Legislative Update: Budget, Points of Order, Tax Relief, and Session Schedule
With only six weeks left in the session, we have reached the time where House bills that have not yet received a hearing start looking less and less like future laws. This week also looks [...]
Legislative Update: Senate vs. House Tax Relief Packages
With just seven weeks left in the session, things are rapidly starting to pick up for both Chambers. Long Floor Calendars and even longer committee hearings signify the beginning of the sprint to the end [...]
Legislative Update: Overview of the House’s passed Budget (HB1)
This week was dominated by the Texas House of Representatives 18-plus hour marathon budget debate. With more than 350 pre-filed amendments the floor debate on HB 1 promised to be and epic spectacle, and it [...]
Legislative Update: House Budget, Tax Relief Differences
This week house and senate committees took action on important electric utility legislation. SB 789 and HB 2311 Fraser/Thompson, extending the ability for regulated transmission and distribution utilities to use periodic rate adjustments (PRA) to [...]
Legislative Update: Supplemental Budget, Tax Relief, and Future of HHSC
When the dust settled after the bill filing deadline last Friday, 6120 bills had been put into motion for the 84th regular session of the Texas legislature. With only 10 Mondays left in the 140 [...]
Legislative Update: Spending Cap, Budget, Transportation, Local Control
Today marks the 60-day bill filing deadline for the 84th Legislature. With just 11 Mondays left in the 84th Regular legislative session, legislators are free to start passing bills out of both the house and [...]
Legislative Update: Tax relief and Transportation
Senate Finance: Tax Relief Week This week the Senate Finance Committee took testimony on a number of bills that look to provide both property and margins tax relief. Chairwoman Nelson announced that she had no intention [...]
Legislative Update: Governor’s Emergency Priorities, Election Outcomes, Article II
Its day 38 of the 84th Regular Session, and that means we are more than a quarter of the way through Session! This week saw the legislature shift into full swing with both the House [...]
Legislative Update: Speaker Straus, Budget, Open/Campus Carry, and School Finance
Today is the 31st day of the 84th Legislature. As previously reported, committee assignments are complete in both the Senate and House, increasing the pace and volume of bills referred and introduced, translating to a [...]
Legislative Update: House Committee Assignments, Budget, and What’s Next…
Week four of the 84th Regular Session continued to an increased number of bills filed, as Legislative Council continues to work thought its backlog of requests. In keeping with the previous week’s schedule, the House [...]
84th Lege on Learning Curve
Director of Longbow’s North Texas operations, David Parker comments on the 84th Legislative Session and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce's involvement in the legislative process.“It is critical that the Chamber and its members continue our [...]
Centerpoint (CTSA) Case Study
CSSB 1364 Schwertner/ Murphy/Deshotel Relating to the computation of an electric utility's income taxes. Longbow partners worked to help secure passage of CSSB 1364, legislation allowing generally accepted regulatory accounting treatment of federal income taxes in electric [...]
Progressive Medical, Cypress, Care, Modern Medical
During the 83rd Texas State Legislature, Longbow Partners advocated on behalf of the Ancillary Care Coalition to enact legislation that permissively enables durable medical equipment (DME) and home care providers to contract individually or collectively [...]
84th Legislative Session: Opening Day Summary
Today marked the start of the 84th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, which will deliberate over the next 140 days and nights during their biennial gathering. Following all the attendant pomp and circumstance that [...]
Texas Comptroller: Biennial Revenue Estimate
January 12, 2015 - Infographic: A Closer Look at the Biennial Revenue Estimate pic.twitter.com/DlPHhBkphG Texas Comptroller (@txcomptroller)
Texas considering open carrying of handguns
After 125 year ban on its citizens carrying handguns, a mere, 20 years after the Texas Legislature OK'd the carrying of licensed, concealed handguns, lawmakers are reviewing the history of the "selective enforcement" of early [...]
Lawmaker Special Elections – December 22, 2014
Challenged by a truncated schedule that will leave little time for fund-raising and traditional outreach, five Bexar County candidates will vie for one Texas Senate seat while six are lined up to run for a [...]
Public and Private Facilities and Infrastructure Act – SB 1048 (201)
BACKGROUND The latest economic downturn drastically reduced the capital available to government entities for infrastructure. With approximately 80,00 new Texans entering the state each year, it is becoming increasingly hard to keep up with Texas’ growing [...]
EXCAVATION SAFETY – SB 1217 (2011)
BACKGROUND A Longbow client locates and marks underground infrastructure when an excavation is planned. Their primary concern is adequate notice to, and protection of, the excavator. In Texas, as in many other states, an excavator [...]
Cerner, Financial Incentives for State Employee Wellness Programs, On-Site Clinics and Pharmacy Services
During the 83rd Texas State Legislature, Longbow Partners was successful in passing House Bill 2020 on behalf of the Cerner Corporation. The legislation authored by State Representative Myra Crownover (R- Denton) and sponsored by Senator [...]
David D. Parker joins Longbow Partners
AUSTIN, January 5, 2015 – Government relations and business advisory firm Longbow Partners today announced the addition of David D. Parker to the firm.