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Interim Hearings – Week of February 24, 2020

Feb 19

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

February 24

Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs & Border Security (Harlingen) 

Charge: Veteran Treatment Courts: Review the effectiveness of diverting veterans from the traditional criminal justice system to veteran treatment courts. Make recommendations to strengthen veteran treatment court outcomes and expand access to locations not currently served by the courts.

Charge: Veteran Health Care: Examine the adequacy of long-term health care services and support options for veterans in Texas. Identify under-served areas and barriers to accessing quality care for both institutional as well as home and community based settings. Discuss the potential impact of federal reforms, such as the implementation of the Veterans Affairs MISSION Act on care delivery. Make recommendations to best leverage federal assistance and create greater efficiencies in veteran health care delivery.

Charge: Veteran Mental Health: Review suicide prevention strategies and programs identified by the federal Defense Suicide Prevention Office and make recommendations to connect at-risk individuals with available resources as they transition into veteran status.

 

February 25 

Senate Committee on Finance

Charge: Natural Disaster Funding: Review federal, state, and local eligibility and receipt of disaster funds from Community Development Block Grants - Disaster Relief and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Identify any barriers to the effective utilization of those funds and recommend any changes to statute, rule, or practice to promote the efficient deployment of those funds and expedite recovery by affected citizens, businesses, and communities.

Charge: Investment of State Funds: Review the investment strategies and performance of funds invested through the Teacher Retirement System, the Permanent School Fund, and university funds. Make recommendations to better coordinate and leverage Texas' purchasing power to maximize investment income to the state.

Charge: Monitoring: Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Finance passed by the 86th Legislature, as well as relevant agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction. Specifically, make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, or complete implementation of the following:

  • HB 3384, relating to the authority of the comptroller to conduct a limited-scope review of an appraisal district located in an area declared by the governor to be a disaster area; and
  • HB 4388, relating to the management of the permanent school fund by the School Land Board and the State Board of Education and a study regarding distributions from the permanent school fund to the available school fund;
  • HB 4611, relating to certain distributions to the available school fund; and Contingent upon voter approval, study the implementation of HB 492 and HJR 34, relating to a temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of a portion of the appraised value of certain property damaged by a disaster.

 

February 26

Senate Committee on State Affairs

Charge: Human Trafficking: Examine opportunities and make recommendations to reduce the profitability of and demand for human trafficking in Texas. Determine ways to increase public awareness on the proliferation of human trafficking, as well as resources for victims and survivors. Review the interaction between local, state, and federal agencies in responding to and prosecuting human trafficking and sex trafficking offenses in Texas' five most populous counties. Make recommendations to ensure law enforcement agencies and prosecutors have the tools necessary to promptly and thoroughly respond to these crimes.

Charge: Second Amendment: Examine Second Amendment legislation passed since the 84th Legislative Session including open carry, campus carry, and lowering the license to carry fee. Determine the impact these laws have made on furthering and protecting Second Amendment rights. Make recommendations that may further protect and enhance Texans' Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Charge: Personal Property Protections: Examine prosecution rates for thefts involving property valued under $1,000. Make recommendations to ensure law enforcement agencies and prosecutors have the tools necessary to thoroughly protect Texans' personal property from theft.

 

Senate Committee on Transportation

Charge: Safety: Study the primary causes for traffic-related accidents and fatalities, including fatality rates as a result of intoxicated driving. Make recommendations for effective strategies to improve roadway safety.

Charge: Texas Department of Transportation Flight Services: Evaluate the current funding, maintenance procedures, and staffing levels at Texas Department of Transportation's Flight Services. Make recommendations to ensure the safest fleet and most efficient service.

Charge: Monitoring: Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Transportation passed by the 86th Legislature, as well as relevant agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction. Specifically, make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, or complete implementation of the following:

This entry was posted on February 19, 2020 at 3:30 PM and has received 1204 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of February 17, 2020

Feb 12

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

February 20

House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism (Victoria)

Charge 1 (selection): HB 1300 and HB 2321, which relate to the regulation of oyster harvesting and to cultivated oyster mariculture. Monitor the implementation of the cultivated oyster mariculture program, the implementation of increased penalties related to the regulation of oyster harvesting, and the effectiveness of these state laws as related to the protection, conservation, and sustainability of oysters in Texas coastal waters.

 

February 21

House Committee on Culture, Recreation & Tourism (Seadrift)

Topic: Short briefing by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on illegal oyster harvesting and to observe Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's law enforcement activities for oyster harvesting on Matagorda Bay and the surrounding area.

 

House Committees on International Relations & Economic Development and Transportation (Laredo, Joint Hearing)  

Charge (selection): Examine the infrastructure at international border ports of entry in Texas and identify transportation-related impediments to international trade that negatively impact the state. Make recommendations to reduce border wait times, facilitate economic growth, and expedite trade.

This entry was posted on February 12, 2020 at 11:00 AM and has received 1272 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of February 10, 2020

Feb 5

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

February 11

House Committee on Higher Education

Charge 1: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 86th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:

SB 38: The Committee will hear testimony on SB 38, which relates to the offense of hazing. The Committee will monitor implementation and compliance and will discuss all relevant issues.

This entry was posted on February 5, 2020 at 3:30 PM and has received 944 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of February 3, 2020

Jan 29

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

February 3

House Committee on House Administration

Topic: Budgets for recently appointed committees

 

February 5

House Committee on Ways & Means

Charge 1.2: HB 1525 and HB 2153, which relate to the collection of sales and use taxes by marketplaces and out-of-state businesses. Monitor the Comptroller of Public Accounts' rules regulating the collection of sales, use, and franchise tax to ensure compliance by marketplace providers and out-of-state businesses and monitor any revenue increases as a result of implementation of these bills.

Charge 5: Review the use of third-party tax collection firms, including law firms and tax specialty firms, by governmental units. Evaluate what methods other states use to collect taxes. Determine whether the use of those firms is cost-effective for the taxing jurisdiction or if the tax collection efforts should be performed by the taxing units directly.

Charge 6: Monitor the State Auditor's review of agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction. The Chair shall seek input and periodic briefings on completed audits for the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years and bring forth pertinent issues for full committee consideration.

 

February 6

Senate Committee on Business & Commerce

Charge: Electricity: Assess the electricity market in Texas. Examine changes in customer demand, such as on-site storage, distributed generation, and electric vehicles. Study the usage of "non-wires alternatives," including energy storage, and recommend legislative changes if needed. Identify barriers to the electric market at the state or local level. Make recommendations to maintain grid reliability and encourage the continued success of the electric market.

This entry was posted on January 29, 2020 at 3:30 PM and has received 989 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of January 27, 2020

Jan 22

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

January 28

Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (Brownsville)

Charge 1: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program: Review existing regulations governing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program and the Qualified Allocation Plan to determine whether regulations exist that unnecessarily increase the cost of developing and maintaining affordable housing. Make recommendations to provide regulatory relief and provide greater development of affordable housing in Texas. 

Charge 2: Federal Housing Review: Study all federal housing programs accessible to Texas. Make recommendations that ensure the state maximizes the use of those programs.

Charge 3: Infrastructure Resiliency: Examine the authority special purpose districts have to generate natural disaster resilient infrastructure. Determine ways state government can work with special purpose districts to mitigate future flooding and promote more resilient infrastructure. Make recommendations on how special purpose districts may use their statutory authority to assist in mitigating damage from future natural disasters.

Charge 4: Monitoring: Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations passed by the 86th Legislature, as well as relevant agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction. Specifically, make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, or complete implementation of the following:

 

January 30

House Committee on State Affairs   

Charge 1: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 86th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:

  • SB 14, HB 1960, and HB 2422, which relate to broadband services provided by electric cooperatives. Monitor the implementation of the legislation, including the status of rural electric cooperatives deploying broadband fiber in underserved areas. Monitor the efforts of the Texas Department of Transportation in executing state coordination of certain broadband development projects in rural areas.

  • SB 475 and SB 936, which relate to the security of the state's electric grid. Monitor the creation of the Texas Electric Grid Security Council and its efforts to facilitate the aggregation, coordination, and dissemination of best security practices for the electric industry, including generation, transmission, and delivery of electricity. Evaluate the efforts between the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), electric utilities, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to ensure collaboration related to cybersecurity issues and make recommendations to achieve the highest level of security within the state's electric grid.
  • SB 1497, which relates to the registration and regulation of brokers by the Public Utility Commission. Evaluate the effects of requiring registration with the Public Utility Commission of a person providing electric brokerage services and whether these efforts have assisted with customer complaints and corrective measures, deterred entities acting in bad faith, and increased customer protections in the retail electric market.

Charge 2: Receive an update on the 2020 electric reliability forecasts announced by ERCOT and review operational successes and issues from the summer of 2019. The Committee will receive invited testimony from the PUC, ERCOT and other interested parties. Study the electric market to determine potential barriers in attracting sufficient energy supply; examine the obstacles and/or incentives for the development and deployment of new energy supply technology and peak system energy demand management technology; evaluate opportunities for competitive development of energy supply microgrids and the potential for enhancing reliability by transitioning municipally owned utilities to focus on transmission and distribution functions. Examine the enhancement of retail customers' energy supply management capability through promotion of greater retail price transparency. Examine and

make recommendations concerning the build-out of necessary infrastructure to support the increased proliferation of electric vehicles, considering impacts to consumers.

This entry was posted on January 22, 2020 at 10:30 AM and has received 898 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of January 20, 2020

Jan 15

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

January 21

House Committee on Elections

Charge 1: Oversight of rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure intended legislative outcome of the following legislation:

  • HB 933, which requires election information to be posted on the Secretary of State's (SOS) and each county's internet website. Monitor the costs associated with implementing the legislation. Work with the SOS to determine which office elections should be included in the website.
  • HB 1421, which strengthens the cybersecurity of the state's election infrastructure. Review the program required under the bill to train county election officers in the best practices for identifying and reducing cybersecurity threats.
  • HB 2504, which modifies ballot access requirements for non-major party nominees. Review the provision requiring the SOS to establish rules implementing the fees and petitions.
  • HB 4130, which requires the SOS to develop procedures for adequately certifying electronic poll books. Review the provision requiring the secretary of state to adopt rules mandating real-time updates for electronic poll book use during the early voting period or under the countywide polling place program. Monitor and report on countywide polling. Examine the number and location of polling places, polling booths, and wait times for voting

 

House Committee on Redistricting (Plano) 

Topic: 2021 legislative redistricting process and 2020 Census data

 

 

January 22

House Committee on Redistricting (Arlington) 

Topic: 2021 legislative redistricting process and 2020 Census data

 

Senate Committees on Natural Resources & Economic Development and Water & Rural Affairs (Joint Hearing) 

Charge: Future Water Supply: Examine current laws, processes, and water storage options and availability. Make recommendations promoting the state's water supply, storage, availability, valuation, movement, and development of new sources.

Charge: Groundwater Regulatory Framework: Study the state's groundwater regulatory framework and make recommendations to improve groundwater regulation, management, and permitting.

This entry was posted on January 15, 2020 at 12:00 PM and has received 1214 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of January 13, 2020

Jan 8

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

January 15

House Committee on Insurance (Rockport) 

Texas Windstorm Insurance Association

Charge 1: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee's jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 86th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:

  • HB 1900, which amends the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) operations and funding practices. Review the rulemaking process by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) and the adoption of an updated plan of operation by TWIA. Monitor whether the purchase of reinsurance has increased or declined and determine whether this provision of the legislation has had any impact on premium rates. Monitor the appointment and work of the Legislative Funding and Funding Structure Oversight board.

This entry was posted on January 8, 2020 at 9:00 AM and has received 814 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of January 6, 2020

Dec 31

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

January 9

House Select Committee on Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety (El Paso)

Duties:

(1) Examine options for strengthening enforcement measures for current laws that prevent the transfer of firearms to felons and other persons prohibited by current law from possessing firearms 

(2) Examine impediments and challenges to the timely reporting of relevant criminal history information and other threat indicators to state and federal databases 

(3) Examine the role of digital media and technology in threat detection, assessment, reporting, and prevention, including the collaboration between digital media and law enforcement 

(4) Evaluate the ongoing and long-term workforce needs of the state related to cybersecurity, mental health, law enforcement, and related professionals  

(5) Evaluate current protocols and extreme risk indicators used to identify potential threats and consider options for improving the dissemination of information between federal, state, and local entities and timely and appropriate intervention of mental health professionals 

House Committee on Redistricting (El Paso) 

Topic: 2021 legislative redistricting process and 2020 Census data

 

January 10

House Committee on Redistricting (El Paso) 

Topic: 2021 legislative redistricting process and 2020 Census data

This entry was posted on December 31, 2019 at 10:00 AM and has received 1373 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of December 16, 2019

Dec 16

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

December 20

House Committee on General Investigating

Topic: Consideration and action on the investigation into the circumstances, events, and allegations in connection with a June 12, 2019 meeting between Members of the House and representatives of a Texas nonprofit corporation

This entry was posted on December 16, 2019 at 10:50 AM and has received 816 views. Print this entry.

Interim Hearings – Week of December 9, 2019

Dec 4

posted by TexasLRL in Interim hearings, 86th Session

Today's Committee Meetings on the LRL website is a calendar of interim committee hearings with links to agendas. Below are resources related to upcoming Interim Hearings.

 

For recent posts on Interim Hearings, see Interim Hearing Resources on the LRL homepage. The "Recent Entries" list on the left provides quick access to interim hearings posts from previous weeks.

 

December 10

Topic: The State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) Advisory Committee advises the Texas Water Development Board on the administration of SWIFT funds. This committee will review the overall operation, function, and structure of the fund at least semi-annually and advises the board on any water related matter.

Topic: The Texas Infrastructure Resiliency Fund Advisory Committee (TIRF) will meet at 2:15 p.m. or upon recess/adjournment of the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas Advisory Committee (SWIFT). The advisory committee shall review the overall operation, function, and structure of the resiliency fund at least semiannually and may provide comments and recommendations to the board on any matter.

 

December 13

House Committee on Redistricting (Edinburg) 

Topic: 2021 legislative redistricting process and 2020 Census data

 

December 14

House Committee on Redistricting (Harlingen) 

Topic: 2021 legislative redistricting process and 2020 Census data

This entry was posted on December 4, 2019 at 10:30 AM and has received 1060 views. Print this entry.

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