
The 89th legislative session ended on Monday June 2nd. Despite some last-minute wrangling dealing with an increase in judge’s salaries (which is also tied to legislator’s pensions) both the House and the Senate finished mid afternoon.
No mention of the need for a special session.
At least not today.
It seems that many of the priorities listed by the Governor and Lt. Governor at the beginning of the session were addressed in some manner. If it was not addressed, perhaps not important enough to keep them here, at least not right now.
Now the ball is in the Governor’s court. With over 1,000 bills to consider, he will usually take his time and not make a final decision on each bill (or at least not announce a final decision) until the deadline or close to it. The Governor has until June 22nd to either sign, veto or allow to become law each bill that passed both Houses. While that task is daunting, keep in mind that his staff has tracked most of these bills throughout the session and actually had input on many of the bigger ticket items, so it is not like they are seeing these bills for the first time. Still, it is a lot to consider. And none larger than SB 3, which ended up being a complete ban on THC products.
Since the agriculture hemp law passed in 2019, a significant industry has developed around the cultivation, processing and sale of hemp-based products. Some reports put the economic impact in Texas at around $8 Billion annually. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (and the Texas Senate) passed out legislation early in the session that completely bans hemp-based products containing THC and the House followed suit claiming that the industry lacks meaningful regulation and targets children. Industry members have assembled significant support since the bill’s passage delivering over 5,000 letters and 120k signatures on a petition asking for the Governor to veto the legislation. To date the Governor has not given any indication which way he is leaning. You can bet there is some polling going on. To be continued…
Both chambers sought and found additional relief on ever increasing property taxes. While the measures passed must still be decided by the voters, increases in the homestead exemption will be on the ballot this November. Increasing that exemption to 140k for all homeowners and 200k exemption for those over 65 will be among the constitutional propositions that will be decided this fall. Expect passage of both.
Another important, much discussed item this session was a significant commitment to the future water needs of the state. The Governor even included water as an emergency item at the beginning of the session. SB 7 and the constitutional amendment HJR 7 seek to dedicate $1 Billion each fiscal year (beginning in 2027) to the new water fund at the Texas Water Development Board. This fund will be used for new water projects, water transportation infrastructure, flood control, development of some surface water projects, etc. While this also must go before the voters this November, expect significant voter education money to be spent encouraging support between now and then. This is the most significant water legislation since 1997. Most would agree this focus is long overdue.
The Texas Desalination Association continued to support efforts to address Texas’ long term water needs. After setting the groundwork last session with the creation of the “New Water” fund, leadership in the House, Senate and the Governor’s office decided to make a serious commitment to the development of “New Water”. SB 7 and HJR 7 received unanimous support in both the House and the Senate (does not happen very often) signaling that everyone agrees we have a water problem that must be addressed.
The proposed revenue dedication begins in 2027 and will continue for 20 years. These funds will be used for water supply projects and fixing failing systems. In addition, the budget just approved included over $2.6 billion toward Texas’ water infrastructure needs. These historic appropriations include matching funds to maximize Texas’ receipt of federal water infrastructure funds and $2.5 billion for water infrastructure projects and programs.
This does not solve the Texas water crisis, but it helps. As important as the actual dedication of funds, it is equally important that our elected officials remain focused on addressing this issue. Perhaps those of us in the “water world” can help our decision makers keep that focus going forward. That, and help meet the needs of our fast-growing state by developing the projects needed to answer this call.