During the 86th legislative session, TAC's legislative staff tracked roughly 3,000 bills impacting county government. The complete list of the bills being tracked, organized by county association, can be found here. Close to 2,500 of those bills failed to pass. The list below represents a collection of bills of interest to county officials which did not pass. It is anticipated that these bills, or at least the subject matter, may likely be further explored during the interim by the author and may possible be reflected in the forthcoming 86th Session interim charges. Some of the bills will simply be refiled in the 87th Legislative Session.
TAC is also working to finalize the 2019 Legislative Analysis Report which highlights bills that have passed and will impact county government. The report is anticipated to be out shortly.
County Jails
HB 2580 - Relating to access to telephone services for persons confined in county jails.
County Liability
HB 2956 - Relating to the authority of a county to regulate impervious cover in certain floodplains.
County Officials
HJR 147 - Proposing a constitutional amendment to abolish the office of county treasurer of Milam County.
SB 1763 - Relating to surety bonds for deputy clerks and other employees of county and district clerks.
HB 4022 - Relating to the compensation of an assistant county auditor.
Courts
HB 205 - Relating to grand jury proceedings.
SB 628 - Relating to bail proceedings and related duties of a magistrate in a criminal case.
SB 793 - Relating to the jurisdiction of county and justice courts in civil matters.
HB 994 - Relating to appeals to justice courts of certain ad valorem tax determinations.
HB 1323 - Relating to bail proceedings and related duties of a magistrate in a criminal case.
HB 1380 - Relating to the jurisdiction of certain courts and fees collected by a justice court; increasing a fee.
SB 1492 - Relating to grand jury proceedings and establishing a commission to study improvements and alternatives to those proceedings.
HB 3336 - Relating to the jurisdiction of, and practices and procedures in civil cases before, justice courts, county courts, statutory county courts, and district courts.
HB 3981 - Relating to civil suits brought by local governments for violations of certain laws under the jurisdiction of, or rules adopted or orders or permits issued by, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Criminal Procedure
HJR 62 - Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the denial of bail to an accused person if necessary to ensure the person's appearance in court and the safety of the community and the victim of the alleged offense.
HB 63 - Relating to the criminal and licensing consequences of certain marihuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession offenses; imposing a fee.
SB 628 - Relating to bail proceedings and related duties of a magistrate in a criminal case.
SB 1257 - Relating to the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses involving the trafficking of persons.
HB 1355 - Relating to the issuance and execution of a search warrant to collect a blood specimen from a person arrested for certain intoxication offenses.
HB 2020 - Relating to the release of defendants on bail.
HB 3798 - Relating to the regulation of and permit requirements for certain facilities that extract, produce, or process aggregates and of related facilities by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Railroad Commission of Texas; providing administrative penalties and other civil remedies; creating criminal offenses. Same as HB 2871.
Disaster Relief
HJR 114 - Proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of general obligation bonds to be paid out of the economic stabilization fund by the Texas Water Development Board to provide financial assistance to political subdivisions for projects related to disaster recovery; disaster mitigation; disaster response; or construct, repair, rehabilitate, or reconstruct state or local infrastructure.
HB 3051 - Relating to damage to a motor vehicle caused by the vehicle being flooded.
Elections
SB 9 - Relating to election integrity.
SB 102 - Relating to providing for voter registration at a polling place.
SB 103 - Relating to automatic voter registration on issuance or change of a driver’s license or identification card by the Department of Public Safety.
SB 164 - Relating to early voting by mail by any qualified voter.
HB 361 - Relating to electronic voter registration.
HB 362 - Relating to the creation of a fund to assist local governments with the acquisition of voting system equipment.
SB 462 - Relating to ballot propositions authorizing certain political subdivisions to issue debt obligations.
SB 966 - Relating to the location of certain temporary branch early voting polling places.
Fines & Fees
SB 171 - Relating to the amount of the fee paid by a defendant for a peace officer's services in executing or processing an arrest warrant, capias, or capias pro fine.
SB 970 - Relating to the review and approval of contingent fee contracts for certain public agencies.
HB 2575 - Relating to the duty of a county to refund an amount of $5 or less paid to the county clerk.
HB 2651 - Relating to the amount of the fee paid by a defendant for a peace officer's services in executing or processing an arrest warrant, capias, or capias pro fine.
HB 3553 - Relating to filing fees for the electronic filing system established by the Supreme Court of Texas.
Eminent Domain
HB 2831 – Relating to the service of notice of a special commissioners' hearing in an eminent domain proceeding
SB 421 - Relating to the acquisition of real property by an entity with eminent domain authority.
SB 554 - Relating to establishing actual progress for the purposes of determining the right to repurchase real property from a condemning entity.
Land Use
SB 1663 - Relating to the removal, relocation, alteration, or construction of certain monuments or memorials located on public property; providing civil penalties.
HB 3854 - Relating to the storage, transportation, processing, and disposal of scrap tires.
HB 3930 - Relating to a prohibition of the land application of grease trap waste or grit trap waste.
Law Enforcement
HB 354 - Relating to exemption of certain firefighters and police officers from jury service.
Motor Vehicles
HB 11 - Relating to the assumption of the powers and duties relating to driver's licenses, personal identification certificates, and other related programs, powers, and duties by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
Open Government
HJR 30 - Proposing a constitutional amendment to restrict the power of the Legislature to mandate requirements on a municipality or county.
SB 1206 - Relating to the creation of the governor's broadband council.
HB 2423 - Relating to the creation of the broadband office within the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the establishment of a broadband service investment grant program.
Property Tax
HJR 3 - Proposing a constitutional amendment to provide property tax relief by reducing school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax rates and increasing the state sales and use tax rates.
HB 240 - Relating to installment payments of ad valorem taxes imposed on certain residence homesteads.
HB 705 - Relating to the substitution of a local sales and use tax for maintenance and operations property taxes imposed by certain local governments; authorizing the imposition of a tax.
HB 4621 - Relating to the state sales tax rate and the use of certain revenue from state sales and use taxes to reduce school district maintenance and operations ad valorem tax rates; increasing the rate of a tax.
SB 5 - Relating to an increase in the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district, a reduction in the amount of the limitation on school district ad valorem taxes imposed on the residence homesteads of the elderly or disabled to reflect the increased exemption amount, and the protection of school districts against the resulting loss in local revenue.
SB 635 - Relating to the procedures for protests and appeals of certain ad valorem tax determinations.
SB 1007 - Relating to the prepayment of ad valorem taxes.
SB 1309 - Relating to the assessment and collection of ad valorem taxes imposed by a school district.
Public Health
HB 2748 - Relating to regulation of the retail sale of fireworks.
HB 1477 - Relating to the use of grants under the emergency medical services assistance program and the distribution of certain revenue received by the comptroller.
Records
SB 652 - Relating to procedures and requirements for the issuance of certificates of obligation.
HB 703 - Relating to the confidentiality of birth records.
HB 815 - Relating to the authority of a county to require photo identification to file certain documents with the county clerk.
Transparency
HB 281 - Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public money for lobbying activities.
SB 29 - Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public money for lobbying and certain other activities.
SB 906 - Relating to the use by a political subdivision of public money for lobbying activities.
SB 1315 - Relating to periodic zero-based budgeting for certain political subdivisions.
Transportation
HB 2679 - Relating to damage to certain state transportation infrastructure resulting from certain motor vehicle accidents; creating a criminal offense.