Texas Legislative News: April 17, 2023

This past week, the full Texas Senate passed two bills of note: Senate Bill (SB) 133, which would ban using physical restraint and chemical irritants on public school students enrolled in fifth grade or below; and SB 477, which would improve accommodations for voters with disabilities.

On Tuesday, April 11, the Senate unanimously passed an amended version of SB 133, by Sen. Royce West, which is the Senate companion to a previous TCDD Bill of the Week. During consideration, members amended SB 133 to add Tasers to the list of the bill’s banned items. Members also changed the age of students the bill applies to from 10 years of age or younger in the introduced version to enrolled in fifth grade or below. After it passed, the amended version of SB 133 was referred to the House Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety.

On Wednesday, April 12, members took up SB 477, by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, which is also a recent TCDD Bill of the Week. The bill passed the Senate on a vote of 29-2 and was referred to the House Elections Committee.

In the coming week, at least three disability-related bills are scheduled for consideration by the full House, each one of them a previous TCDD Bill of the Week:

• House Bill (HB) 54, by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, regarding an increase in the personal needs allowance for residents of long-term care facilities
• HB 109, by Rep. Julie Johnson, regarding health benefit coverage for hearing aids
• HB 195, by Rep. Mary González, regarding emergency preparedness for students with disabilities
    

For complete lists of bills being considered each day, check out the House and Senate calendars on the Capitol website.

TCDD Public Testimony

Last week, TCDD staff provided public testimony on a number of bills at the Capitol, covering a wide range of topics. The following measures were among those that received public comment from TCDD:

• HB 2598 by Rep. Erin Gámez, regarding the establishment of a workplace soft skills training pilot program
• HB 3867 by Rep. John Bucy III, regarding notification of behavior management for a student enrolled in special education
• HB 4220 by Rep. Travis Clardy, regarding the state Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman
• HB 4340 by Rep. James Frank, regarding the establishment of the Education Savings Account Program
• HB 4629 by Rep. Stephanie Klick, regarding the terms and qualifications of members of the Intellectual and Developmental Disability System Redesign Advisory Committee
• HB 4807 by Rep. Brian Harrison, regarding the establishment of the Texas Parental Empowerment Program
• SB 1474 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, regarding special education in public schools, including the special education allotment and an education savings account program
• SB 1606 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, regarding evidence and orders in certain guardianship proceedings.
    

If you’d like to give remarks at an upcoming hearing but aren’t sure how to craft your comments, we’ve created a My Testimony Blueprint (PDF) that can be used as a framework. For more information and support, check out Legislative Advocacy Resources.

Hearings To Watch

The following section includes a sample of the hearings that we are monitoring this week. During these hearings, legislative committees may consider important disability-related bills. You can find live and archived broadcasts of committee hearings on the House and Senate websites.

The House Higher Education Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 17. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 1211 by Rep. Ryan Guillen, relating to repayment of certain mental health professional education loans
• HB 3631 by Rep. Suleman Lalani, relating to a requirement that public institutions of higher education provide certain information regarding mental health services to new students
• HB 5146 by Rep. John Raney, relating to the establishment of the Building Better Futures Program to support educational and occupational training opportunities and support services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)
• HB 5148 by Rep. John Raney, relating to the establishment of the Texas Students with Disabilities Scholarship Program for certain students at public institutions of higher education
    

The House Public Health Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 17. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 3162 by Rep. Stephanie Klick, relating to advance directives and health care treatment decisions made by patients or on behalf of patients, including a review of those directives and decisions
• HB 4059 by Rep. Ken King, relating to the right to try newly developed treatments for patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating illnesses
• HB 4687 by Rep. Liz Campos, relating to the administration of funding to coordinate state services for mental health, substance use, and public health care
    

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 17. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 4478 by Rep. Angie Chen Button, relating to limiting property taxes on homes of people with disabilities and older adults as well as their spouses
• House Joint Resolution (HJR) 171 by Rep. Angie Chen Button, proposing a constitutional amendment to limit property taxes on homes of people with disabilities and older adults as well as their spouses
    

The House Youth Health and Safety Select Committee held a hearing on Monday morning, April 17. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 4449 by Rep. Ron Reynolds, relating to the establishment of a task force to study disciplinary practices and policies in public schools
• HB 4625 by Rep. Ron Reynolds, relating to bullying, cyberbullying, and identity-based bullying in public schools
• HB 4845 by Rep. Steve Allison, relating to bullying prevention in public schools, including the establishment of a bullying prevention program
    

The Senate Business and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 18. The Committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• SB 1320 by Sen. Kevin Sparks, relating to state agency reviews of adopted rules
    

The House Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 18. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 4110 by Rep. Ryan Guillen, relating to certain administrative penalties and procedures associated with aging, community-based, and long-term care service providers
• HB 4702 by Rep. Liz Campos, relating to peer-support specialists for people with IDD and peer services for those people under Medicaid living outside of state-supported living centers
    

The House Insurance Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 18. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 340 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, relating to the requirement and study of insurance coverage for serious emotional disturbances of children
• HB 1803 by Rep. Toni Rose, relating to the eligibility of certain individuals to purchase Medicare supplement benefit plans
• HB 4506 by Rep. Philip Cortez, relating to health benefit plan coverage for autism-related services
    

The House Public Education Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 18. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 1149 by Rep. Valoree Swanson, relating to requiring parental consent for psychological or psychiatric examination, testing, or treatment conducted by school districts
• HB 1926 by Rep. Lacey Hull, relating to the expiration date of the supplemental special education services program
• HB 2125 by Rep. John Bucy III, relating to a required training course for special education representatives and hearing officers at impartial due process hearings or as facilitators of individualized education programs
• HB 2510 by Rep. Briscoe Cain, relating to transparency in certain legal proceedings and contracts involving a school district and a limit on legal fees that may be spent by a school district in certain legal proceedings
• HB 4716 by Rep. Christian Manuel, relating to the referral of certain students receiving special education services to a local IDD authority for services or public benefits
    

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 18. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• SB 840 by Sen. Royce West, relating to increasing the criminal penalty for assault of certain hospital personnel
• SB 1433 by Sen. Chuy Hinojosa, relating to procedures for the emergency detention of certain persons with mental illnesses
• SB 2479 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to procedures regarding people with a mental illness or intellectual disability
    

The House Select Committee on Community Safety will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 18. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 533 by Rep. Gene Wu, relating to the seizure of firearms during the emergency detention of certain people who may have a mental illness
• HB 1007 by Rep. Chris Turner, relating to banning weapons in certain facilities or residences providing services to people with IDD
• HB 3271 by Rep. Ron Reynolds, relating to the seizure of firearms during the emergency detention of certain people who may have a mental illness
    

The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, April 18. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 322 by Rep. Philip Cortez, relating to the presumption of evidence and burden of proof in determining a defendant’s competency to stand trial or a defendant’s insanity in a criminal case
    

The Senate Administration Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday afternoon, April 18. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• SB 2333 by Sen. Bryan Hughes, relating to rules permitting service dogs in the Capitol
    

The House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 19. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 791 by Rep. Brian Harrison, relating to state agency review of adopted rules
• HB 1947 by Rep. Brian Harrison, relating to review and interpretation of state laws and state agency rules by reviewing court judges and administrative law judges
• HB 4107 by Rep. Terry Canales, relating to examination requirements for certain guardianship proceedings
    

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 19. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 446 by Rep. Tom Craddick, relating to terminology used in law to refer to intellectual disability and certain references to abolished health and human services agencies (This is a previous TCDD Bill of the Week.)
• SB 1282 by Sen. Drew Springer, relating to the establishment of the Texas Mental Health Care Enterprise Fund and the granting of license reciprocity to certain mental health professionals
• SB 1666 by Sen. Tan Parker, relating to an insurer’s obligation under a preferred-provider benefit plan for continuity of care for certain Medicaid recipients
• SB 1695 by Sen. César Blanco, relating to the establishment of the case assistance affiliate program to provide certain assistance to Medicaid recipients and people enrolled in child health plan programs
• SB 2017 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to the regulation of hearing aids, the practices of audiology and the fitting and dispensing of hearing instruments
• SB 2489 by Sen. Kevin Sparks, relating to providing prevocational services under certain Medicaid waiver programs
    

The Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 19. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• SB 1506 by Sen. Bryan Hughes, relating to a seizure management and treatment plan for public schools providing care to students with seizure disorders
• SB 2304 by Sen. Morgan LaMantia, relating to providing information regarding the Texas Driving with Disability Program to certain public school students and in the curriculum of driver education courses and driving safety courses
    

The House State Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, April 19. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 2470 by Rep. John Kuempel, relating to banned adverse employment action against certain first responders based on mental illness
• HB 2858 by Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, relating to state and local government disaster preparedness
    

The House Elections Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday morning, April 20. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 1299 by Rep. Candy Noble, relating to the signature required on a carrier envelope for a ballot voted by mail and changing the elements of a related criminal offense
• HB 3449 by Rep. Candy Noble, relating to ballots voted by mail
    

The House Public Education Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday morning, April 20. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 3610 by Rep. Travis Clardy, relating to a seizure management and treatment plan for public schools providing care to students with seizure disorders
• HB 3928 by Rep. Steve Toth, relating to a student’s eligibility for special education services provided by a school district, including services for dyslexia and related disorders

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