Texas Legislative News: March 20, 2023

Today, March 20, marks the official halfway point of the legislative session. This is generally the point where the pace at the Capitol starts to really pick up. Committees are meeting regularly, and the full Senate has already begun approving legislation.

The full House is expected to begin considering bills in the next week or so, and among the first to be discussed will probably be House Bill (HB) 1, the state budget for the next two years. That measure is set to be approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday — learn more about that hearing and others in the Hearings to Watch section of this update. Once approved by the committee, the bill will soon after be set for consideration by the full House. We’ll provide more information on that process in future updates.

TCDD Public Testimony

IEP Emergency Plans
TCDD Public Policy Analyst Sabrina Gonzalez Saucedo submitted written comments on March 13 to the House Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety regarding HB 195. The bill would direct the individualized education program (IEP) team of a student receiving special education services or has a Section 504 Plan to address in the student’s IEP any necessary accommodations the student would need during a disaster or emergency.

Gonzalez Saucedo stressed the importance of effective and individualized plans for disaster preparedness and wrote: “To better ensure the safety of students with disabilities in Texas schools, it is vital for disaster planning to consider the needs of students, including those who have physical disabilities, have sensory disabilities, may lack understanding of a situation, or are unable to act quickly.” She also recommended that the bill direct the IEP team to address accommodations a student would need in each type of emergency drill conducted by a school.

IDD Coordinating Council
TCDD Public Policy Analyst Lauren Gerken provided written comments to the House Human Services Committee on March 14 regarding HB 729, which would create a statewide Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Coordinating Council to establish a strategic statewide approach for IDD services. Gerken provided background information on the state’s development of an IDD strategic plan and stressed the need for a body to oversee its implementation, noting, “as monitors, providers, and administers of the systems and services, it is crucial that statewide IDD systems collaborate and plan together to improve access and understanding for themselves and the individuals they serve.”

SSLC Commitment Orders
TCDD Senior Public Policy Analyst Linda Logan submitted testimony on March 15 to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Senate Bill (SB) 944, which relates to commitment orders for people with intellectual disabilities who are committed to state-supported living centers.

Logan referenced longstanding legal criteria that have been necessary to show cause for commitment, but she voiced concern that the bill would allow for commitments that do not meet those standards. She stated: “There is a strong case to be made that this lack of due process violates the Constitutional rights of the person committed,” Logan stated. “Moreover, the absence of a required periodic objective review by the court would mean that a committed person could spend an entire lifetime at a residential care facility with no recourse or remedy.”

Eliminating the R-Word
Gonzalez Saucedo also submitted written remarks on March 15 to the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee on HB 530, which would remove outdated and derogatory language referring to individuals with intellectual disabilities from state law. In her remarks, Gonzalez Saucedo noted the bill would update terminology and bring it in alignment with current medical and societal standards.  Stating that, “language is a powerful tool that is constantly evolving,” she said it is crucial to ensure that individuals with intellectual disabilities are not subjected to harmful stereotypes and discrimination. The bill’s provisions can also be found in the more comprehensive HB 446, which received a hearing the previous week.

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. To learn more, see Legislative Advocacy Resources.

TCDD Bill of the Week

Have you been following our Bill of the Week updates? Each Friday, we highlight a disability-related piece of legislation; provide background information on why the bill was filed; break down what the bill would do; summarize who supports the bill and why; and share a quote from the author as to why they think it’s important. We also provide a helpful one-pager that summarizes the major points, which you can share with your network or elected officials.

Of the nine bills we’ve highlighted so far, five have already passed out of their committees, and one more is set to get a hearing this week. To find more updates, go to TCDD Bill of the Week.

Hearings To Watch

The following section includes a sample of the hearings we’re 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, March 20. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 15 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, relating to the creation of the Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of Texas
• House Joint Resolution (HJR) 135 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, proposing a constitutional amendment to create the Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of Texas and establish the Mental Health and Brain Institute Research Fund for scientific research into all forms of mental health conditions and brain diseases and disorders
    

The House Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety held a hearing on Monday afternoon, March 20. The committee discussed the following notable bills:

• HB 98 by Rep. Joe Moody, relating to on-campus mental health services by a school district and reimbursement under Medicaid for certain services provided to eligible students
• HB 459 by Rep. Lacey Hull, relating to prohibiting physical restraint and the use of chemical irritants on certain public school students by peace officers and school security personnel under certain circumstances
• HB 516 by Rep. Gene Wu, relating to requiring a school district or open-enrollment charter school to report data regarding certain disciplinary or law enforcement actions taken against students
• HB 655 by Rep. Steve Allison, relating to the placement by a school district of a student who engages in habitually violent behavior
• HB 1898 by Rep. Jacey Jetton, relating to a grant program to fund the provision by children’s hospitals of mental and behavioral health services to children in Texas
    

The House Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, March 21. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 1290 by Rep. Liz Campos, relating to the confiscation or misappropriation by a nursing facility of certain federal payments to a Medicaid recipient
• HB 2641 by Rep. Ann Johnson, relating to Medicaid coverage and reimbursement for the provision of rapid whole genome sequencing to certain infants with acute or complex illnesses
    

The House Insurance Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, March 21. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 109 by Rep. Julie Johnson, relating to health benefit coverage for hearing aids for children and adults (This bill was featured as a TCDD Bill of the Week.)
    

The House International Relations and Economic Development Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, March 21. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 1615 by Rep. Angie Chen Button, relating to strategies to increase the availability of child care and pre-kindergarten programs
    

The House Public Education Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, March 21. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 166 by Rep. Mary González, relating to the appointment of an educational representative for certain students with disabilities
• HB 1605 by Rep. Brad Buckley, relating to instructional material and technology; public school foundation curriculum; and allotments for the procurement of certain instructional materials under the Foundation School Program
    

The House Corrections Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, March 21. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 479 by Rep. Gina Hinojosa, relating to the period for transporting a criminal defendant who is found incompetent to stand trial to a facility for competency restoration services
    

The House Select Committee on Community Safety will hold a hearing on Tuesday afternoon, March 21. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 2780 by Rep. Jeff Leach, relating to the reporting of mental health and intellectual disability information with respect to certain children for purposes of a federal firearm background check
    

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, March 22. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• SB 26 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, relating audits and mental and behavioral health reporting, services, and programs at local mental health authorities and local behavioral health authorities
• SB 1024 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, relating to preventative health care and public health
    

The Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, March 22. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• SB 8 by Sen. Brandon Creighton, relating to public education, including parental rights and public school responsibilities regarding instructional materials and the establishment of an education savings account program
• SB 9 by Sen. Brandon Creighton, relating to the rights, certification, and compensation of public school educators as well as assistance provided to public schools by the Texas Education Agency related to public school educators and to certain allotments under the Foundation School Program
• SB 176 by Sen. Mayes Middleton, relating to the establishment of the Texas Parental Empowerment Program and an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made to the program
• SB 2354 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, relating to the establishment of an education savings account program to allow certain disadvantaged children and their siblings to use public money to pursue educational alternatives to public schools and an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made to the program
• Senate Joint Resolution (SJR 29) by Sen. Angela Paxton, proposing a constitutional amendment establishing a parent’s right to direct a child’s education
    

The House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, March 22. The committee will discuss the following notable bills:

• HB 1359 by Rep. Gene Wu, relating to certain proceedings in juvenile court for children with mental health conditions and intellectual disabilities
• HB 2037 by Rep. Ann Johnson, relating to certain proceedings in juvenile court for children with mental health conditions and intellectual disabilities
    

The House Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday morning, March 22. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 1638 by Rep. Terry Canales, relating to a study by the Texas Department of Transportation on future transportation needs for the year 2045
    

The House Defense and Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday morning, March 23. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 1633 by Rep. Lina Ortega, relating to certain offenses regarding parking privileges of veterans with disabilities
    

The House Elections Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday morning, March 23. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 386 by Rep. Jessica González, relating to accommodating a voter unable to enter a polling place
    

The House Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday afternoon, March 23. The committee will discuss the following notable bill:

• HB 1 by Rep. Greg Bonnen, which is the state’s general appropriations bill

Bill Filing Deadline Complete

With some limited exceptions, Monday, March 10, marked the deadline for members to file bills for the 88th legislative session. Over 8,100 bills have been filed, with thousands submitted in the final days leading up to that deadline. We’re still working our way through them!

Here are some of the proposals filed March 9 related to disability issues:

• HB 4339 by Rep. James Frank, relating to the establishment of the Education Savings Account Program to allow certain disadvantaged children and their siblings to use public money to pursue educational alternatives to public schools and an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made to the program
• HB 4340 by Rep. James Frank, relating to the establishment of an education savings account program to allow certain children to use public money to pursue educational alternatives to public schools and an insurance premium tax credit for contributions made to the program
• HB 4449 by Rep. Ron Reynolds, relating to the establishment of a task force to study disciplinary practices and policies in public schools
• HB 4490 by Rep. Josey Garcia, relating to educational benefits for eligible persons attending a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program for students with intellectual disabilities
• HB 4506 by Rep. Philip Cortez, relating to health benefit plan coverage for treatment of autism
• HB 4568 by Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, relating to establishing a base wage for personal attendants under the community living assistance and support services (CLASS) waiver program
• HB 4686 by Rep. Candy Noble, relating to penalty and interest incurred on a delinquent property tax imposed on the residence homestead of an aging adult or a person with a disability
• SB 26 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, relating audits and mental and behavioral health reporting, services, and programs at local mental health authorities and local behavioral health authorities
• SB 2077 by Sen. José Menéndez, relating to the establishment of the Building Better Futures Program to support educational and occupational skills training opportunities and support services for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at public and private institutions of higher education
• SB 2079 by Sen. José Menéndez, relating to peace officer reporting of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an aging adult or a person with a disability to the adult protective services division of the Department of Family and Protective Services
• SB 2103 by Sen. Borris Miles, relating to transferring certain investigations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation to the Health and Human Services Commission
• SB 2163 by Sen. Phil King, relating to property tax exemptions for primary residences of adults with DD who are related to the residences’ owners
• SB 2176 by Sen. Morgan LaMantia, relating to health benefit plan coverage for treatment of autism
• SB 2191 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to peer support specialists for people with developmental disabilities and peer services for individuals under Medicaid living outside of state-supported living centers
• SJR 83 by Sen. Phil King, relating to property tax exemptions for primary residences of adults with DD who are related to the residences’ owners

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