May 8, 2009

The House Death Spiral Begins

Those sounds that you hear coming from Austin can be recognized as house bills meeting their demise.  There are still a good number of important bills that are waiting for action by the House of Representatives.  Every tick of the clock kills another bill.  As of this morning, the House will have to finish its debate on the Texas Department of Transportation sunset bill.  The debate on TxDOT started at about 4:30 PM on Thursday and was still going around midnight when the House decided to call it a night.  The debate resumed on Friday morning when the House reconvened.  There were 160 amendments prefiled for this bill and they had gone through number 107 when they went home last night.

Officially, the house rules state that a house bill must be reported from its committee by midnight, Monday, May 11^th.  The reality is that anything not reported by yesterday is likely dead and some of those that were reported out of committee earlier this week may get on a House Calendar only to see the clock run out before the House can get to them next week.  Thursday, May 14^th at midnight is the last time that a house bill can be considered on 2^nd reading if the bill is set on the House regular calendar.  A bill has its first reading when it is introduced, its second reading after passing a committee and being reported and it generally has its 3^rd the day after it passes 2^nd reading.  Friday, May 15^th is the final day for all 3^rd readings of house bills that were on the regular calendar and 2^nd reading for house bills on the consent calendar.
 

AGC Bills Report

How do the AGC bills look in light of the House deadlines?  The only AGC bill that might be on shaky ground is HB  3203 by Representative Will Hartnett – this bill will allow for the recovery of attorney’s fees when a contract is breached by a local governmental entity, i.e. a municipality.

The other key AGC bill that originated in the House is HB 2082 by Representative Carl Isett.  HB 2082 is now in the Senate and has been referred to the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee.  This bill will cap the local bidding preference at $100,000 for those cities and school districts that are in a city that is under 250,000 population. 

The language from both HB 2082 and HB 3203 has been added to HB 987 which passed the House earlier this session and was heard this week in the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee.  It is expected to be passed out shortly.

Indemnification bills – SB 555 by Senator Duncan was passed out of the House Judiciary Committee, has been reported and is in the House Calendars Committee waiting to be set for a future House Calendar.  HB 818, the companion bill by Representative Eiland, is also in the House Calendars Committee.  It is likely that SB 555 will be set for a House Calendar after the crush of bills that will be on the schedule next week.

The alternative delivery bill – SB 1110 by Senator Jackson was heard in the House State Affairs Committee this week.  Representative Charlie Geren, our house sponsor, did a good job in handling the bill and it is expected to be voted out of the committee in the near future.
 

State Budget Picture Gets Cloudy

The House and Senate conference committee members have been meeting to work out their differences on the state budget for 2010-2011.  The picture got a little muddier this week with news that another $1 to $1.8 Billion may be needed to handle Medicaid growth.  Additionally, Comptroller Susan Combs will be giving her latest estimate of how much money will be available for state spending for the next two years.  The advance signals from her office have not been optimistic.  Just a reminder, the state budget is the only item that is required of the Legislature each regular legislative session. 
 

This and That

The crane operator registration bill by Representative Giddings (HB 1807) still has not made its way to the House Calendars Committee and is likely to miss the deadline.  The OSHA bill is once again in the closet.

The Texas Department of Public Safety bill finally got voted out of the House Public Safety Committee this week.  It was passed out on a 6 to 3 vote after having been rejected a day earlier on a 6 to 3 vote.  This is another sunset bill that will chew up a lot of time on the house floor, considering all the issues this agency has had in recent years.

Expect to hear a lot more about the voter ID bill as the session continues to move to the finish line.  The Senate version of this bill has been in the House Elections Committee for quite awhile and the debate has been contentious.  It appears that a new committee substitute for this bill is being worked on at this time.  That normally would not present too many additional hurdles, but in this case the discussion has turned to whether or not another public hearing will be required to comply with the Federal Voting Rights Act.

It has been a tough session for the tort reform battles.  The combat could almost be characterized as hand to hand, but it appears that the ground is being held.  An issue that is in a position to make a break, is the Entergy bill.

The TDI sunset bill (SB 1007) is still in the House Insurance Committee as pending business, but it should be moving shortly.  The House debate on this bill will be time-consuming, making the bill  ripe for possible amendments.
 

The Lighter Side

It is the time of the year when one needs some lighter moments.  You are on a roller coaster as you watch the progress of your legislation and deal  with the rumors and concerns that come out of the woodwork.

You may have seen that the House spent a good deal of time debating cockfighting this week and the debate got a little heated at times.  Representative Harold Dutton was quoted as saying, “Why do we make such a big deal about chicken fighting?  When I go to Popeye's, how do I know how it died?”
 

Conference Call - AGC Legislative Update     Monday, May 11 at 11 AM

We have a lot to tell you about, so plan to join us for a Legislative Update – mark your calendar for 11 AM, Monday, May 11th.  Here are the details: Call 1-800-377-8846 to participate in the call.  The participant passcode is 48723709 followed by the # sign.  Again, we ask you to mute your phones so that everyone can hear.

 Have a good Mother’s Day Weekend!