83rd Legislative Session Update Week of April 15, 2013
The biggest deadline of the Session is 21 days away. May 9th at 12:00 am all legislation that has not passed off of the House Floor is dead. Currently there are around 700 pieces of legislation in the House Calendars Committee (this is the Committee that sets the Calendar for debate on the House Floor). Though the original legislation may be dead, this bill can be converted into an amendment and attached to another piece of legislation that is being debated on the floor. This can only happen if the Parliamentarian deems the amendment germane to that bill. This is good and this is bad. It is very important to monitor all legislation that pertains to the nursery/landscape industry when it is being debated. At times we alert Members of the legislature who are supportive of our industry, so they will be aware of possible amendments that mirror legislation we had previously held up in a committee or House Calendars. This works both ways, and we can use this to our advantage. We were able to do this last session with a mechanic’s lien bill we had introduced; giving it a better chance of being signed into law. Our efforts worked.
Last week I referenced language we had agreed upon regarding HB 1825, the Desert Plant Bill. On Wednesday of this week I testified in favor of the bill in front the House Agriculture Committee. This legislation will probably be voted out of committee next week. Since there was no opposition to the bill in committee, it will probably be sent to the Local & Consent Calendar (the calendar where many bills pass without any debate). It will have a better chance of making it over to the Senate on this Calendar.
I also testified on behalf of TNLA regarding HB 2995, the citrus screening legislation. The original version of this bill would have placed extreme burdens on our citrus producers in the eight county Citrus Zone. We were able to work with the author of the bill and Texas Citrus Mutual to form a compromise that protects TNLA Members. If you would like clarification on this legislation, please feel free to contact me.
HB 5, the education reform legislation referenced last week passed out of Senate Education on Tuesday. TNLA dropped a card in support of the bill. Here is an article from the Texas Tribune regarding the legislation.
Overview
There are 38 days remaining in the 83rd Legislative Session and only 2.5 weeks left of committee hearings. Since it is this late in the session, bills really need to have passed out of committee by next week to have a reasonable chance of passing. Those bills going to the Local & Consent Calendars have the best chance of beating the May 9th deadline.
Check out this week's TNLA’s updated Bill Track
Thank you for your attention and feel free to contact me if you would like a copy of a bill in which you find interest.
Jim Reaves
Director, Legislative & Regulatory Affairs