Legislative Update: Ethics Reform, House Tax Relief Package, and Final Month of the 84th Lege

With just four weeks left in the 84th regular legislative session, bills that members want passed need to be headed across the rotunda. This time of session always inspires lively debate, as priority legislation hits the floor of the respective chambers. This week was no exception, with ethics debate on the Senate floor, tax measures on the house floor, and calendar schedule postings and revisions. As the session calendar winds down and deadlines approach, the legislative game of hide the amendment goes into full swing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Senate Ethics Bill

This week, the Senate unanimously passed SB19, a major ethics reform bill which also happens to be one of Governor Abbott’s emergency priorities for this session. However, prior to its passage, there was a very spirited debate that resulted in one of the most aggressive ethics reform bills in more than two decades. Under the approved bill, the following provisions would be made:

State officials’ personal financial disclosure forms would be available online for the first time on the Texas Ethics Commission Website
Current lawmakers would be prohibited from lobbying the legislature for two years after they leave office and details about their retirement income would have to be publicly disclosed.
Lobbyists would be required to detail report any legislative expenditure of more than $50 (currently it is $114).
State officials and legislators who are convicted of felonies while in office would be ineligible to continue to hold elective office
Lobbyists no longer would be allowed to split expenses for entertaining state officials to skirt disclosure rules.
Require lawmaker-lawyers to publicly disclose some information about their referral fees.
Prohibit lawmakers from collecting fees for sitting on the boards of financial services companies.
Require drug tests for all candidates for office, with the results posted on the Texas Ethics Commission Website

Passage of the House Tax Relief Package

The House successfully passed their much talked about $4.9 billion ‘tax relief’ package this week. HB31, would reduce the state sales tax rate from 6.25 percent to 5.95, passed on a vote of 141-0. HB 32, providing an across the board cut to the business tax rate of 25 percent, passed 116-29.

Amendments were added to both the sales tax and business tax reduction bills that could provide even bigger decreases, if the state finds itself holding on to certain levels of “unencumbered” revenue at certain future dates or if revenue increases exceed the growth of Texans’ personal income.

The House’s tax proposal is significantly different from the Senate’s passed version – which includes changing the homestead exemption from school property tax from a fixed $15,000 to 25% of the median home value and cutting the business-franchise tax rate by 15 percent.

House Calendars/Bills time crunch

Monday, May 11^th, marks the last day to report a bill out of committee, and Thursday, May 14^th, is the last day for House bills to be considered on second reading on the House floor. With these two major deadlines brewing, the end of session time crunch is in full swing. The House, which had been scheduled to hold its first Saturday calendar, decided to grind it out Thursday night and Friday to complete their work and join the Senate, which had adjourned early Thursday afternoon.

Next week will, for all intents and purposes, be the final push for House bills that have any hope of making the May 14^th deadline for House floor consideration. With bills already stacking up in the Calendars committee, those just now getting out of committee face an uphill battle in their attempts to leap-frog bills already in the queue.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR NEXT