Zwiener introduces legislative items ahead of 88th legislative session

State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) introduced several legislative items this week ahead of the 88th legislative session.

Zwiener, who was recently re-elected to a third term, filed legislation regarding campaign contribution limits, climate change, rainwater conservation and bodily autonomy education as filing opened for the 88th legislative session on Monday.

“Election season is over, and I am eager to get to work,” Zwiener said. “This legislation — from creating a Texas Climate Change Plan to allowing university students to vote with their student IDs, to making it more affordable for Texans to invest in rainwater harvesting — addresses the needs of the people and communities of House District 45 and beyond.”

Zwiener filed House Bill 47, which seeks to limit the amount of donations by an individual to $5,000, donations would be limited to $10,000 by a Political Action Committee for statewide electoral campaigns and the donation amount received for statewide judicial candidates would be limited to $10,000 per electoral cycle.

Zwiener also filed House Joint Resolution 25/House Bill 40 which would provide an ad valorem tax exemption for homeowners who install rainwater or graywater systems.

House Bill 57 was also among the pieces of legislation filed by Zwiener, which would require the state climatologist to coordinate with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to prepare a report on Texas’ greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for reduction. HB 57 also requires an assessment of how climate change will impact the state, including emergency preparedness, agricultural, water supply and human health.

House Bill 72, filed by Zwiener on Monday, would incorporate evidence-based curriculum on bodily autonomy into health education. According to the legislation, students would learn, in an age-appropriate manner, “about the importance of respecting one another’s personal space and how to advocate for themselves if someone else is violating theirs.”

Zwiener also filed House Bill 75 which would add student IDs issued by Texas public universities and other higher learning institutions to the list of acceptable forms of voter identification.

House Bill 83 would allow school district to implement a writing portfolio to fulfill the writing component of required state reading assessments, according to the legislation filed by Zwiener.

The 88th Texas Legislative Session is set to begin Jan. 10, 2023. The legislative session ends on May 29, 2023.