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As the 87th Texas legislative session enters its final month and numerous deadlines loom on the horizon, the window of opportunity is quickly closing for thousands of bills. Over the next few weeks, lawmakers and advocates will scramble to get their priority legislation passed out of committee and scheduled for consideration on the House and Senate floors.
Lawmakers will also review the bills that have met those milestones, in search of bills that might make suitable homes for proposals that did not advance as far. These bills are referred to as “vehicles.” Within these vehicle bills, the proposals can be added as amendments. The amendments must be relevant to the bills to which they are added. Often, the vehicle bill and its amendments relate to the same topic or propose changes to the same existing law. For example, a bill regarding school disciplinary procedures might be a good vehicle for an amendment on seclusion and restraint practices, but it is very unlikely to be a good fit for an accessible parking amendment.
Sometimes a measure is seen as a potential vehicle for a group of bills, and this results in a long line of amendments. In these instances, the vehicle is commonly referred to as a “Christmas tree,” because so many lawmakers want to hang their amendments on it.
Occasionally, one chamber will determine that an amendment is relevant to its vehicle bill, but the other chamber will not. For example, the Senate may take a one-page House bill and add a 20-page amendment that the House then determines not to be relevant. At that point, the House will typically send the bill back to the Senate, directing it to strip the amendment or let the bill die.
Also, a bill’s author might not like an amendment added by the other chamber even if the amendment is relevant to the bill. In that case, a conference committee may remove the amendment or discuss it further.
As with everything else, the work on vehicles, amendments, and conference committees must be completed by the last day of the session on May 31.
Hearings To Watch
This section includes a sample of the hearings that we are monitoring this week. During these hearings, legislative committees may consider important disability-related bills. To receive notifications about new hearings that are scheduled with short notice, follow us on Twitter. You can find live and archived broadcasts of committee hearings on the House and Senate websites.
The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee held a hearing on Monday afternoon, May 3, discussing Senate Bill (SB) 1354 by Sen. Borris Miles, which relates to the prosecution of the crime of injury to a child, an older adult, or a person with a disability.
The House Elections Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, May 4, to discuss House Bill (HB) 3200 by Rep. Jacey Jetton, which relates to the procedures following the rejection of a ballot voted by mail.
The House Human Services Committeewill hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, May 4, on the following notable bills:
- HB 4058 by Rep. Terry Meza, relating to a study on the provision of applied behavior analysis services to children with autism under Medicaid and other public benefits programs
- SB 930 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to the disclosure of certain information regarding the occurrence of communicable diseases in residential facilities
The House Public Education Committee will hold a hearing (PDF) on Tuesday morning, May 4, to discuss HB 4064 by Rep. Terry Meza, relating to policies and procedures for addressing bullying and harassment in public schools.
The Senate Business and Commerce Committeewill hold a hearing (PDF) on Tuesday morning, May 4, to discuss HB 317 by Rep. Andrew Murr, which would prohibit discrimination against living organ donors by certain insurers.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committeewill hold a hearing on Tuesday morning, May 4, on HB 1071 by Rep. Cody Harris, which relates to the presence of a qualified facility dog or qualified therapy animal in certain court proceedings.
The Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing (PDF) on Tuesday morning, May 4, to discuss the following notable bills:
- HB 699 by Rep. Jon Rosenthal, relating to public school attendance and promotion requirements for students diagnosed with or receiving treatment for severe or life-threatening illnesses
- HB 785 by Rep. Alma Allen, relating to behavior improvement plans and behavioral intervention plans for certain public-school students and notification and documentation requirements regarding certain behavior management techniques
The House Corrections Committee will hold a hearing (PDF) on Wednesday morning, May 5, to discuss SB 49 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to court procedures regarding defendants with mental health conditions or intellectual disabilities.
The House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee will hold a hearing (PDF) on Wednesday morning, May 5, to discuss SB 615 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, relating to probate and guardianship matters and proceedings as well as other matters involving probate courts.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committeewill hold a hearing (PDF) on Wednesday morning, May 5, to discuss SB 2037 by Rep. José Menéndez, which relates to the definition of exploitation for purposes of investigating reports of exploitation against certain older adults and people with disabilities.
Stay Informed
To stay up to date regarding how disability-related issues are being addressed by the Legislature, subscribe to TCDD eNews. On our website, you can find legislative resources and video updates from TCDD Policy Director Scott Daigle on what’s happening at the Capitol. To receive additional notifications, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
