712 (Perez) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide a property tax exemption for energy storage systems used or constructed to wholly or partly meet environmental regulations that are located in a designated non-attainment area and have a capacity of at least ten megawatts.  (Companion bills are H.B. 3216 by Strama and S.B. 1030 by Taylor.)

H.B. 2723 (Otto) – Appraisal Process:  would place the burden on the appraisal district to establish the value of property by clear and convincing evidence presented at a hearing for protests of the determination of the appraised value of property or the unequal appraisal of property, provided that the appraised value was established and the property owner delivers sufficient information to the appraisal review board and appraisal district to allow for a determination of market value.

H.B. 2747 (Workman) – Property Tax Exemption:  would authorize a city council to take official action to exempt from property taxation part or all of the assessed value of property on which city-approved rainwater harvesting systems have been implemented.

H.B. 2762 (Anderson) – Appraisal District:  would: (1) provide that an appraisal district is governed by a board of seven directors; (2) provide that two of the seven directors be elected at the general election for state and county officers by the voters of the county in which the district is established; and (3) eliminate the ability of the governing bodies of a majority of the taxing units in an appraisal district to adopt resolutions disapproving of actions by the board.

H.B. 2771 (J. Rodriguez) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide that a person from whom an organization constructing or rehabilitating low-income housing acquires a project is considered to have owned the project during the period in which the person’s predecessor in title owned the project if the person: (1) acquired the project by foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure; and (2) is not a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the organization.

H.B. 2777 (Guillen) – Appraisal Process:  would authorize a property owner to appeal an order of an appraisal review board to justice court, as opposed to a district court, if the appeal relates only to a determination of appraised value or eligibility for an exemption from taxation and the amount of taxes due on the portion of the taxable value of the property that is in dispute is $10,000 or less.

H.B. 2792 (Elkins) – Appraisal Process:  would authorize an appraisal review board to conduct a hearing that is closed to the public if the property owner or the chief appraiser intends to disclose proprietary or confidential information at the hearing that will assist the review board in determining the protest.

H.B. 2797 (Raymond) – Appraisal Cap: would: (1) provide that, for real property that is owned or leased and used for business purposes by a business entity that had less than $1 million in gross receipts in its most recent fiscal year, an appraisal office may not increase the appraised value of the property to an amount that would exceed the lesser of: (a) the market value of the property for the most recent tax year that the market value was determined by the appraisal office; or (b) the sum of: (i) ten percent of the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year; (iii) the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year; and (iii) the market value of all new improvements to the property; and (2) provide that an improvement to property described in (1), above, is not treated as a new improvement if the improvement is a replacement structure for a structure that was rendered unusable by a casualty or by wind or water damage and: (a) the square footage of the replacement structure to exceed that of the replaced structure; or (b) the exterior of the replacement structure is of higher quality construction and composition than that of the replaced structure.  (Please see H.J.R. 126, below.)

H.B. 2886 (Moody) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide a residence homestead property tax exemption for a surviving spouse of the owner if the surviving spouse is a life tenant.

H.B. 2889 (S. Turner) – Appraisal Process:  would require a district court to grant relief on the ground that a property is appraised unequally if: (1) the appraised value of the property exceeds the median level of appraisal of a reasonable and representative sample of comparable properties; (2) the property qualifies as the owner’s residence homestead; or (3) the appraised or market value of the property is $1 million or less and exceeds the median appraised value of a reasonable sample of comparable properties.

H.B. 2893 (Raney) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide that property of a higher education development foundation or an alumni association that is located on land owned by the state is exempt from taxation if the property is used primarily to operate programs or perform other activities for the benefit of institutions of higher education.

H.B. 2901 (C. Turner) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide a credit against property taxes for property used as: (1) group home; or (2) an intermediate care facility for persons with developmental, physical, or intellectual disabilities if at least 95 percent of the residents of the facility are recipients of medical assistance under the state medical assistance program.  (Please see H.J.R. 127, below.)

H.B. 2922 (Orr) – Property Tax Exemption:  would define "wildlife management" for purposes of a property tax appraisal as actively using land in specific ways in accordance with standards developed by the Parks and Wildlife Department and the state comptroller.

H.B. 2990 (Canales) – Property Tax Delinquency:  would provide that, for a property owner who is a veteran, an additional penalty of delinquent tax collection costs for taxes due before June 1 may not exceed the lesser of: (1) the amount of the compensation specified in the contract with the attorney to be paid in connection with the collection of taxes; or (2) an amount equal to five percent of the amount of the delinquent taxes for which the penalty is incurred.

H.B. 3035 (Harper-Brown) – Property Tax Exemptions:  would redefine Freeport and Super Freeport goods as goods that are transported out of the state (or transported within the state for Super Freeport property) before the expiration of 730 days. (Note: current law provides for an exemption if the goods are transported out of the state for Freeport goods, or within the state for Super Freeport goods, before the expiration of 175 days.)

H.J.R. 115 (Workman) – Property Tax Exemption:  would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize the legislature to exempt from property taxes all or part of real property used to operate a child-care facility.  (Please see H.B. 2497, above.)

H.J.R. 119 (Laubenberg) – Property Tax Exemption:  would amend the Texas Constitution to entitle the former spouse of an individual to freeze the property tax on the residence homestead of the individual under certain circumstances.  (Please see H.B. 2675, above.)

H.J.R. 126 (Raymond) – Appraisal Cap:  would amend the Texas Constitution to limit the maximum appraised value of property that is owned or leased by a business entity that had less than $1 million in gross receipts in its most recent fiscal year and is used for business purposes to the lesser of the most recent market value of the property as determined by the appraisal entity or 110 percent, or a greater percentage, of the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year.  (Please see H.B. 2797, above.)

H.J.R. 127 (C. Turner) – Property Tax Exemption:  would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize the legislature to provide for a credit against property taxes imposed on a property used to provide housing to persons with disabilities based on the costs the owner of the property incurs to maintain, operate, or make improvements to the property. (Please see H.B. 2901,  above.)

S.B. 1131 (Ellis) – Property Tax Exemption:  would provide that a person is entitled to an exemption from taxation of the real property that the person owns and leases to a school if: (1) the real property is used exclusively by the school for educational functions; (2) the rental for the real property on an annual basis is not more than one percent of the property's market value; (3) the school owns a building or facility on the leased property in which the school operates; and (4) the real property is reasonably necessary for the operation of the school.

S.B. 1224 (Taylor) – Appraisal Process:  would allow a property owner to make a payment or to file or deliver a report, application, statement, or other document by sending the document by common or contract carrier that bears a receipt mark indicating a date earlier than or on the specified due date or the owner otherwise furnishes satisfactory proof that it was deposited with the common or contract carrier on time.

S.B. 1255 (Patrick) – Appraisal Process:  would authorize a property owner to appeal through binding arbitration an appraisal review board order if the property is the owner's residence homestead and is valued at $1 million or less.  (Companion bill is H.B. 2192 by Murphy.)

S.B. 1278 (Watson) – Appraisal Process:  would require the chief appraiser to use the cost method of appraisal to determine the market value of solar energy property.  (Companion bill is H.B. 2500 by Bohac.)

S.B. 1342 (Davis) – Appraisal Process:  would require a district court to grant relief on the ground that a property is appraised unequally if: (1) the appraised value of the property exceeds the median level of appraisal of a reasonable and representative sample of comparable properties; (2) the property qualifies as the owner’s residence homestead; or (3) the appraised or market value of the property is $1 million or less and exceeds the median appraised value of a reasonable sample of comparable properties.

S.J.R. 44 (Ellis) – Property Tax:  would amend the Texas Constitution to exempt from property taxes any real property that is leased to a person for use as a school for educational purposes.  (Please see S.B. 1131, above.)

S.J.R. 51 (Paxton) – Property Tax Exemption:  would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize the legislature to exempt from property taxes a person’s inventory held for sale at retail.

SALES TAX

H.B. 2504 (Bohac) – Sales Tax Exemption:  would exempt snack items from sales and use taxes, but would provide that chips, crackers, or pretzels that are sold in individual-sized portions are subject to sales and use taxes.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1151 by Hinojosa.)

H.B. 2730 (Raymond) – Transit Sales Tax:  would allow a transit department in a city with a population of less than 300,000 to exceed the two percent cap on local sales and use taxes if the voters of the transit department approve the increase.

H.B. 2746 (Strama) – Sales Tax Exemption:  would exempt a number of energy-efficient products from sales and use taxes.  (Companion bill is S.B. 535 by West.)

H.B. 2779 (Frank) – Sales Tax Exemption: would eliminate city sales taxes on all-terrain vehicles, recreational off-highway vehicles, and off-road motorcycles by reclassifying these items as “motor vehicles” under the Tax Code (Note: the effect of this bill is to allow the state to continue to collect its full sales taxes as it does on cars and trucks, but cities would lose all their sales taxes on these vehicles.)

H.B. 2941 (Alvarado) – Sales Tax Exemption: would exempt from sales and use taxes the sale, storage, use, or consumption of tangible personal property directly used or consumed in qualified research or services if the property or services are sold, leased, or rented to, or stored, used, or consumed by, a person engaged in qualified research under contracts with one or more public or private institutions of higher education.

H.B. 2943 (Cortez) – Sales Tax Exemption: would exempt from sales and use taxes the sale, storage, use, or consumption of tangible personal property directly used or consumed in qualified research or services if the property or services are sold, leased, or rented to, or stored, used, or consumed by a person who: (1) is primarily engaged in a business involved in the aerospace industry; (2) performs qualified research in the territory of a defense base development authority; and (3) will not claim a franchise tax credit for the period during which the sale, storage, use, or other consumption occurs.

S.B. 1151 (Hinojosa) – Sales Tax Exemption:  this bill is the same as H.B. 2504, above.

S.B. 1228 (Estes) – Sales Tax Exemption:  would exempt a firearm or hunting supplies from sales and use taxes if the sale takes place on March 2.  (Companion is H.B. 1533 by Leach.)

S.B. 1252 (Patrick) – Sales Tax Exemption:  would exempt certain tangible personal property and services related to mineral exploration and production from sales and use taxes.  (Companion bill is H.B. 2047 by Lozano.)

S.B. 1330 (Estes) – Sales Tax Exemption:  would exempt the sale, lease, or rental, or storage, use, or other consumption of tangible personal property from sales and use taxes if: (1) the property is sold, leased, or rented to or stored, used, or consumed by a provider or a subsidiary of a provider; and (2) the property is directly used or consumed by the provider or subsidiary in the distribution of cable television service, internet access service, or telecommunications services.

PURCHASING

H.B. 2388 (Menendez) – Defense Base Development Authorities:  would exempt a qualifying project of a defense base development authority from the requirements of the state’s public/private partnership statute.

H.B. 2389 (Menendez) – Defense Base Development Authorities:  would exempt a qualifying project of a defense base development authority from the requirements of the state’s alternative construction delivery methods statute.

H.B. 2522 (Springer) – Historically Underutilized Businesses:  would redefine “economically disadvantaged person” in the context of historically underutilized businesses to mean “a person who is a member of a racial or ethnic group that comprises less than 50 percent of the state’s population.”

H.B. 2528 (E. Rodriguez) – Agricultural Product Preference:  would provide that a city that purchases agricultural products: (1) shall give preference to those produced or grown in this state if the cost to the city is equal and the quality is equal; and (2) may give preference to those products produced or grown in this state if the cost to the city does not exceed 107 percent of the cost of agricultural products produced or grown outside of this state and the quality is equal.  (Companion is S.B. 1107 by Zaffirini.)

H.B. 2847 (White) – Contracts with Disabled Persons:  would provide that, in relation to the current law allowing a political subdivision to purchase products or services for its use from private businesses through its authorized purchasing procedures or by substituting equivalent products or services produced by persons with disabilities, an open and binding contract between a political subdivision of this state and a private business may not be superseded or canceled in favor of a nonprofit organization.

H.B. 2958 (Leach) – Agencies and Instrumentalities of Cities:  would provide that an agency or instrumentality of a city, an economic development corporation created by a city, or an alliance, agreement, partnership, or agency created between a city and one or more other governmental entities is required to award a contract by competitive bidding or competitive sealed proposals in the same manner as the city.

S.B. 1107 (Zaffirini) – Agricultural Product Preference:  this bill is the same as H.B. 2528, above.

S.B. 1125 (Carona) – Purchasing Groups: would provide that: (1) a purchasing group composed primarily of employees of a political subdivision, including a county, city, or school district, may purchase first-party indemnity coverage, in addition to the liability coverage required in current law, on a group basis for other risks to which members may be exposed provided that the aggregate coverage limit per group member for the risk does not exceed three percent of the per member coverage limit for liability coverage; (2) a purchasing group shall notify the insurance commissioner of the group’s intent to purchase such coverage not later than the 60th day before the date the policy that includes the coverage is initially issued; and (3) certain purchasing groups are exempt from the bill’s provisions.  (Companion bill is H.B. 3237 by Smithee.)

ELECTIONS

H.B. 2373 (Klick) – Elections: would provide that a signature roster may be in the form of an electronic device approved by the secretary of state that is capable of capturing a voter’s signature.

H.B. 2465 (Farias) – Voter Registration: would provide that any Internet website that allows a person to determine the person’s voter registration maintained by the secretary of state shall indicate if the person is or may be on the suspense list.

H.B 2475 (R. Miller) – Voter Assistance: would provide that a person providing assistance to a voter must swear that he or she is not the voter’s employer, an agent of the voter’s employer, or an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs.

H.B. 2515 (Springer) – Elections: would require the secretary of state to provide a calendar for each election that includes all election-related deadlines to each election authority either electronically or by mail.

H.B. 2538 (C. Turner) – Electronic Voting Machines:  would require a county elections administrator to furnish electronic voting machines to be used for a city election on any uniform election date. 

H.B. 2601 (Wu) – Elections: would allow a person to vote a limited ballot by personal appearance on Election Day only at the main early voting polling place.

H.B. 2682 (Miles) – Poll Watchers: would provide that, while on duty, a poll watcher may not use any device to produce or make an audio, visual, or audiovisual broadcast, recording, or photograph.

H.B. 2737 (D. Bonnen) – Ethics Commission:  would, among other procedural changes: (1) change the name of “complaints” to the Ethics Commission to “inquiries;” (2) provide for new procedures for review of inquiries; (3) allow candidates to appoint principal political committees instead of campaign treasurers; and (4) allow appointed principal political committees to file reports for candidates.

H.B. 2848 (White) – Early Voting: would provide that: (1) the early voting clerk may order video recording of the area within 100 feet of an outside door where a voter may enter the building or structure of the early voting polling place; (2) voting stations may not be recorded; and (3) the early voting clerk may permit a video recording to be provided live on an Internet website for purposes of allowing the public to evaluate the wait time at an early voting polling place.

H.B. 2931 (Capriglione) – Elections: would prohibit the presiding judge from removing a poll watcher or election clerk from a polling place unless: (1) the early voting clerk approves the removal; or (2) the removal is pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by a judge.

H.B. 2936 (Miles) – Poll Watchers: would provide that, with certain exceptions, not more than three watchers from all appointing authorities combined may serve at the same time at a precinct polling place, main or branch early voting polling place, a meeting place for an early voting ballot board, or central counting station involved in an election.

H.B. 2940 (Toth) – Elections: would, among other things: (1) provide that the general primary election date is the first Tuesday in February; (2) provide that the runoff primary election date is the fourth Tuesday in April; and (3) require on a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot to state his or her awareness of the resign-to-run provision in the Texas Constitution.

H.B. 2959 (Collier) – Elections: would provide that an election officer may not disassemble or remove electronic voting system equipment or any component of the equipment from the polling place until the close of voting.

H.B. 3015 (Moody) – Recall in General Law Cities: would allow for the recall of a member of the governing body of a city through a petition-initiated election in a general law city.

H.B. 3049 (Springer) – Uniform Election Dates: would provide that, with certain exceptions, every general or special election in the state shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

H.B. 3052 (Springer) – Uniform Election Dates: would provide that a city shall hold its general election on the November uniform election date.

H.B. 3054 (Springer) – Uniform Election Dates: would provide that an election for the issuance of bonds or the imposition of taxes by a political subdivision shall be held on the November uniform election date.

S.B. 1213 (Patrick) – Temporary Election Officers: would provide that a political subdivision’s temporary election worker, officer, or official is not subject to the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act. (Companion bill is H.B. 983 by Elkins.)

OPEN GOVERNMENT

H.B. 2414 (Button) – Open Meetings:  would:  (1) for purposes of the Open Meetings Act, define “videoconference call” to mean a communication conducted between two or more persons in which one or more of the participants communicate with the other participants through duplex audio and video signals transmitted over a telephone or data network; (2) authorize a meeting of a governmental body to be held by videoconference call only if:  (a) all video and audio communication is displayed in real time on an Internet website that is maintained by the governmental body and is accessible to the public; (b) a member of the public may remotely view and listen to the meeting through the Internet website from any location with access to the Internet; (c) at least one suitable physical space is made available to the public by the governmental body that is equipped with videoconference equipment that provides an audio and video display, as well as a camera and microphone by which a member of the public can provide testimony or otherwise actively participate in the meeting; (d) at least one agent of the governmental body is present at the physical space to conduct the broadcast and facilitate any public participation; and (e) any member of the public present at the physical space is provided the opportunity to participate by means of videoconference call in the same manner as a person who is physically present at a meeting that is not conducted by videoconference call; (3) provide that a member of a governmental body may participate in a meeting by means of videoconference call if the video and audio feed of the member’s participation is broadcast live at the meeting, and specify that the member must be counted as present at the meeting for all purposes; (4) provide that notice of a meeting held by videoconference call must specify as a location of the meeting the location of the physical space described in (2), above, and specify the Internet website address where the meeting will be displayed; (5) require that the physical space described in (2), above, have two-way audio and video communication with each member who is participating by videoconference call during the entire meeting; (6) require that each participant in a videoconference call, while speaking, be clearly visible and audible to each other participant and, during the open portion of the meeting, to the members of the public in attendance at the physical location described in (2), above, and at any other location of the meeting that is open to the public; and (7) require that the quality of the audio and video signals perceptible by members of the public at each location of the meeting that is open the public be of sufficient quality so that the public can observe the demeanor and hear the voice of each participant in the open portion of the meeting.

H.B. 2471 (E. Rodriguez) – Public Information:  would:  (1) make confidential the name and other identifying information of a person who obtains ownership or control of an unclaimed stray animal from a local government; and (2) allow the information described in (1), above, to be disclosed to a governmental entity or person who, under a contract with a governmental entity, provides animal control services, animal registration services, or related services for the governmental entity for purposes related to the protection of public health and safety; and (3) require a person that receives information under (2), above, to maintain the confidentiality of the information and allow the person to use the information only for a purpose directly related to the protection of public health and safety.

H.B. 2885 (McClendon) – Public Information:  would allow a current or former lieutenant governor or member of the legislature to choose to make certain personal information confidential.

H.B. 2934 (Hunter) – Open Meetings and Public Information:  would: (1) provide that a member or group of members of a governmental body commits an offense if the member or members knowingly transmits an electronic communication during a public meeting, with some exceptions; (2) add to the definition of “public information” information related to the transaction of official business that is written, produced, collected, assembled, or maintained: (a) for a governmental body and the body has a right of access to the information or spends or contributes public money to write, produce, collect, assemble, or maintain the information; or (b) by an individual who holds public office, is a member of the staff of a public office holder, or is an officer or employee of a governmental body; (3) add to the definition of “public information” any electronic communication transmitted through a device provided to an individual by a governmental body for official use on behalf of the governmental body or maintained on a government server; (4) provide that public information of a governmental body exists on a device not provided by the governmental body when that device is used by a public office holder, a member of the staff of a public office holder, or any other official or employee of the governmental body in connection with or related to the transaction of official business; and (5) define “official business” for purposes of the Public Information Act to mean any matter over which a governmental body has authority or administrative or advisory duties.

S.B. 1297 (Watson) – Open Meetings:  would:  (1) provide that the following communication or exchange between members of a governmental body about public business or policy does not constitute a meeting or deliberation for purposes of the Open Meetings Act: (a) a written communication; (b) posted on an online message board or similar Internet application viewable by the public, and (c) that is displayed in real time and displayed on the board or Internet application for no less than thirty days after the communication is first posted; (2) allow a governmental body to have no more than one online message board or Internet application to use as described in (1), above; (3) require that the online message board or Internet application described in (1), above, be owned or controlled by the governmental body, prominently displayed on the body’s primary Internet web page, and no more than one click away from the governmental body’s primary Internet web page; (4) limit users (posters) of the online message board or Internet application described in (1), above, to the governmental body and authorized staff, who must include their name and title in any posted communication; (5) provide that certain postings removed from the board or application described in (1), above, are public information and must be maintained for a period of two years; and (6) prohibit a governmental body voting or taking any action that is required to be taken at a meeting under the Open Meetings Act by communicating or posting to the message board or Internet application described in (1), above.

OTHER FINANCE/ADMINISTRATION BILLS

H.B. 2350 (Hunter) – Windstorm Insurance: would, among other things, provide that: (1) a city or county may establish a program under which – for any structure’s alteration, remodel, enlargement, or repair, involving one or more structural building components and located in the state’s seacoast territory – an inspection may be conducted to determine whether the structure meets windstorm standards; and (2) the Texas Department of Insurance may contract with a city or county that adopts such a program.

H.B. 2352 (Hunter) – Windstorm Insurance: this bill is substantially similar to S.B. 1089, below.

H.B. 2353 (White) – Federal Regulation:  would provide that a good that is grown, manufactured, made, or otherwise produced in this state and remains in this state, or a service that is performed exclusively in this state, is not subject to federal law or federal regulation under the authority of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce. 

H.B. 2378 (Geren) – Alcoholic Beverage Permit and Licenses:  would:  (1) require the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to refuse to issue an original permit authorizing the retail sale of alcoholic beverages before the first anniversary of the date an original or renewal license or permit application filed by the same applicant for the same premises is refused, unless the condition that caused the refusal is addressed or resolved; and (2) require a county judge, the commission, or an administrator to refuse to approve or issue an original license authorizing the retail sale of alcoholic beverages before the first anniversary of the date an original or renewal license or permit application filed by the same applicant for the same premises is refused, unless the condition that caused the refusal is addressed.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1036 by Carona.)

H.B. 2432 (Murphy) – Retirement Systems:  would: (1) remove a public retirement system’s sole discretion in determining whether a record is confidential; (2)  require each member of the governing body of a public retirement system to disclose certain conflicts of interest; (3) allow the attorney general to sue an individual who breaches his or her fiduciary duty to a retirement system and to recover civil penalties for a public retirement system, including the Texas Municipal Retirement System; (4) require that each public retirement system retain its reports and documents in accordance with the state records retention schedule; and (5) for public retirement systems that base the retirement amount on the final salary of the retiree, prohibit the inclusion of overtime pay in the calculation of benefits.

H.B. 2444 (Callegari) – Retirement:  would remove a public retirement system’s sole discretion in determining whether a record is confidential.

H.B. 2453 (Eiland) – Mixed Beverage Tax:  would change the manner in which the tax on mixed beverages is imposed by requiring the tax rate of 14 percent to apply to the sales price of the mixed beverages, ice, and non-alcoholic mixers sold, used, prepared, or served. (Note:  Current law provides that the tax rate of 14 percent applies to the gross receipts received by a permittee for the sale of mixed beverages, ice, and non-alcoholic mixers.  Under this bill, cities would receive 10.7143 percent of taxes received from the sale of these items, rather than 10.7143 percent of the gross receipts of permittees within the city.)

H.B. 2464 (Farias) – Birth Certificate Fees:  would: (1) require a local registrar or county clerk to charge a two dollar fee, in addition to other fees collected, for issuing a certified copy of a birth certificate, issuing a wallet-sized birth certificate, or conducting a search for a birth certificate; and (2) require the fee collected under (1), above, to be sent to the comptroller, who must deposit the money to the credit of the child abuse and neglect prevention trust fund account.

H.B. 2472 (Cook) – Department of Information Resources: this is the Department of information Resources sunset bill, which continues that department until 2021.  Of interest to cities, it provides that the department shall adopt a process to determine the amount of the administrative fee the department charges to administer any of its programs.  (Companion bill is S.B. 216 by Birdwell.)

H.B. 2539 (Turner) – Child Pornography:  would: (1) require a computer technician who, in the course and scope of employment or business, views an image on a computer that is or appears to be child pornography to immediately report the discovery to local or state law enforcement or the “Cyber Tipline;” (2) provide that a computer technician may not be held liable on account of any action taken in good faith to comply with (1), above; (3) provide that it is a class B misdemeanor to fail to comply with (1), above; and (4) provide that it is a defense to prosecution that the actor did not report the discovery of an image of child pornography because the child in the image appeared to be at least 18 years old.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1190 by Davis.)

H.B. 2609 (Pitts) – Payday Lending:  would: (1) grant exclusive authority to the state’s consumer credit commissioner to examine, inspect, and regulate payday lenders; (2) expressly provide that a business regulated by the commissioner is not subject to any regulatory authority of a political subdivision in this state.  (Note: This bill would invalidate city ordinances adopted to regulate payday and motor vehicle title lenders.)

H.B. 2636 (Frullo) – Tax Increment Financing:  would allow money in the tax increment fund for a reinvestment zone to be transferred to the tax increment fund for an adjacent zone if: (1) the taxing units that participate in the reinvestment zone transferring the funds also all participate in the adjacent zone that is to receive the funds; (2) each taxing unit agrees to deposit the same portion of tax increment tin the fund for each zone; and (3) the holders of any tax increment bonds or notes issued for the transferring zone agree to the transfer. 

H.B. 2649 (Herrero) – Deer Permits:  would provide that a person who violates a rule or the terms of a permit relating to a permit issued for the trapping, transporting, and transplanting of a game animal or bird commits a class C Parks and Wildlife misdemeanor.

H.B. 2684 (Button) – Franchise Tax:  would provide that a corporation comprised of political subdivisions that was formed to act as an agent to negotiate the purchase of electricity is exempted from the franchise tax.

H.B. 2687 (E. Rodriguez) – Property Tax Lending:  would allow a city council to take official action to authorize or prohibit the transfer of the city’s tax lien to a person who pays the taxes on behalf of a property owner.

H.B. 2693 (Sheets) – Roofing Contractors: would provide: (1) that a person may not perform or offer to perform roofing services unless the person holds a certificate issued by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; (2) detailed procedures and penalties; (3) that an authorized employee or representative of a city is exempt from the bill’s requirements; and (4) that the bill is not intended to conflict with or affect the authority of any state or local agency, board, or department that administers or enforces any law or ordinance or that establishes, administers, or enforces a policy, rule, qualification, or standard for a trade or profession.

H.B. 2706 (Villarreal) – Payday Lending:  would preempt all city ordinances regulating payday and motor vehicle title lenders (i.e., “credit services organizations” and “credit access businesss”) to the extent that an ordinance is not within the city’s standard zoning or police powers and would impose a number of statewide regulations on payday and motor vehicle title lenders, including:

1. a prohibition on a credit services organization from assisting a consumer in obtaining an extension of consumer credit in any form other than a payday or motor vehicle title loan that meets the requirements of state law;
2. a requirement that a credit access business post notice regarding the availability of extended payment plans;
3. a provision limiting the term of a loan to military borrower to: (a) 90 days for a payday loan; and (b) 180 days for a motor vehicle title loan;
4. a provision that a loan by a credit access business on or before the fifth day after the date the consumer pays the debt on a previous loan is considered a refinance of the previous debt;
5. a term limit of 180 days for a loan by a credit access business;
6. a requirement that consumer notices and the loan agreement be printed in Spanish on request of a consumer;
7. a requirement that a credit access business consider the ability of the consumer to repay the debt within the term before assisting the consumer with obtaining a loan;
8. a provision stating that a consumer may have only one outstanding debt from a previous loan from a credit access business at any given time, and that in order to secure a loan the consumer may not have received a loan from a credit access business within the preceding 14 days or gone into default on a debt resulting from a credit access business loan within the preceding 30 days;
9. a provision stating that the proceeds of the sale of a repossessed vehicle secured by a motor vehicle title loan shall satisfy all outstanding and unpaid indebtedness;
10. a requirement that a credit access business require documentation to establish a consumer’s income for purposes of limitations on the total amount of the loan;
11. limitations on single-payment payday loans, including: (a) a requirement that the loan not exceed: (i) 25 percent of the consumer’s gross income if the consumer’s annual income is not more than 125 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four; or (ii) 35 percent of the consumer’s gross monthly income if the consumer is not described by (i), above; (b) a requirement that the loan have a term of not less than 10 days; and (c) a requirement that the loan may not be refinanced more than four times, and once refinanced four times a credit access business must offer an extended payment plan to the consumer that complies with specific requirements;
12. limitations on multiple-payment payday loans, including: (a) a requirement that the sum of all scheduled payments on such a loan not exceed: (i) 15 percent of the consumer’s gross monthly income, if the consumer’s income is not more than 125 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four; or (ii) 20 percent of the consumer’s gross monthly income if the consumer is not described by (i), above; (b) a requirement that the loan may not be payable in more than 12 installments; (c) a requirement that the loan be payable on a fully amortizing, declining principal balance basis with substantially equal payments; (d) a requirement that the first installment payment may not be due before the 10th day after the consumer enters into the loan agreement, and that an installment may not be due before the 14th day or after the 31st day after the date a previous installment is due; and (e) a requirement that the loan may not be refinanced more than once, and the combined term of the original loan and refinanced loan may not exceed 270 days;
13. limitations on single-payment motor vehicle title loans, including: (a) a requirement that the principal amount of the loan may not exceed the lesser of: (i) six percent of the consumer’s annual income if the consumer’s annual income is not more than 125 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four; (ii) eight percent of the consumer’s gross annual income if the consumer is not described by (i), above; or (iii) 70 percent of the retail value of the motor vehicle securing the debt; (b) a requirement that the term of the loan not be less than 30 days; (c) a requirement that the loan may not be refinanced more than six times, and once refinanced six times a credit access business must offer an extended payment plan to the consumer that complies with specific requirements;
14. limitations on multiple-payment motor vehicle title loans, including: (a) a requirement that the sum of all scheduled payments on such a loan not exceed: (i) 15 percent of the consumer’s gross monthly income, if the consumer’s income is not more than 125 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four; or (ii) 20 percent of the consumer’s gross monthly income if the consumer is not described by (i), above; (b) a requirement that the loan be payable on a fully amortizing, declining principal balance basis with substantially equal payments; (c) a requirement that the loan may not be payable in more than 6 installments; (d) a requirement that the first installment payment may not be due before the 10th day after the consumer enters into the loan agreement, and that a subsequent installment may not be due before the 30th day after the date the previous installment was due; (e) a requirement that the loan may not be refinanced more than once, and the combined term of the original loan and refinanced loan may not exceed 270 days; and (f) a requirement that a credit access business may not initiate any activities to repossess the vehicle securing the debt before offering the consumer an extended payment plan that complies with specific requirements.

(Companion bill is S.B. 1247 by Carona.)

H.B. 2839 (Frullo) – Landowner Liability:  would limit the liability of an airstrip owner. 

H.B. 2851 (Callegari) – State Agency Rules:  would provide that a state agency shall only adopt a rule that fulfills the purposes of the law governing the agency.

H.B. 2871 (Capriglione) – Regional Planning Commission Contracts:  would require a regional planning commission to submit any contract with a nondisclosure provision to the attorney general for review as to whether such a provision would be legal under the Public Information Act.

H.B. 2887 (Davis) – Community Collaboratives:  would:  (1) provide, to the extent funds are appropriated to the Texas Department of State Health Services, that grants be made to various entities, including local governmental entities, to establish community collaboratives that bring the public and private sectors together to provide services and coordinate care for the homeless, mentally ill, and persons with substance abuse problems; and (2) establish permissible uses for grant funds described in (1), above.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1804 by Huffman.)

H.B. 2935 (Hunter) – Interlocutory Appeals:  would allow an interlocutory appeal from a court’s decision on a motion to dismiss in a case involving free speech.

H.B. 2948 (Harper-Brown) – Legislative Budget Board: would provide that the Legislative Budget Board: (1) must perform a cost-benefit analysis of each proposed rule submitted by a state agency, except an emergency rule, and submit the analysis to: (a) the governor and the legislature; (b) a person subject to regulation under a proposed rule; and (3) a nonprofit corporation whose members may be affected by a proposed rule; and (2) shall file a report on the financial effect of a proposed rule by a state agency with the governor and the legislature.

H.B. 2981 (E. Rodriguez) – Animal Shelters:  would, among other things:  (1) authorize an animal shelter to house certain same-species animals together, but prohibit (with some exceptions) confining healthy animals with unhealthy animals; (2) prohibit an animal shelter from refusing to adopt or transfer a dog or cat based solely on age, breed, type, appearance or size; (3) require a governmental animal sheltering agency to keep and maintain on its premises records of the date and disposition of animals and make those records available for inspection; (4) authorize a governmental animal sheltering agency to transfer an animal that does not have a microchip or tag identification to a rescue organization or private animal sheltering organization immediately after impound and to post to persons entering the facility and on the website certain information about the animal; (5) authorize a governmental animal sheltering agency to transfer to a rescue organization or private animal sheltering organization an animal that is surrendered by its owner; (6) require an animal shelter, in certain instances, to give certain notice about organizations and shelters who are willing and able to care for unweaned animals; (7) require an animal shelter, before euthanizing an animal, to give certain notice to the public and certain organizations and to transfer the animal in certain instances; (8) authorize euthanasia within 24 hours of giving the notice in (7), above, in the case of a mass seizure of animals by law enforcement; and (9) authorize an animal shelter to make a transfer in (7), above, conditioned upon a site-visit conducted by a city or county employee who oversees zoning and health code enforcement in the city or county.

H.B. 2986 (Fletcher) – Solicitation of Legal Services:  would:  (1) provide that a person commits an offense if: (a) the person, with the intent to obtain professional employment for the person or another person, solicits or causes to be solicited, in person or by telephone, employment that relates to the provision of legal services involving the solicited person; and (b) the person obtained the information used to make the solicitation described in (a), above, from personal information contained in a citation for a violation of the Rules of the Road issued to the solicited person; and (2) provide penalties for a violation of (1), above.

H.B. 2953 (Guillen) – State License Holders: would provide that, unless expressly authorized by state law, a city may not adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule, or regulation that establishes requirements for, imposes restrictions on, or otherwise regulates the business activity of a state license holder within the city or its extraterritorial jurisdiction.

H.B. 3000 (Miller) – Property Tax Lending:  would: (1) prohibit a property tax lender from selling, transferring, assigning, or releasing rights related to a property tax loan to a person who is not licensed by the Finance Commission of Texas; and (2) repeal the expedited foreclosure process for a tax lien by a licensed property tax lender.  (Companion bill is S.B. 247 by Carona.)

H.B. 3019 (McClendon) – Payday Lending:  would provide that, for a consumer who is a military borrower, dependent of a military borrower, or member of the reserve component of the United States armed forces, that the term of a loan is limited to: (1) 90 days for a payday loan; or (2) 180 days for a motor vehicle title loan.

H.B. 3033 (E. Rodriguez) – Payday Lending:  would provide that information relating to the name, address, and telephone number of all third-party lender organizations with which a credit access business contracts to provide services or from which the credit access business arranges extensions of consumer credit that is contained in a license application is considered to be public information. 

H.B. 3045 (Oliveira) – Tax Preferences:  would: (1) require the comptroller to identify all state and local tax preferences and present a schedule to the Legislative Budget Board every odd-numbered year under which each tax preference is reviewed once during each six-year period; (2) require the Legislative Budget Board to evaluate all state and local tax preferences and make recommendations for continuing, repealing, or amending each preference; and (3) provide that each tax preference enacted by the legislature that becomes law after September 1, 2014, expires six years after the date it takes effect, unless the legislature provides an earlier or later expiration date.

H.B. 3063 (Menendez) – Enterprise Zones:  would provide that an area inside the boundaries of a defense base development authority automatically qualifies as an enterprise zone. 

H.B. 3066 (Menendez) – Enterprise Zones:  would provide that an area inside the boundaries of a defense base development authority automatically qualifies as an enterprise zone.

H.J.R. 111 (Perry) – State Budget: would amend the Texas Constitution to limit a state budget appropriation from the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

H.J.R. 114 (Dutton) – Tax Preferences:  would amend the Texas Constitution to: (1) require the legislature to implement the necessary procedures for the periodic review of state and local “tax preferences;” and (2) provide that each tax preference enacted by the legislature that becomes law after September 1, 2014, expires six years after the date it takes effect, unless the legislature provides an earlier or later expiration date.

H.J.R. 121 (Raymond) – Gambling: would amend the Texas Constitution to: (1) authorize a state video lottery system to operate video lottery games at certain horse and greyhound racetracks and providing that federally recognized Indian tribes may conduct games of chance on certain Indian lands; and (2) prohibit the governing body of a political subdivision from taking any action regarding the repeal or revocation of a previous authorization by the voters of the political subdivision to approve the legalization or conduct of pari-mutuel wagering on horse races or greyhound races at a racetrack in that political subdivision if the racetrack is authorized under this resolution to operate video lottery games on behalf of the state.  (Companion bill is S.J.R. 26 by Hinojosa.)

H.J.R. 125 (Simpson) – Health Benefits:  would amend the Texas Constitution to prohibit a state law that would: (1) require an individual to choose a particular health care treatment; or (2) require a health care provider to advise a patient of a particular treatment.

S.B. 216 (Birdwell) – Department of Information Resources: this bill is the same as H.B. 2472, above.

S.B. 219 (Huffman) – Ethics Commission:  would, among other things, require the Texas Ethics Commission to design forms that may be used for filing a financial statement with an authority other than the commission.  (Companion bill is H.B. 2737 by Bonnen.)

S.B. 820 (Williams) – Deer Permits:  this bill is the same as H.B. 1614, above.

S.B. 1089 (Hinojosa) – Windstorm Insurance: would make numerous changes to the operation of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and to catastrophe preparedness in seacoast territories by, among other things: (1) prohibiting, after September 1, 2013, the use of public securities issued under existing law to cover losses in excess of premium and other revenue of the association and terminating the use of public securities under existing law on September 1, 2017; (2) after September 1, 2013, providing that losses in excess of premium and other revenue of the association shall be paid from a new public securities process of a limited amount and an assessment against all insurers in the state; (3) setting the amount of the surcharge, which is higher for those in first tier coastal counties; (4) authorizing an insurer to purchase reinsurance to cover an assessment for which the insurer would be liable under the bill; (5) not later than January 31 of each year, mandating that the association shall submit to the commissioner in a form and manner, and using a method or formula determined by the commissioner by rule, a statement that reports the financial condition of the association; (5) creating four new classes of public securities, the proceeds of which , including investment income, shall be held in trust for the exclusive use and benefit of the association; (6) modifying the composition of the association’s board of directors; (7) providing that a policy issued by an insurer that includes windstorm and hail insurance coverage must include certain provisions; (8) mandating that residential construction, including an alteration, remodel, enlargement, or repair involving one or more structural building components, in the unincorporated area of a first tier coastal county, shall conform to the residential building code standards required to obtain a windstorm certificate; and (9) providing that a city or county may not issue a certificate of occupancy or completion for residential construction in a seacoast territory unless  the roof of the construction has been designed for compliance with uniform static wind pressure requirements of 140 miles per hour, for construction seaward of the intercoastal waterway, or 130 miles per hour, for construction inland of the intercoastal waterway and the construction has been inspected and certified by the Texas Department of Insurance in accordance with the bill.  (This bill is substantially similar to H.B. 2352 by Hunter.)

S.B. 1155 (Hinojosa) – Enterprise Zones:  would authorize a county to nominate for designation as an enterprise project a project or activity of a qualified business that is located in the county and in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a city primarily located in a different county.  (Companion bill is H.B. 1982 by Murphy.)

S.B. 1179 (Deuell) – Mixed Beverage Tax:  would: (1) establish a process for certain venues to qualify as a “live music presenter” for purposes of the mixed beverage tax; and (2) provide that a tax at the rate of seven percent is imposed on the gross receipts of a mixed beverage permittee classified as a live music presenter.  (Note: under current law a tax at the rate of 14 percent is imposed on the gross receipts of a mixed beverage permittee, of which a city receives 10.7143 percent for all permitees in the city limits.)  (Companion bill is H.B. 3095 by Strama.) 

S.B. 1188 (Huffman) – Credit Management Agreements:  would require the comptroller to conduct a study on the use of credit management agreements by state agencies and political subdivisions.

S.B. 1190 (Davis)  – Child Pornography: this bill is the same as H.B. 2539, above.

S.B. 1201 (Patrick) – Property Tax Lending:  would, among other things:  (1) require the transferee of a tax lien to include a specific notice in any advertisement or solicitation provided to a property owner; (2) require the transferee of a tax lien to mail to any mortgage services and to each holder of a recorded first lien encumbering the property a notice that the property owner has requested that the transferee pay the taxes on the property, that the tax lien will be transferred to the transferee, and that the transferred tax lien will be superior to the mortgage; (3) provide that the transfer of a tax lien does not affect the priority of the lien to the extent the lien secures the funds advanced by the transferee to pay taxes, penalties, and interest, and collection costs as shown on the tax receipt; and (4) failure to comply with state law will result in the transferred tax lien being subordinate to any recorded preexisting lien on the property. 

S.B. 1247 (Carona) – Payday Lending:  this bill is the same as H.B. 2706, above.

S.B. 1250 (Carona) – State Regulation of Occupations:  would create an office of regulatory best practices in the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation which would, among other things, evaluate legislative proposals to regulate occupations. (Please see S.J.R. 48, below.)

S.B. 1251 (Carona) – Payday Lending:  would authorize the Texas Finance Commission to prescribe by rule the maximum amount of an administrative fee and acquisition charge associated with certain consumer loan contracts.  (Companion bill is H.B. 2315 by Villarreal.)

S.J.R. 26 (Hinojosa) – Gambling: this bill is the same as H.J.R. 121, above.

S.J.R. 48 (Carona) – State Regulation of Occupations:  would amend the Texas Constitution to require a member of the legislature to obtain and file a report on the costs and benefits of a bill or amendment to impose or increase a statewide occupational regulation.  (Note:  please see S.B. 1250, above.)

S.J.R. 50 (Lucio) – Drug Screening:  would amend the Texas Constitution to mandate that a candidate for public elective office in this state submit to a controlled substance use screening assessment.

MUNICIPAL COURTS

H.B. 2679 (Guillen) – Defendant’s Plea: would allow: (1) a municipal court judge to permit a defendant in jail to enter in a plea; (2) a judge to accept the plea; and (3) a judge to assess punishment. 

H.B. 2863 (Carter) – Prostitution:  would require a city or county with a first offender prostitution program to include appropriate counseling, services, and classroom instruction to offenders.

H.B. 2890 (S. Turner) – Court Costs:  would: (1) increase the consolidated state court costs for class C misdemeanors to $122; (2) allow the Texas Judicial Council to increase the court cost amount annually by a percentage equal to the inflation rate for the preceding four-calendar-year period and round the resulting amount rounded to the nearest dollar, if: (a) the inflation amount was at least three percent and the legislature did not increase the amount of the court cost during that period; (3) reduce the one-time restitution fee for certain offenses from $12 to $6; (4) reduce the amount of court costs for a conviction of a municipal ordinance from $40 to $30; (5) reduce the administrative fees for failure to appear and failure to pay from $30 to $10; and (6) allow a city to keep the entire amount of the administrative fee for failure to appear or failure to pay. 

H.B. 3058 (Herrero) – Juvenile Records: would make confidential all records and files related to a child who has received a dismissal after deferral of disposition. 

H.B. 3059 (Herrero) – Court Costs: would allow a municipal court judge to waive payment of a fine or costs imposed on a minor defendant. 

S.B. 1108 (Duncan) – Judicial and Court Personnel Training Fund: would allow the Court of Criminal Appeals to appropriate funds for continuing legal education for the personnel of a criminal defense attorney who regularly represents indigent defendants in criminal matters. (Companion bill is H.B. 1245 by Turner.)

S.B. 1147 (West) – Municipal Court Fee:  would allow a court, including a municipal court, to charge a $2 fee for each electronic filing transaction if that cost accurately reflects the cost of electronic filing.

S.B. 1234 (Whitmire) – Failure to Attend School: would remove the offense of failure to attend school from the jurisdiction of municipal and justice courts and would establish progressive sanctions for students that fail to attend school.

COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT

H.B. 2473 (Deshotel) – Economic Development Corporations:  would authorize a Type A or Type B economic development corporation to spend tax revenue for the development or construction of housing facilities on or adjacent to the campus of a public state college. 

H.B. 2521 (Springer) – Economic Development Corporations:  would authorize a Type B economic development corporation to use its dedicated sales tax revenue to support the promotion of development and expansion of housing, including affordable housing. 

H.B. 2695 (Davis) – Wind Turbines:  would authorize the governing body of a city to extend to the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city the application of city ordinances relating to the authorization and development of wind turbines.

H.B. 2757 (D. Bonnen) – Substandard Building Liens:  would authorize a city to place a substandard building demolition lien on a homestead.  (Please see H.J.R. 123, below.)

H.B. 2818 (Sheffield) – Alcohol Regulation:  would, among other things, provide that an area annexed by a city assumes the wet or dry status of the city. 

H.B. 2908 (Dutton) – Ordinance Authority:  would prohibit a city from regulating an individual who is licensed by the state unless the state statute providing for the licensing specifically allows a city to regulate the licensee. 

H.B. 2930 (Miles) – Takings Claims: would provide that: (1) a person asserting a taking claim against a governmental entity shall give written notice of such claim by certified mail to the governmental entity against which such claim is being made at least 60 days before the filing of a suit in any court based upon certain common-law takings claims that are codified in the bill; (2) any party asserting a taking claim shall state that it has complied fully with the provisions of the bill and shall provide such evidence thereof as the judge of the court may require; (3) the notice provided under (1), above, shall toll the applicable statute of limitations to and including a period of 75 days following the giving of the notice, and this tolling shall apply to all parties and potential parties; (4) no fewer than 45 days after receipt of a notice required by (1), above, the governmental entity shall deliver to the sender in person, by third-party delivery or by certified mail, a response stating whether or not the governmental entity contends in good faith that one or more of the facts described by the claimant in the notice were the result of the governmental entity’s enforcement of one or more laws enacted for the protection of public health or safety and, if yes, identifying the said law or laws; (5) if the response required by (4), above, does not state that one or more of the facts described in the claimant’s notice were the result of the governmental entity's enforcement of one or more laws enacted for the protection of public health or safety, the bill’s procedures do apply to the taking claim; (6) if a pleading of a claimant filed in any court may be fairly construed to make a takings claim as defined by the bill the claimant shall, not later than 120 days after the date the original petition is filed, serve on each party or the party's attorney one or more expert reports, with a curriculum vitae of each expert listed in the report, for each governmental entity against which a taking claim is asserted; (7) if, as to a defendant, an expert report has not been served, the court, on the motion of the affected governmental entity, shall with certain exceptions enter an order that awards to the affected governmental entity reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of court incurred by the governmental entity and dismiss the claim with respect to the governmental entity, with prejudice to the refiling of the claim; (8) until a claimant has served the expert report and curriculum vitae under (6), above, all discovery in a taking claim is stayed except for the acquisition by the claimant of information by certain allowable means; (7) certain interlocutory appeals by a governmental entity are authorized; and (8) alternative dispute resolution procedures to a takings claim.  (Companion bill is S.B. 472 by Ellis.)

H.B. 2955 (Guillen) – Industrialized Housing:  would: (1) transfer the regulation of industrialized housing (but not industrialized buildings) from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs manufactured housing division; and (2) retain current municipal authority over industrialized housing.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1673 by Taylor.)

H.J.R. 110 (Isaac) – Freedom of Religion:  would  amend the Texas constitution to provide that:  (1) government may not burden a person’s or religious organization’s freedom of religion; (2) the right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be burdened unless the government proves it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest; and (3) a burden for purposes of (1) and (2), above, includes indirect burdens such as withholding benefits, assessing penalties, or an exclusion from programs or access to facilities. 

H.J.R. 113 (Ashby) – Right to Hunt and Fish:  would amend the Texas Constitution to give every person the right to hunt and fish, so long as that does not interfere with the rights of another person or involve trespass on private property.

H.J.R. 123 (D. Bonnen) – Substandard Building Liens:  would amend the Texas Constitution to authorize a city to place a substandard building demolition lien on a homestead.  (Please see H.B. 2757, above.)

S.B. 214 (Birdwell) – Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs:  this bill is the same as H.B. 3361, above.

S.B. 1087 (Campbell) – Floodplain Management:  would:  (1) authorize a city to bring a civil action for the enforcement of an ordinance relating to floodplain control and administration, including an ordinance regulating the placement of a structure, fill, or other materials in a designated floodplain; (2) authorize a city to abate a floodplain management ordinance violation by causing the work necessary to bring real property into compliance with the ordinance if, after notice, the owner fails to comply with the ordinance; and (3) allow a city to assess the costs incurred under (2), above, against the property and have a lien against the property for costs and interest.

S.B. 1144 (Lucio) – Spaceport Development Corporations:  would provide that: (1) a member of the governing body of a city authorizing the creation of the spaceport development corporation may be appointed to the board of directors; and (2) a director may be removed at any time without cause by a vote of the appointing governing body.

S.B. 1199 (Van de Putte) – Veteran and Military Friendly Cities:  would start a pilot program that would designate certain cities as Veteran and Military Friendly Cities based on Texas Veterans Commission criteria.

S.B. 1200 (Van de Putte) – Military Cities Grants:  would create  a grant program to assist local government entities, including cities, to respond to an anticipated, planned, announced, or implemented action of the federal government that would affect defense worker jobs or facilities within their community.

S.J.R. 4 (Campbell) – Religious Freedom:  would amend the Texas Constitution to provide that: (1) the government may not burden a person’s or religious organization’s freedom of religion; (2) the right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be burdened unless the government proves it has a compelling governmental interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest; and (3) a burden includes indirect burdens, such as withholding benefits, assessing penalties, or an exclusion from programs or access to facilities.  (Companion bill is S.J.R. 49 by Campbell.)

S.J.R. 49 (Campbell) – Religious Freedom:  this bill is the same as S.J.R. 49, above.

PERSONNEL

H.B. 2924 (Sheets) – Civil Service:  would require a civil service city to give a fire fighter or police officer access to his or her military leave time account if they have been employed for at least three months and regardless of whether the person has exhausted their other paid leave. 

H.B. 2971 (Alonzo) – Fire Departments:  would bring additional fire personnel under the regulatory authority of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection.

S.B. 1205 (Van de Putte) – Termination of Public Safety Employees:  would: (1) prohibit a city from terminating an injured peace officer or firefighter before he or she has reached maximum medical improvement; and (2) create a cause of action for damages and reinstatement if the bill is violated. (Companion bills are H.B. 1430 by Fletcher and H.B. 1697 by Farrar.) 

PUBLIC SAFETY

H.B. 2298 (Naishtat) – Emergency Medical Services:  would define “advanced life support” to mean emergency prehospital care that uses invasive medical acts, including advanced life support assessment.  (Note:  This bill would appear to ensure that the Health and Human Services Commission will continue to pay a transport at the “ALS 1” level if the only advanced life support service employed is an ALS assessment.)

H.B. 2346 (Zedler) – License Plate Flippers:  would make it a class B misdemeanor for a person to use, sell, offer for sale, purchase, or possess for use or sale a “license plate flipper,” which is defined as a mechanical device designed to be installed on a motor vehicle that switches between two or more license plates or hides a license plate from view.

H.B. 2369 (Guillen) – Volunteer Fire Fighters:  would move the retirement plan requirement for volunteer fire fighters from the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Plans to the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System.

H.B. 2381 (Isaac) – Concealed Handguns: would: (1) clarify that the notice given to a concealed handgun license holder that the license holder is prohibited from carrying at a meeting of a  governmental entity must be limited to the room or rooms where the  meeting is being held; (2) provide that a governmental entity may only prohibit a license holder from carrying in a meeting that is subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act; and (3) allow a license holder to carry on the premises of a polling place on the day of election or while early voting is in progress, on the premises of a racetrack, in an amusement park, and to a church or other established place of religious worship.

H.B. 2405 (Wu) – Cite and Release:  would:  (1) require each county to report to the Commission on Jail Standards the extent to which, during the preceding calendar year, the law enforcement agencies in the county issued citations for class A or B misdemeanor offenses instead of arresting the offender, as permitted by law; (2) require that the report described in (1), above, consist of certain information including the cost savings realized by having a cite and release policy or, alternatively, the reason the law enforcement agency has not adopted such a policy; and (3) impose on the commission certain duties in regard to the reports described in (1), above.

H.B. 2420 (Elkins) – Red Light Cameras:  would prohibit a city red light camera ordinance from imposing a civil penalty on the owner of a motor vehicle that is turning right at an intersection.

H.B. 2426 (Martinez) – Emergency Medical Services Personnel:  would: (1) require the Department of State Health Services to create a standardized training program and tests for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel; and (2) require the commissioner to choose only three statewide standardized certification examinations for EMS personnel.

H.B. 2429 (Martinez) – Structural Engineering: would create a new classification of “structural engineer” in the Texas Engineering Practices Act and would provide that a person may not practice structural engineering without a certificate issued by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1081 by Lucio.)

H.B. 2517 (Springer) – Outdoor Burning:  would allow a county to adopt an order requiring a person to contact a volunteer or city fire department before starting an outdoor fire.

H.B. 2529 (McClendon) – Disease Control Pilot Programs:  would create county-funded pilot programs for the prevention of communicable diseases, including the distribution of syringes

H.B. 2535 (Schaefer) – Handguns: would authorize a person who provides volunteer security services: (1) to carry a firearm on the premises of a private primary or secondary school at which the person is employed; or (2) if the person holds a concealed handgun license, to carry a concealed handgun in a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship if the person is a member of or regularly attends that established place of religious worship.

H.B. 2568 (Workman) – Criminal Offenses and Penalties:  would provide that a statute, including the Penal Code, or rule that creates or defines a criminal offense or penalty shall be strictly construed against the government and construed in favor of the actor if any part of the statute or rule is susceptible to more than one objectively reasonable interpretation, including an element of offense or the penalty to be imposed.

H.B. 2576 (Larson) – Cybersecurity: would create the position of state cybersecurity coordinator, who may establish a council to collaborate on matters of cybersecurity concerning this state. (Companion is S.B. 1102 by Van de Putte.)

H.B. 2579 (Wu) – Correctional Facilities:  would: (1) in regard to a violation of the civil rights of a person in custody, define “correctional facility” to include any place or facility at which a person suspected of a violation of federal immigration is detained; and (2) in regard to the detection of cellular phones or wireless communication devices in a correctional or detention facility, define “correctional facility” to include a municipal or county jail; a confinement facility operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ); a confinement facility operated under contract with any division of the TDCJ; a community corrections facility operated by a community supervision and corrections department; and certain public or private residential facilities, including an alcohol or other drug treatment facility that includes construction fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of juveniles and other individuals.

H.B. 2587 (J. Rodriguez) – Graffiti:  would increase the number of community service hours required of certain defendants convicted of an offense of graffiti or adjudicated as having engaged in conduct involving graffiti.

H.B. 2618 (Naishtat) – Detention of Person with Mental Illness:  would:  (1) provide that the costs for a hearing or proceeding under the “Texas Mental Health Code” shall be paid by the county in which emergency detention procedures are initiated; (2) require that a physician who determines a patient meets the criteria for court-ordered mental health services or emergency detention arrange for the patient to be apprehended by a peace officer or transported for emergency detention and notify the patient of the same;  (3) require a peace officer to take a person into custody if the officer has reason to believe and does believe the person is mentally ill and presents a substantial risk of serious harm to the person or to others unless the person is immediately restrained; (4) repeal the procedure under which a judge may order the emergency apprehension and detention of a person; and (5) repeal the authority for certain criminal law hearing officers to issue a magistrate's order for emergency apprehension and detention.

H.B. 2623 (Oliveira) – Space Flight Activities:  would provide the county authority to: (1) approve the date of a space launch in certain counties in which the Federal Aviation Administration has approved a launch site; and (2) temporarily close a beach near the launch site to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

H.B. 2678 (Moody) – Correctional Facilities:  this bill is almost identical to H.B. 2579, above.

H.B. 2690 (Elkins) – Display of Motor Vehicles for Sale:  would:  (1) with some exceptions, prohibit a person from selling or offering to sell a motor vehicle unless the person is an authorized seller; (2) with some exceptions, prohibit a person from parking a motor vehicle on public or private property with an indication that the vehicle is for sale displayed on the vehicle; (3) authorize a peace officer to remove a vehicle parked in violation of (2), above, immediately if parked on public property; (4) authorize a peace officer to remove a vehicle parked in violation of (2), above, two hours after certain mailed and posted notice has been given if parked on private property; and (5) require a peace officer to try to contact the person whose information is displayed on the vehicle before removing the vehicle as authorized in (3) or (4), above, and storing the vehicle at a storage facility.

H.B. 2790 (Smithee) – Child Safety Seat: would: (1) increase the amount of fine for a first offense of failing to secure a child in a safety seat; and (2) provide that a defense that the defendant possesses an appropriate child passenger safety seat system does not apply if, at the time of the offense, the motor vehicle is involved in an accident.

H.B. 2825 (K. King) – Sex Offender Registries:  would allow any county to designate the sheriff’s office (or the city police chief’s office through an interlocal agreement) as the place for sex offenders to register.  (This bill is almost identical to S.B. 1323 by Seliger.)

H.B. 2827 (Burkett) – Burglary of Vehicle:  would, among other things, increase the punishment for the offense of burglary of a vehicle.

H.B. 2841 (Wu) – Intercepting Communications:  would, among other things:  (1) establish oversight procedures for designated law enforcement agencies to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication in a circumstance that is not an immediate life-threatening situation, including:  (a) written policies that govern the interception; and (b) training requirements for peace officers; and (2) authorizing a chief law enforcement officer of a designated law enforcement agency to request in writing that a prosecutor apply for an order authorizing interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications.

H.B. 2849 (White) – Graffiti and Criminal Mischief:  would, among other things, increase the amount of property damage necessary to punish certain criminal mischief and graffiti offenses.

H.B. 2857 (Wu) – Disposition of Seized Property:  would:  (1)  provide, in regard to property (other than money) seized by a peace officer at the time the property owner is arrested for a class C misdemeanor, that a peace officer give the property owner written notice that if the owner does not claim the property before the 61st day after the date the notice is signed, the property will be disposed of; and (2) authorize the disposition of the property described in (1), above, by sale or donation and require that any proceeds, after deducting certain expenses, shall be placed in the city treasury.

H.B. 2860 (Harless) – Gun Regulation:  would require the attorney general to file suit against a city or county that regulates firearms or sport shooting ranges in a way contrary to certain state laws. (Companion bill is S.B. 987 by Hegar).

H.B. 2861 (McClendon) – Criminal Record Information:  would, among other things:  (1) prohibit a person from publishing, republishing, or disseminating any criminal record information if the person has knowledge or has received notice that an order of expunction or nondisclosure has been issued, the case has been dismissed, the individual has been acquitted, or the individual completed a term of deferred adjudication; and (2) provide that a person who disseminates information in violation of (1), above, is liable to the individual in the amount of $100 for each violation.

H.B. 2867 (Carter) – Felony Forfeiture Property: would provide for the forfeiture of property used in the commission of certain intoxication offenses, including intoxication manslaughter.

H.B. 2868 (Carter) – Blood Specimen Warrants: would allow a warrant to collect a blood specimen from a person suspected of committing an intoxication offense to be executed in any county in the state, regardless of which court issues the warrant.

H.B. 2881 (Toth) – DWI Task Force: would create a task force to reduce habitual incidents of Driving While Intoxicated.

H.B. 2888 (Turner) – Juvenile First Offender Programs:  would, among other things, prohibit a law enforcement agency from sending information about the arrest or referral of a child who completes a first offender program to the statewide Juvenile Justice Information System, unless the child is taken into custody before the 90th day after completing the program for other conduct.

H.B. 2897 (Miller) – Fugitives:  would allow a law enforcement agency, including a city: (1) to use multiple public and private resources to locate fugitives; and (2) to charge a defendant found using these resources a $30 fee.

H.B. 2914 (Thompson) – Controlled Substance Penalty:  would, in regard to Penalty Group I of the Texas Controlled Substances Act, provide that possession is a state jail felony if the amount of the controlled substance possessed is, by aggregate weight a usable quantity that is more than 0.02 grams but less than one gram.

H.B. 2973 (N. Gonzalez) – Display of Motor Vehicle for Sale:  would:  (1) provide that a dealer who holds a general distinguishing number for a location may not consign vehicles for sale in an area adjacent to the location that is on a public roadway, easement, right-of-way, or driveway, unless the governing body of the entity that owns the roadway, easement, right-of-way, or driveway consents in writing to the consignment; (2) provide that a consignment on a public roadway, easement, right-of-way, or driveway that is part of the state highway system must be authorized by a lease agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation; and (3) provide for penalties for a violation of (1) or (2), above.

H.B. 3025 (Zedler) – Red Light Cameras: would prohibit a city from operating a red light camera system or any other automated traffic control system.

H.B. 3030 (Fletcher) – Warrants:  would: (1) in misdemeanor cases, authorize a peace officer or jailer to take a bail bond or, unless the defendant requests deferred adjudication or community service, take a valid credit card or debit card for payment of the fine, costs, and fees, whereupon a warrant must be withdrawn; and (2) authorize, in certain instances, the acceptance of a valid credit card or debit card for payment of the fine and court costs set forth in a capias pro fine warrant.

H.B. 3062 (Herrero) – Failure to Report:  would establish offenses, and related punishment, for failure to report a missing child or failure to report the death of a child.

H.B. 3057 (Herrero) – Juvenile Misdemeanors:  would: (1) authorize, on approval of the city council, a municipal court to jointly employ a case manager with another governmental entity under an interlocal agreement to: (a) provide services to certain juvenile offenders including one referred by a school administrator or designee before a complaint is filed with a court for certain school offenses that would otherwise be within the court’s jurisdiction; and (b) provide intervention services, with the parent’s consent, to juveniles considered at-risk of entering the juvenile system and referred to the case manager before cases are filed with the court for alleged class C misdemeanors (other than traffic offenses); (2) prohibit a peace officer from issuing a citation to a child who is alleged to have committed a school offense; (3) establish progressive sanctions against a child alleged to have committed a school offense; (4) specify certain requirements in relation to a complaint alleging the commission of a school offense; (5) prohibit a person from being prosecuted or convicted for a misdemeanor or violation of a city ordinance when younger than twelve years of age; and (6) provide a rebuttable presumption that a person who is at least 12 years but younger than 15 years is incapable of committing an offense described in (5), above. (Companion is S.B. 1114 by Whitmire.)

S.B. 1088 (Estes) – Warrants:  would provide that a district judge may, on the application of a peace officer, issue a warrant for location information provided by the preinstalled mobile tracking features of a cell phone or other wireless communication device.

S.B. 1102 (Van de Putte) – Cybersecurity: this bill is the same as H.B. 2576, above.

S.B. 1114 (Whitmire) – Juvenile Misdemeanors:  this bill is the same as H.B. 3057, above.

S.B. 1137 (Lucio) – Automobile Burglary:  would provide that: (1) the Automobile Burglary and Theft Prevention Authority is renamed as the Vehicle Crime and Convention Authority; (2) the authority’s duties are expanded to include watercraft and off-highway vehicles; and (3) the vehicle crime prevention account is a new account in the general revenue fund that shall be appropriated only to the authority.

S.B. 1161 (Hancock) – School Marshals:  would, among other things, provide that: (1) the board of trustees of a school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school may appoint not more than one school marshal per 400 students in average daily attendance per campus; (2) a school marshal may carry or possess a handgun on the physical premises of a school; (3) if the primary duty of the school marshal involves regular, direct contact with students, the marshal may not carry a concealed handgun but may possess a handgun, loaded only with frangible ammunition, on the physical premises of a school in a locked and secured safe within the marshal’s immediate reach when conducting the marshal's primary duty; and (4) the identity of a school marshal is confidential, except that the chief law enforcement officer of the local municipal law enforcement agency is entitled to that information.

S.B. 1189 (Huffman) – Disposition of Seized Firearms:  would:  (1) authorize a peace officer who takes a person into custody without a warrant under mental illness emergency detention to immediately seize any firearm found in possession of the person but, absent exigent circumstances or if a warrant is not otherwise required by law, require the officer to obtain a warrant before conducting a search or seizure for any firearms not in the immediate control of the person detained; (2) require an officer who seizes a firearm as described in (1), above, and not in connection with an offense involving the weapon, to:  (a) provide the person a written receipt and notice of the procedure for return of the firearm; and (b) deliver to a magistrate written notice and inventory of the seized firearm; (3) establish procedures for notice to the person and the person’s family regarding the process for return of a firearm seized under (1), above; (4) establish procedures to let a person know the person is prohibited from owning, possessing, or purchasing a firearm and thus, has various options regarding the firearm seized in (1), above; (5) provide that one option under (4), above, is to dispose of the firearm by releasing it to the person’s designee if the designee meets certain requirements; (6) establish procedures for the disposition of a firearm seized in (1), above, when the firearm is wholly or partly owned by a person other than the person taken into custody; (7) provide for the sale of a firearm seized under (1), above, if no eligible person makes a claim for return of the firearm and provide that the proceeds from the sale, less certain costs, shall be given to the person taken into custody under (1), above; and (8) prohibit a firearm seized under (1), above, from being destroyed or forfeited to the state.

S.B. 1206 (Van de Putte) – Private Security:  would limit the exemptions for individuals required to comply with the Private Security Act to current peace officers who are currently employed by a law enforcement agency.  (The bill is unclear as to whether all officers, or only the heads of law enforcement agencies, retain the exemption.)  (Companion bill is H.B. 461 by Menendez.)

S.B. 1238 (Hinojosa) – Crime Laboratory:  would provide for the investigation of professional negligence at crime laboratories.

S.B. 1291 (Ellis) – Drug Offenses: would reduce the penalty for possession of certain small amounts of Penalty Group 1 controlled substances under the Texas Controlled Substances Act to a class C misdemeanor.

S.B. 1323 (Seliger) – Sex Offender Registries:  this bill is similar to H.B. 2825, above. 

S.B. 1324 (Seliger) – Handguns: would authorize a person who provides volunteer security services to carry a concealed handgun in a church, synagogue, or other established place of religious worship if the person is approved to do so by the leadership of the place of worship.

UTILITIES AND ENVIRONMENT

H.B. 2334 (Callegari) – Brackish Water: would exempt a water supply entity from obtaining a permit to appropriate for any beneficial use state water that consists of brackish or marine water.

H.B. 2354 (White) – State Agency Rules:  would prohibit a state agency from imposing more stringent environmental standards or rules than federal requirements. 

H.B. 2368 (Allen) – Waste Reduction: would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to conduct a study on waste reduction and prepare a statewide reduction plan. 

H.B. 2391 (Menendez) – Municipally Owned Electric Utility Discounts: would provide that the governing body of a municipally owned utility may establish a bill payment assistance program for a customer who is a military veteran who a medical doctor certifies has a significantly decreased ability to regulate the individual’s body temperature because of severe burns received in combat.  (Companion bill is S.B. 981 by Van de Putte.)

H.B. 2406 (Wu) – Saltwater Pipelines: would provide that: (1) a saltwater pipeline operator is entitled to install, maintain, and operate a saltwater pipeline facility through, under, along, across, or over a public road only if: (a) the pipeline facility complies with applicable federal and state regulations, as well as any municipal regulations regarding the accommodation of utility facilities on a public road or right-of-way, including regulations relating to the horizontal or vertical placement of the pipeline facility; and (b) the saltwater pipeline operator ensures that the public road and associated facilities are promptly restored to their former condition of usefulness after the installation or maintenance of the pipeline facility is complete; (2) the governing body of a city may require a saltwater pipeline operator to relocate a saltwater pipeline facility at the cost of the saltwater pipeline operator to accommodate construction or expansion of a public road or for any other public work unless the saltwater pipeline operator has a property interest in the land occupied by the facility to be relocated; and (3) the bill does not affect the authority of a city to regulate the use of a public right-of-way by a saltwater pipeline operator under any other law or require the payment of a franchise fee for the use of municipal rights-of-way.  (Companion bill is S.B. 514 by Davis.)

H.B. 2416 (Springer) – Shopping Bags: would allow a business that sells an item to a customer to provide to the customer a bag, package, or other container and would invalidate a city ordinance or regulation prohibiting or restricting a business from providing a bag to a customer.

H.B. 2502 (Bohac) – Public Nuisances:  would provide that the governing body of a city may require the owner of real property in the city to keep the property free from: (1) weeds and brush; (2)  the storage or accumulation of refuse on a premises in a neighborhood unless the refuse is entirely contained in a closed receptacle; (3) the storage or accumulation of rubbish, including newspapers, abandoned vehicles, refrigerators, stoves, furniture, tires, and cans, on premises in a neighborhood or within 300 feet of a public street for 10 days or more, unless the rubbish or object is completely enclosed in a building or is not visible from a public street; and (4) an unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents, vermin, or disease-carrying pests.  (Companion bill is S.B. 837 by Ellis.)

H.B. 2577 (Larson) – Groundwater Conservation Districts:  would provide, among other things: (1) that a groundwater conservation district shall require that records be kept and reports be made of the drilling, equipping, and completing of water wells and of the production and use of groundwater; (2) a district may adopt rules, consistent with rules adopted by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) under the bill, that require an owner or operator of a water well that is required to be registered with or permitted by the district, including a domestic use well, to report groundwater withdrawals; (3) TWDB, after consulting with representatives of districts regarding reasonable and appropriate reporting methods and frequency of reporting, shall adopt rules requiring the owner or operator of a well to report groundwater withdrawals; and (4) TWDB may exempt domestic, and certain other, wells from the reporting requirements. (Companion is S.B. 272 by Seliger.)

H.B. 2578 (Larson) – Brackish Groundwater: would require the Texas Water Development Board to develop and make available model rules for the permitting of brackish groundwater production.

H.B. 2592 (Keffer) – Water Districts and Authorities: would provide that a local water district or water authority that enters into a written contract to provide water to a purchaser for use in connection with the generation of electricity waives sovereign immunity to suit for the purpose of adjudicating a claim that the local district or authority breached the contract by not providing water, or access to water, according to the contract’s terms.  (Companion bill is S.B. 958 by Fraser.)

H.B. 2615 (Johnson) – Water Rights Reporting: would: (1) increase the penalty for a person who has been issued a water right and fails to file the required annual report from $25 per day to an amount not to exceed $5,000; and (2) require the executive director of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to establish a reasonable deadline by which a person must make available information requested by the commission that is related to the water right. 

H.B. 2616 (Johnson) – Drought Contingency Plans: would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to establish uniform stages of drought response, including measures to be implemented during each stage; would also prohibit a retail public water supplier, which includes a city, from adopting drought response stages other than the stages established by TCEQ. 

H.B. 2624 (Ashby) – Regulation of Water Wells: would task the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation with adopting standards for drilling, plugging, repairing, and completing water wells and would require a driller to follow the standards and procedures adopted by the commission. 

H.B. 2677 (Moody) – Municipal Fire Suppression Standards: would: (1) prohibit an owner from painting black or placing a black tarp over a functioning fire hydrant; (2) allow a city by ordinance to establish standards that require a retail public utility that provides water service in the city or the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction to provide basic water flow that is sufficient to provide adequate pressure to fire suppression systems and equipment, including fire hydrants; and (3) allow a city by ordinance to require a utility that provides service because of a certificate of convenience and necessity in the city to provide the service or operate the facilities in the same manner that the city would be required to provide the service or operate the facilities.

H.B. 2708 (Cortez) – Water Usage Tax: would: (1) require each retail public utility, which includes a city, to collect a water usage tax on a residential consumer that consumes more than 81,000 gallons of water in a three-month period computed by: (a) dividing 9 by 10 to the 9th power; (b) multiplying that amount by the square of the number of gallons of water consumed by a customer, (c) subtracting from that amount the amount computed by multiplying 0.0007 by the number of gallons of water consumed by the customer, and (d) adding the amount computed to 12.5; (2) require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to provide each utility with a document detailing the amount of tax that would be owed for each gallon of water consumed in one-gallon increments from 81,001 to 500,000 gallons; (3) exempt the following entities from the tax: (a) an owner of an apartment house, (b) a tenant of an apartment or mobile home, and (c) an owner or tenant of a recreational vehicle park; (4) allow a customer to appeal a determination that the customer is a residential customer to TCEQ; (5) require the utility to pay the total amount of the taxes to the comptroller not later than the 60th day after the date each three-month period ends; (7) allow a utility that makes timely payment to retain an amount equal to one percent of the total amount of the taxes collected as reimbursement for the costs of collection; (8) require that the Texas Water Development Board provide penalties for violations by customers and utilities; and (9) allocate the revenue from the taxes imposed to the state water implementation fund for Texas or the Texas Water Development Fund. 

H.B. 2720 (Ritter) – Water Rights: would relate to emergency orders made during a period of drought or other emergency shortage of water and would provide that: (1) the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality may temporarily adjust the diversions of water by water rights holders only to address an imminent hazard to public health; and (2) a diversion may not be granted until a method for calculating and remitting the compensation due to the water rights holder who is subject to the diversion has been agreed on by the person requesting the diversion.

H.B. 2739 (Martinez Fischer) – Permits for Wells: would: (1) allow a groundwater conservation district to require that the location of the water use be included in a permit or permit amendment application; and (2) prohibit a district from imposing more restrictive permit conditions on transfers out of the district that in-district uses.

H.B. 2740 (Martinez Fischer) – Groundwater Permits: would provide that a groundwater conservation district may uniformly amend all operating permits to adjust the amount or rate of authorized withdrawals up to five-percent based on a finding, supported by a preponderance of the evidence submitted by the general manager of the district, that a significant change in aquifer conditions justifies the amendment.

H.B. 2752 (Larson) – Brackish Groundwater Desalination: would: (1) allow an advanced brackish groundwater desalination project to receive funding from the Texas Water Development Board in the same manner as a project included in the state water plan; and (2) create a presumption that an advanced brackish groundwater desalination project is a water conservation or reuse project. (Companion is S.B. 1285 by Schertner.).

H.B. 2767 (P. King) – Hydraulic Fracturing: would provide, among other things, that a person who takes possession of fluids that have been used for fracking, and sells or transfers them to another with the contractual understanding that they will be used in connection with the drilling for or producing of oil  or gas, is not liable in tort for a consequence of the subsequent use.

H.B. 2768 (Rodriguez) – Suits Involving Groundwater Conservation Districts: would: (1) allow a suit against a groundwater conservation district to be filed in Travis County; (2) provide that if the challenged law, rule, order, or act was made or taken by the district based on the district’s review of the proposal for decision and findings of fact and conclusions of law prepared by an administrative law judge under a hearing conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings, the review on appeal is governed by the substantial evidence rule; (3) provide that if the challenged law, rule, order, or act was made or taken by the district on the basis of any procedure other than a hearing conducted by SOAH, the review on appeal is by trial de novo; and (4) repeal the provisions allowing a groundwater conservation district an award of attorneys’ fees and costs when prevailing in a suit or to enforce its rules in district court. 

H.B. 2769 (Rodriguez) – Desired Future Conditions: would modify the process for appealing the desired future condition adopted by a groundwater conservation district for an aquifer. 

H.B. 2781 (Fletcher) – Rainwater Harvesting: would: (1) require that a privately owned rainwater harvesting system with a capacity of more than 500 gallons and an auxiliary water supply have a backflow prevention assembly installed at the storage facility for the harvested rainwater; (2) prohibit a person from connecting a rainwater harvesting system to a public drinking water supply system; (3) require a person who intends to use a public water supply system as an auxiliary water supply to give written notice of that intention to the city in which the rainwater harvesting system is located; (4) require the Texas Water Development Board to provide training for each member of the permitting staff of a city with a population of more than 10,000 whose work relates directly to permits involving rainwater harvesting; and (5) require a seller of property to disclose any rainwater harvesting system located on the property that is larger than 500 gallons and that uses a public water supply as an auxiliary water source.

H.B. 2814 (Sanford) – Utility Usage Information:  would:  (1) prohibit a governmental entity from using information or devices related to utility usage by a private person or business to legislate to restrict usage; (2) except from the prohibition in (1), above, information about gross utility usage to improve rate standards; and (3) allow ERCOT to collect and store utility usage information for planning purposes provided that the information is not collected or stored in association with the name of a private person.

H.B. 2828 (Dale) – Gas Pipelines: would provide that: (1) the rules and standards of the Texas Railroad Commission preempt and supersede any ordinance, order, or rule adopted by a political subdivision of this state relating to any aspect or phase of the gas pipeline industry; and (2) a political subdivision may petition the commission for permission to promulgate more restrictive rules and standards related to conditions for mapping, inventorying, locating, or relocating pipelines over, under, along or across a public street, alley or other public property in the boundaries of a city.

H.B. 2894 (Raney) – Energy Use Reporting: relates to the provision in current law requiring a governmental entity – including a city – responsible for payments for electric, water, or natural gas utility services to record in an electronic repository (and make available on a publicly accessible Internet website with an interface designed for ease of navigation) the governmental entity’s metered amount of electricity, water, or natural gas consumed for which it is responsible to pay and the aggregate costs for those utility services.  The bill would: (1) add the requirement that the governmental entity shall submit to the comptroller’s state energy conservation office (SECO) a link to the recorded information and may benchmark public buildings using a benchmarking tool and submit the benchmarking information to the office; and (2) prohibit a city from receiving a SECO grant unless the city submits the benchmarking information.

H.B. 2900 (Dale) – Underground Pipeline Damage Prevention:  would provide that the requirements applicable to an excavator who is digging near an underground pipeline don’t apply to digging on private property at a depth of less than 16 inches.

H.B. 2949 (Harper-Brown) – Performance-Based Permit Program: would create a performance-based permit program at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that expedites issuance and renewal of permits if the commission determines that the applicant has a history of compliance for the five years preceding the date of the application or there is no evidence of noncompliance in that period.

H.B. 2982 (Keffer) – Hazardous Liquid Pipelines: would provide that: (1) except as otherwise provided by federal law, the Railroad Commission has jurisdiction over all pipeline transportation of hazardous liquids or carbon dioxide and over all hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide pipeline facilities, including the movement of hazardous liquids or carbon dioxide through gathering lines in rural locations or production, refining, or manufacturing facilities or storage or in-plant piping systems associated with any of those facilities; (2) the commission by rule shall establish factors for determining whether the commission will regulate such a pipeline or facility; and (3) to the extent consistent with federal law, the commission by rule may determine which facilities and activities are subject to safety standards and practices subject to the power of the commission.

H.B. 2992 (T. King) – Hydraulic Fracturing: would provide that flowback and produced water from an oil or gas well on which a hydraulic fracturing treatment has been performed using groundwater may not be disposed of in an oil and gas waste disposal well unless the fluid is incapable of being treated to a degree that would allow the fluid to be used to perform a hydraulic fracturing treatment on another oil or gas well, used for another beneficial purpose, or discharged into or adjacent to water in the state.

H.B. 2996 (King) – Class B Sludge Application: would amend the definition of class B sludge requiring a registration certificate to include sludge combined and processed with grease trap waste, grit trap waste, or septage within the boundaries of a wastewater treatment facility.

S.B. 1104 (Duncan) – Liquefied Petroleum Gas: would provide that the rules adopted by the Railroad Commission relating to liquefied petroleum gas do not preempt or supersede any ordinance, order, or rule adopted by a political subdivision of this state relating to any aspect or phase of the liquefied petroleum gas industry.

S.B. 1139 (Carona) – Rolling Blackouts:  would provide that electric utilities, including municipally owned utilities, must exclude any circuits that provide power to a hospital facility from participation in the utility’s attempt to shed load in response to a rolling blackout initiated by ERCOT or another reliability council or power pool in which the utility operates.

S.B. 1162 (Watson) – Water and Sewer Utilities: would enact various new customer-protection oriented requirements related to the purchase or acquisition of a water or sewer utility.

S.B. 1168 (Hegar) – Regional Water: would create the Southwestern States Water Commission as an advisory commission to work with neighboring states and then advise the governor and the legislature on regional water issues.  (Companion bill is H.B. 1189 by Larson.)

S.B. 1169 (Hegar) – Water Conservation: would: (1) subject the Water Conservation Advisory Council (WCAC) to the state’s sunset process; (2) require the WCAC’s report to the legislature to include specific statutory, budgetary, and policy recommendations to improve water conservation and management; and (3) require a retail public utility, which includes a city, that receives financial assistance from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to use a portion of that financial assistance to mitigate the utility’s system water loss if, based on a water audit filed by the utility, the water loss meets or exceeds the threshold established by TWDB.  

S.B. 1170 (Hegar) – Water Supply: would require each retail public utility, including a city, to project the future period for which the utility’s water supply is a reasonably certain source for the volume of water required for the utility’s needs and notify the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality when the projected water supply is reasonably certain for less than 180 days. (Companion is H.B. 252 by Larson)

S.B. 1209 (Fraser) – Water Rights Reporting: this bill is the same as H.B. 2615, above. 

S.B. 1212 (Estes) – Transfer of Exotic Species: this bill is the same as H.B. 2744, above.

S.B. 1227 (Rodriguez) – On-Bill Repayment Program: would require a retail public utility, including a city, that provides service to a customer interested in financing water improvements on the customer’s property to participate in a program adding the customer’s loan payments to the customer’s water bill.

S.B. 1239 (Rodriguez) – Municipally Owned Electric Utilities: this bill is the same as H.B. 3701, above.

S.B. 1268 (Lucio) – RV parks: would (1) clarify that a “dwelling unit” as that term is used in the Utilities Code does not include a recreational vehicle; and (2) allow a person who operates a recreational vehicle park to withhold utility services from a person occupying a recreational vehicle at the park if the occupant is delinquent in paying for utility services provided by the operator.

S.B. 1284 (Schwertner) – Brackish Groundwater Desalination: this bill is the same as H.B. 2752, above.

TRANSPORTATION

H.B. 2345 (Zedler) – Towed or Booted Vehicles:  would provide that a person must deliver a written request for a hearing regarding a vehicle that has been towed or booted before the 14th day after the date the vehicle was removed and placed in a vehicle storage facility or booted.

H.B. 2386 (Capriglione) – All Terrain Vehicles:  would: (1) provide that ATVs with certain equipment may operate on a public highway: (a) in a county with a population of less than 500,000 if the operator follows certain speed and lane restrictions; (2) provide for the registration of on-highway ATVS; (3) require any individual who operates an ATV on a public highway to have an all terrain vehicle license; and (4) require the Department of Motor Vehicles to make rules regarding the definition of an ATV. 

H.B. 2415 (Pickett) – Transportation Funding:  would provide that, in lieu of deposit to the Texas mobility fund, a portion of the driver’s license renewal fee shall be deposited to the state highway fund.

H.B. 2421 (Elkins) – Motor Vehicle Registration:  would prohibit the county assessor-collector or the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles from refusing to register a vehicle if the owner of the vehicle is delinquent in the payment of a civil penalty.

H.B. 2492 (Frank) – Transportation Funding:  would provide that, by September 1, 2016, all revenue from the taxes imposed on the sale, rental, or use of motor vehicles will be deposited into the state highway fund.

H.B. 2580 (Harper-Brown) – Freight Rail Districts:  would authorize a city to create freight rail districts and provide the procedures for creation.

H.B. 2585 (Harper-Brown) – Utility Relocation:  would remove the expiration provision from the state law providing that the Texas Department of Transportation and a utility, including a municipally owned utility, shall share equally the cost of the relocation of a utility facility required by the improvement of most state highway projects.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1327 by Paxton.)

H.B. 2680 (Guillen) – Transportation Funding:  would provide that: (1) before the Texas Department of Transportation agrees to provide financing to a political subdivision for a highway or road project, the department shall use private sector engineering-related services to conduct an independent analysis of the project, including an evaluation of whether the project is suitable for any financing mechanism or structure that would: (a) decrease the amount of financing provided by the department to the local authority; or (b) increase the revenue return of the project, if any, used to pay the debt service on an annual basis; (2) if the project is eligible for a financing mechanism or structure that meets a purpose described by (1), above, the department shall require the political subdivision to adopt the financing mechanism or structure as a condition of the department agreeing to provide financing to the political subdivision; and (3) the department by rule shall develop programs to educate local transportation planning entities about financing mechanisms and structures available to political subdivisions for highway or road projects, including: (a) economically driven mobility projects; (b) pass-through tolls; and (c) transportation reinvestment zones.

H.B. 2741 (Phillips) – Motor Vehicles:  would make various changes regarding the regulation of motor vehicles by counties and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  Interesting to cities will be provisions:  (1) prohibiting a justice of the peace or municipal judge from issuing a court-ordered title change except as authorized in relation to the disposition of stolen property, the foreclosure of a mortgage, or the enforcement of a lien; (2) providing that for registration purposes, the weight of a city bus is calculated by adding the shipping weight and seating capacity multiplied by 150 pounds and rounding to the highest 100 pounds; (3) providing that a court may dismiss a charge for operating a vehicle without a registration insignia if the defendant pays an administrative fee not to exceed $10 and remedies the defect before the defendant’s first court appearance; (4) providing that a court may dismiss certain license plate charges if the defendant pays an administrative fee not to exceed $10 and remedies the defect before the first court appearance, or shows that the vehicle was issued a plate by the DMV that was attached to the vehicle and thus, establishing that the vehicle was registered for the period during which the offense was committed; (5) adding new offenses related to registration insignia and license plates that are deceptively similar to those issued by the DMV; (6) authorizing a person to operate a neighborhood electric vehicle in a master planned community, on a public or private beach, or on a public highway with a speed limit of not more than 35 mph if the vehicle is operated during the daytime and not more than two miles from where the vehicle is usually parked and for transportation to and from a golf course; (7) prohibiting a county or city from requiring a permit, bond, fee, or license for the movement of a vehicle or vehicles or any load carried by those vehicles that exceeds the weight or size limits on the state highway system in the county or city; and (8) authorizing a peace officer to inspect a military identification and requiring a peace officer to destroy certain disabled parking placards and report the same to the DMV.  (Companion bill is S.B. 1669 by Nichols.)

H.B. 2742 (Phillips) – Golf Carts:  would allow a county to allow the operation of golf carts on certain public highways in the unincorporated areas of the county.

H.B. 2796 (Raymond) – Joint Participation Agreements:  would provide that a rule adopted by the Texas Department of Transportation that governs joint participation agreements with local governments for a highway improvement project must: (1) allow a local government to perform maintenance on interstate highways located within the boundaries of the local government under a contract in which the department reimburses the local government for the maintenance; and (2) limit the amount a local government may be held responsible under an agreement for right-of-way acquisition and utility relocation to not more than ten percent over the department's original estimate for the acquisition or relocation.

H.B. 2903 (Harper-Brown) – Transportation Funding: would provide that $1.7 billion is appropriated from the state’s Rainy Day fund  to the credit of the State Infrastructure Bank during the state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2013.

H.B. 2904 (Harper-Brown) – Transportation Funding: would provide that certain revenue derived from the state sales tax imposed on the sale, rental, or use of a motor vehicle sold in this state shall be deposited to the credit of the state highway fund.

H.B. 2932 (Capriglione) – Autonomous Motor Vehicle:  would allow for the operation and regulation of autonomous motor vehicles.

H.B. 3040 (Pickett) – Transportation Funding: would provide for the imposition of an additional motor vehicle registration fee in the amount of $50 to be deposited into the Texas Mobility Fund.

S.B. 1110 (Nichols) – Transportation Reinvestment Zones:  would expand the uses for a transportation reinvestment zone and provide that the governing bodies of two or more local governments that have designated a zone may enter into an agreement to provide for the joint administration of two or more adjacent zones.

S.B. 1140 (Lucio) – Transportation Funding:  would provide that the sales tax imposed on automotive accessories (e.g., aftermarket modifications and electronics, cleaning products, floor mats, air fresheners, paint, and window tinting) shall be deposited into the state highway fund.

S.B. 1287 (Williams) – Recreational Vehicles:  would: (1) expand the list of vehicles that are prohibited from being operated on certain beaches; (2) allow cities and counties to drive vehicles on beaches; (3) allow the operation of certain private vehicles on the beach if: (a) the person has a driver’s license; and (b) the beach is open to motor vehicle traffic; and (4) allow a city or county to prohibit the use of all-terrain vehicles on the beach. (Companion bill is H.B. 1044 by Eiland.)

S.B. 1288 (Williams) – Vehicle Registration Fees: would provide that certain amounts of the state’s motor vehicle registration fees be deposited in the state’s general revenue fund, certain amounts be deposited in the state highway fund, and certain amounts be used to fund the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.  (Companion bill is H.B. 2202 by Pickett.)

S.B. 1294 (Davis) – Texas Department of Transportation Contracts: would provide that, when awarding a contract to a private sector provider, the Texas Department of Transportation shall give preference to a private sector provider if: (1) the preference serves to create a positive economic impact on job growth and job retention in the state; (2) the transportation project for which the contract is being awarded is funded entirely from state funds, local funds, or a combination of state and local funds; and (3) the provider meets department expectations regarding price for the contract.

S.B. 1327 (Paxton) – Utility Relocation:  this bill is the same as H.B. 2585, above.

S.J.R. 46 (Lucio) – Transportation Funding:  would amend the Texas Constitution to provide that three-fourths of the revenue from motor vehicle registration fees and certain motor vehicle-related taxes shall be used for the sole purpose of acquiring rights-of-way and constructing and maintaining  state highways.

S.J.R. 47 (Eltife) – Transportation Funding:  would amend the Texas Constitution to temporarily increase the rate of the state sales and use tax by one-half percent and dedicating revenue derived from that rate increase to repay certain Texas Department of Transportation bonds.

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