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Welcome to the latest edition of Texas Legislative News for the 89th Texas Legislature. In this regular feature, we provide information on disability-related issues and bills under consideration at the State Capitol. We also explain how lawmakers conduct business, and we share details on upcoming TCDD events.
The End (of Session) is Near
Just six days remain in the 89th Texas legislative session, and time is running out for many disability-related bills. Today, Tuesday, May 27, is the deadline for the House to pass bills on its regular daily calendar. Wednesday, May 28, is the deadline for both the Senate to pass bills and for the House to pass legislation on its local and consent calendar. This calendar is generally reserved for noncontroversial bills.
In these remaining days, lawmakers will amend many bills with language from other pieces of legislation that haven’t gotten as far in the process. Some of these amendments may include a few extra lines of text, but others may continue over a dozen pages or more. In some cases, lawmakers will add controversial language to a previously uncontested bill, potentially putting that legislation at risk of failing.
If a bill passes before the May 27 and May 28 deadlines and the House and Senate versions are identical, then the bill heads to the governor’s desk for review. But if the House and Senate versions of a bill are different, then lawmakers still have work to do.
Each chamber can either agree with the other’s changes — in which case the bill will go to the governor — or request a conference committee to work out any differences. Once differences are addressed, both chambers must approve the new bill language by Sunday, June 1.
The primary House calendar in these final days is known as the “Items Eligible for Consideration” calendar. This is due to House layout rules that require bills to be publicly available for a certain period of time before discussions begin. As with any legislative calendar, the Items Eligible for Consideration calendar can include a long list of bills, meaning some may fail to be brought up in time for approval. This makes it important for the conference committees to quickly work out any final changes to bills. It also means that the House, Senate, and anyone paying close attention to their activity can expect a few more late nights in the next week.
You can review all of the remaining legislative deadlines on the Legislature’s Deadline Action Calendar (PDF). You can also check the progress of the total number of bills passed on the legislative statistics page of the Texas Capitol website.
At this point in the session, House and Senate committees have essentially finished their work. Few, if any, public hearings are scheduled for the upcoming week. To keep track of what’s going on at Capitol, you can find live and archived broadcasts on the House and Senate websites.
Disability-Related Bills Approved
Here are two noteworthy bills lawmakers approved in the past week. These bills now head to the governor’s desk for signature into law:
- House Bill (HB) 2310 by Rep. Claudia Ordaz, relating to developing a strategic plan to improve and expand early learning and educational opportunities for young children with disabilities. HB 2310 was previously featured as a TCDD Bill of the Week.
- HB 2340 by Rep. Will Metcalf, relating to the qualifications, communications, and recordkeeping of a child custody evaluator and the admissibility of a child custody evaluation under certain circumstances.
The Senate amended and passed the following bill last week:
- HB 6 by Rep. Jeff Leach, relating to discipline management and access to telehealth mental health services in public schools.
The House must now determine whether to accept the Senate’s new language in HB 6 or form a conference committee to work out the differences between the two versions of the bill.
Disability-Related Bills Still Viable
Here are some of the disability-related bills expected to come up for consideration prior to this week’s deadlines:
- HB 2348 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, relating to the video recording of deposition testimony of certain older adults or people with disabilities in criminal cases.
- Senate Bill (SB) 568 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, relating to special education in public schools, including funding for special education under the Foundation School Program. SB 568 was previously featured as a TCDD Bill of the Week.
- SB 1447 by Sen. José Menéndez, relating to standards adopted by the Texas Education Agency regarding the use of electronic devices and software applications by public schools. SB 1447 was previously featured as a TCDD Bill of the Week.
TCDD Advocacy Survey
TCDD monitors legislative activities and policy changes that could impact programs and services for Texans with developmental disabilities. During Texas legislative sessions, we:
- share regular updates on how lawmakers address disability issues;
- highlight noteworthy disability-related bills;
- provide expert testimony to legislative committees;
- engage with disability advocates, news media, and policymakers;
- and more.
As we approach the end of this legislative session, we’re gathering feedback on the resources we offered to keep you informed and engaged with business happening at the Capitol. Please take our short survey to share your input and help us plan our future advocacy activities.
Join TCDD for a Capitol Recap on Disability Policy
On Wednesday, June 25, TCDD will host a Disability Policy Academy titled “A Capitol Recap: Disability Policy in the 89th Legislature.” The free event is open to the public and will feature:
- an overview of new disability-related laws;
- a summary of disability issues that remain unaddressed;
- a discussion on topics lawmakers may cover in special session; and
- a Q&A session with TCDD’s public policy analysts and other disability advocates.
Participating organizations include the Autism Society of Texas, Texas Advocates, and Texas Parent to Parent.
The event will be held via Zoom. Participants must register ahead of time to attend. TCDD will provide Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) service. If you need other accommodations to participate, please indicate that when registering and email Koren Vogel or call her at 512-948-2035.
Date: Wednesday, June 25
Time: 1-2:30 p.m. Central Time
Register for the Disability Policy Academy
Stay Informed
Throughout the 89th Texas legislative session, you can stay up to date on how lawmakers address disability issues by following us on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can also check out our Policy section to learn more about our legislative engagement and find resources to support your own advocacy.
