Texas Legislature convenes in 85th regular session

AUSTIN — Lawmakers
gathered at the state
Capitol in their respective
houses on Jan. 10, opening
day for the 85th regular
session of the Texas
Legislature. The 140-day
session will conclude on
May 29.
After taking the oath of
office and being sworn in,
the Texas House of
Representatives, on a vote
of 150-0, unanimously reelected
Rep. Joe Straus, RSan
Antonio, to a fifth term
as speaker of the House,
tying a record for the most
terms as speaker.
Meanwhile, after being
sworn in, the Texas Senate
voted unanimously in favor
of Sen. Kel Seliger, RAmarillo,
as speaker pro
tempore.
Seliger will wield the
Senate gavel in the absence
or temporary disability of
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who
presides over the 31-member
body. Should the governor
and lieutenant governor
be temporarily
unavailable, he will serve as
governor in their absence.
Newly appointed
Secretary of State Rolando
Pablos conducted roll calls
in the assembled House
and the assembled Senate,
and Texas Supreme Court
Chief Justice Nathan Hecht
administered the oath of
office to each body.
In the coming days,
while Speaker Straus and
Lt. Gov. Patrick go about
naming committees and
assigning chairs and members
to them, lawmakers
will continue filing legislation.
As of Jan. 10, House
and Senate members had
filed about 1,300 bills since
Nov. 14, the first day “prefiling”
of legislation was
allowed. Each bill proposes
to create, amend or repeal a
state law. The total number
of bills, not including resolutions,
filed in an average
session many grow to more
than 6,000.
After Straus was reelected
as speaker, he delivered
a 1,500-word speech.
During his remarks, he
said: “If you walk into a
factory or a restaurant or a
hospital, you will find citizens
of different races,
religions and political
beliefs working together
every day. And that’s what
Texans should expect of us.
So let’s follow their example.
Let’s govern with the
same sense of goodness,
the same humanity and
decency that we so clearly
recognize in the people we
represent.”
Seliger, in wrapping up
his comments after being
elected Senate pro tempore,
called for the 85th
Texas Legislature to be “the
standard of deliberation,
cooperation and leadership
that should define service.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, in
separate speeches to the
House and to the Senate,
told legislators: “We may
bring different political
perspectives, but we unite
under one Capitol dome
and a cause that’s bigger
than any one person or any
political party. It’s the cause
that makes Texas far more
than just a state. It’s the
cause that makes Texas a
passion. I pray that God
blesses you and guides you
during the next 140 days
and that God forever
blesses the great State of
Texas.”
Revenue estimate comes in
Texas Comptroller Glenn
Hegar on Jan. 9 released
the state’s Biennial Revenue
Estimate, a document that
projects the state will have
just under $105 billion in
revenue available for general-
purpose spending during
the 2018-19 budget cycle.
The amount represents a
2.7 percent decrease from
amounts available for the
current 2016-17 biennium,
Hegar noted.
“While our state revenues
were down in 2016
and we face some difficult
decisions in the coming
months, Texas remains fiscally
healthy,” Hegar said.
“Despite energy-related
headwinds, Texas has
gained 210,000 jobs in the
last year, and while our
gains have not been at the
same rapid rate as a few
years ago, it is important to
note that we have added
jobs in 19 of the last 20
months. We have also seen
signs of possible improvement
in recent months,
with some modest acceleration
in job growth and
oil prices and rig counts
rising. And December
brought the best monthly
sales tax revenue collections
since May 2015.”
Also, Hegar said, the
state’s Rainy Day Fund balance
currently stands at
approximately $10.2 billion,
and absent any additional
appropriations that
might be made by the
Legislature, the balance is
expected to be $11.9 billion
at the end of the 2018-19
biennium.
State Sen. Jane Nelson, RFlower
Mound, chair of the
Senate Finance Committee,
said: “We will align our priorities
with the revenue we
have available. I am confident
we will pass a budget
that meets our needs and
keeps the economy growing.”
Monthly revenue distributed
Comptroller Hegar on
Jan. 11 announced his
office would send cities,
counties, transit systems
and special purpose taxing
districts $647.4 million in
local sales tax allocations
for January.
The amount is 4.9 percent
more than in January
2016. These allocations are
based on sales made in
November by businesses
that report tax monthly.
“The cities of Dallas, Fort
Worth, Austin and San
Antonio continue to see
significant increases in
sales tax allocations,” Hegar
said. “The cities of
Houston and Sugar Land
saw noticeable decreases in
sales tax allocations.”