Legislative Services

Sheriffs Visit Lawmakers

Feb. 22 was Sheriffs Day at the Capitol. More than 70 sheriffs began the day with a group breakfast at the TAC Event Center. From there, they took a group photo on the north steps of the Capitol and then they were recognized with resolutions in each chamber of the Legislature. The sheriffs met with their representatives and senators, sharing their legislative priorities and concerns.

Committees Set to Kick Off Hearings

In both the House and Senate, lawmakers on the Appropriations and Finance committees have already been hard at work, holding daily hearings to field testimony from state agency officials, local officials and Texans offering public testimony. Budget deliberations are always among the first actions of a newly installed Legislature. Following Gov. Greg Abbott's announcement last week of emergency items, subject matter outside of the state budget may now be taken up. Abbott's emergency items will likely be the subject of upcoming hearings, along with organizational hearings to ready for the approaching 60th day of the session on March 10 when the Texas Constitution provides that all legislation is eligible.

Upcoming House committee hearings are listed here. Senate committee schedules may be found here.

Changes to Vehicle PageTitle and Registration Considered

Comal County Tax Assessor-Collector Kristen Hoyt testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Article VII agencies on Feb. 21. Hoyt supported the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles request to replace the current Registration and PageTitle System (RTS), highlighting the need to address RTS replacement sooner rather than later. Thirty systems feed into RTS, including the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunication System and programs supporting more than 23,000 licensed dealers in Texas. Since Jan. 1, RTS has experienced six statewide outages, impacting not only tax assessor-collector offices and customers, but also law enforcement and dealer access to vital registration and title records.

For information about this article, please contact Skylor Hearn, Caroline Love or Pete Winckler.