Flurry of pre-Lege activity already going on in Austin
The 86th Texas Legislative Session doesn’t start until Jan. 8, but District 21 Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) has been busy.
Zaffirini pre-filed 32 bills for the next legislative session. Bills are numbered chronologically as they are filed. Numbers 1-30 were reserved for the priorities of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick; Zaffirini’s were numbered 31-62.
“My staff and I have collaborated extensively with stakeholders and constituents throughout the interim to prepare for pre-filing,” she said. “The bills we filed today are only a portion of our legislative agenda, which reflects the diverse needs and interests of families across all 18 counties in Senate District 21. We will file additional legislation, especially as we finalize interim reports developed by the committees on which I serve.”
Among the bills Zaffirini filed were SB 31, which would establish a program to deter guardianship abuse, fraud and exploitation; SB 32, which would establish tuition-free public higher education for Texas students whose annual household incomes are below $100,000; SB 35, which would provide low-interest loans to high-achieving, low-income college students; SB 45, which would require new or retrofitted state buildings to include a private area for women to breastfeed or pump; SB 46, which would provide that sexual harassment against a paid employee is unlawful and would apply that provision to an employer who employs one or more persons; SB 53, which would require 911 services to accept text messages to the extent that resources allow; SB 55, which would allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 by the time of the general election; SB 56, which would require sexual harassment training for legislators and their staff; and SB 61, which would exempt gun safes, trigger locks and other safe-storage equipment from sales tax.
Zaffirini has sponsored and passed 1,024 bills and 53 substantive resolutions, more than any other legislator in the history of the State of Texas. Showing her bipartisan effectiveness, in the 2017 Republican-dominated Texas Legislature she passed 109 bills, breaking her personal record and passing more bills than any other legislator for the second consecutive legislative session.
Across the aisle, District 25 Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) has authored three bills filed ahead of the legislative session. Campbell’s SB 196 would make the surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. armed forces who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty exempt from taxation of the total appraised value of the surviving spouse’s residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the armed services member. Campbell was one of several authors of SB 63, which would create the Texas Mental Health Care Consortium, an agency meant to coordinate the expansion and delivery of mental health care services by using the infrastructure and expertise of higher education institutions, nonprofits and other stakeholders.
The third pre-filed bill listing Campbell as an author is one of Zaffirini’s bills: SB 38, relating to the offense of hazing. Zaffirini and Campbell co-authored the legislation, which strengthens the statutory definitions of hazing, clarify immunity provisions and broaden reporting requirements for universities. The definition of hazing would include coercing the student to consume an alcoholic beverage, liquor or drug, along with the existing definitions of physical brutality, sleep deprivation, confinement in a small space, or other activities that subject the student “to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of the student.” Immunity would be extended to any person who voluntarily reports a specific hazing incident before being contacted by the institution concerning the incident and is considered to be acting in good faith throughout any institutional process regarding the incident as determined by the dean of students or other appropriate official.
Campbell was the 15th woman ever elected to the Texas Senate. During the 85th Legislature, Campbell authored or sponsored 109 piece of legislation, with 53 making it to the governor’s desk.
