With 12 days left in the 88^th legislative session there are still many unanswered questions.  Will a budget compromise be reached, will a voucher program of some type be established, what will the property tax situation look like and will anything be done on behalf of our schools and their employees?

Here are a couple of questions that have been answered so far this session. 

There won’t be any new gambling in Texas this year. 

Former Representative Bryan Lee Slaton (R-Royse City) will not be voting on the budget, school vouchers or anything else for that matter; he was expelled from the Texas House. The last time someone was expelled was 1927.  

If all of this sounds like the set up for an evening soap opera or a particularly juicy Telenovela you are correct.  Throw in a $160 Billion budget that must be passed by August 31^st and a $32 Billion surplus and you have the makings of excellent theatre.

The unique “strangeness” of this session was to be expected before the session even began.  With the large budget surplus and the number of new members in both the House and Senate, the stage was set for deals done, deals undone, big ideas dashed and ultimately promises unfulfilled.  In other words, the making of a typical legislative session  just amplified. 

So far in that aspect this session has not disappointed.  As of today, a budget still eludes the grasp of those making decisions.  Of the 8,000 plus bills and resolutions introduced this session, the only one that must pass is the budget.  So far, nada.  Is there time?  Sure, but is there a willingness?  If an issue like vouchers is to pass, the promoters of that issue must have something with which to bargain.  If the budget is passed, a budget that almost always includes points of interest to individual members, then the ability to use those interests to entice support of something that the member otherwise might be against, evaporates.  The budget is always an excellent bargaining tool. 

And the Governor apparently wants some form of vouchers.  And there still seems to be a group of rural republican House members who don’t want vouchers.  An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.  Something’s got to give and usually does.  We are not there yet. 

Another issue of interest is of course, property taxes.  The 2 bodies are still quite a bit apart on this issue and what the final version might entail.  The most recent version of the House property tax legislation includes a 5% cap and $100,000 homestead exemption.  Undoubtedly there is more to come on this issue and this could also be a point of contention and cause a special session. 

In issues of direct interest to those members of the Texas Desalination Association our support (and virtually all others associated with the water industry) appear to be paying off.  SB 28, the bill which is creating the “New Water Supply Fund” within the Texas Water Development Board passed in the House on third reading 139-1.  This legislation authored by Sen. Perry in the Senate and Rep. Tracy King in the House creates new money for new water infrastructure including both marine and brackish desalination.  The companion legislation SJR 75 also passed 135-4.  This legislation proposes a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot this coming November.  This requires voter approval for the allocation of funds in the future. The actual amount that will be associated with the fund is still to be determined.  Those decisions are part of the overall budget negotiations that are currently ongoing. Both of these bills should be headed back to the Senate for concurrence and then on to the Governor for his signature. 

In addition, another piece of legislation of interest to our industry was the Produced Water Consortium legislation continuing the current research that was begun during the last legislative session.  This legislation, SB 1047 has already passed both Houses and was signed by the Governor on May 13^th. This bill continued the Consortium’s activities and increased the funding so that pilot projects can be undertaken. 

Still much to be determined in the last 12 days of the session, while the threat of a special session continues to loom large over the activities, often times just when it seems they will never reach an agreement, someone gives in and they finish. Can all this and other exciting and pressing issues be resolved in 12 days?  Stay tuned, the cliffhanger continues. 

The budget (HB 1) was voted out of Senate Finance late last week and could be up on the Senate floor later this week.  Once this action is taken, both the House and the Senate can appoint conference committee members to begin the budget deliberations.  In addition, the supplemental appropriations bill (SB 30) has passed both Houses, but has not yet had conferees appointed.  The finance and budget process have begun taking center stage in the current “charged” atmosphere.  In addition, internal off-color alleged personal behavior adds to the cacophony of noise in what was and is a very strange legislative session. 

The recently passed House version of property tax reform is dead on arrival according to the Lt. Governor.  The versions in each house are worlds apart and at this point neither side appears interested in compromise, the Lt. Governor loudly proclaiming that he has no plans this summer and is happy to be here working on this issue.

The Governor has spent the past 2 months traveling the countryside speaking to potentially “pro” voucher groups in an attempt to persuade locals to pressure enough key rural Republicans needed to pass some sort of a voucher program.  There was a test vote that occurred on an amendment presented during the House budget process.  The House voted 86 to 52 in favor of amending the House version of the budget to “ban state funding for school vouchers or other similar program”. 

The amendment vote came on an interesting day,  the same day the Senate voted to create a “voucher” like program and 5 days before a House committee considers the subject.  The 86 votes were less than the 115 votes that a similar amendment received on the budget bill last session.  The Senate approved measure would establish an “education savings account” program that would give parents up to $8,000 per student each year.  I am sure there is more to come on this issue.

All 3 of these issues are taking up a significant amount of interest, time and oxygen from the session and the time left is brief.  While the session does not conclude until May 29^th, the House has self-imposed deadlines that bring hard stops to bills that have yet to move through the process.  Realistically, if your House bill is not out of committee by the end of this week, that bill will have a difficult time successfully working through the system. 

The House is significantly behind on the number of bills passed to date so far this session compared to past sessions and the current pace of the Senate.  As of this past Friday, the House has passed 75 bills while the Senate has passed 310 bills.  For context, last session at this time the House had passed 191 bills and the Senate 195. In 2019 those numbers were House 180 and Senate 288.  It is possible for the House to increase its pace, but these slowdowns are almost always intentional.  SB 28 and its enabling legislation SJR 75 are up for a hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee Tuesday April 18^th at 8 am.  As was the case in the Senate AG/Water committee hearing, Mark Ellison (IDE) and Ronnie Woodruff from Brazosport Water Authority will be testifying on behalf of desalination. The current financial commitment at this point remains $3B.  How much of that amount is actual money or illusionary money remains to be seen.   Until leadership in the House and Senate decide on many of these other pressing big-ticket items (property tax relief, school funding, retired teacher raise, state employee raise etc.) the actual amount contained within the bill will be somewhat fluid.  Our only course of action is to work with what is proposed in the legislation and be nimble enough to adjust as the legislation adjusts.  While time is short, much can happen in the waning days of a legislative session.

The 88th meeting of the Texas Legislature is well underway and could potentially have a great impact on the future of water in Texas.  After experiencing almost continuous multi-year droughts during the past decade, our state government appears to be interested in making long term investments in water infrastructure.  Over the past 20 plus years, state assistance in water projects have been centered around low interest loans to individual communities.  While this practice has been beneficial to local communities, it has limited more regional large-scale projects. 

It now appears that there now is some interest in expanding those efforts beyond just loans.

Most members of Texas Desal are aware of Texas efforts over the past 2 years in regard to studying the potential of “Produced Water”.  That favorable report has given momentum to the next steps in the process and a request for additional funds to continue the efforts to explore the potential of this resource.  Senator Charles Perry, author of the original “Produced Water study” legislation will be seeking an additional $5 Million to continue and expand the efforts of the Produced Water Consortium.  While nothing is for certain at this time, Senator Perry’s level of interest and focus on this issue certainly increases the chances of ultimate success.

There are also efforts on a larger more comprehensive scale to supply water to a growing Texas.  Senator Perry and Representative Tracy King have filed legislation in both the House and the Senate to create the “Water for Texas” fund.  SB 837 and HB 2483 (identical) will provide additional financial resources to the Texas Water Development Board to address infrastructure repair (leaky pipes) and the development of new water, reuse and desalination (brackish and marine).  The amount and focus of this commitment is unprecedented and, if passed, will indicate a level of support for expanded water infrastructure in Texas not seen in many years. We applaud Senator Perry and Representative King on their efforts to invest in the long-term water infrastructure in Texas.  The Texas Desalination  Association is looking forward to assist both Senator Perry and Representative King in these efforts to supply Texas with this much needed resource.

The session has begun.

Sort of.

Tuesday January 10^th 12 noon, House and Senate members got sworn in and became official.  Representative Dade Phelan (R- Beaumont) was elected Speaker with a vote of 147 to 3.  The 3 went to  Representative Tony Tinderholt (R- Ft Worth). History tells us that members who vote against the eventual Speaker do not necessarily fare well.  Time will tell if this trend continues.  This futile effort was not a surprise.  Representative Tinderholt has not been subtle about his intentions.  He leads a small group of Republican members who feel that the Texas House has not quite completed its starboard tack, Speaker Phelan being the current main impediment in that further shift to the right.       

The complaint or issue de jour for this session is the long-standing habit of appointing a small number of minority party chairman.  This has been a tradition in the Texas House (and Senate) as long as there has been a party in the minority (R or D). While we wait to see the eventual committee assignments in both Houses, there is a good chance that there will be several D chairs in the House at least.  Last session there was only 1 D chairman in the Senate, John Whitmire (D- Houston) who was chair of the Criminal Justice committee.  We should know soon whether that trend continues. 

While the Senate committee assignments should be completed soon, the House will be awhile coming.  House members have been requested to submit their committee preferences by Thursday January 26^th.  The challenge by the Speaker and his team at that point is to arrange the puzzle between members, attempting to align their seniority  requests with the Speaker’s desires and construct committees that can function to accomplish the work that the House needs to complete.  Think of a wall of puzzle sticky note pieces with names on them, being moved around to complete a picture.  Not an easy task considering all that is attempting to be accomplished with the finished picture. 

Water has figured in both Governor and Lt. Governor agendas as well.  It has been many years since water was front and center of the legislative consciousness, this discussion is greatly needed.  With on-going droughts and regular flooding now becoming our new normal, it is time for the state to take a leadership position on water and spend some of this unusual surplus on water infrastructure.

As of today approximately 2,000 bills and resolutions have been filed.  Over 1450 House bills and about 500 Senate bills.  Many dealing with property tax reductions, and, after listening to both the Lt. Governor and Governor inaugural speeches I think it is pretty certain that we will see property taxes reduced.  While it sounds like a significant amount of money most of the proposals would result in less than $200 per year on the average home.  While certainly better than nothing, not by much. 

In addition, both the Governor and the Lt. Governor mentioned (to varying degrees) improving the power grid and school vouchers.  The voucher discussion has never been particularly serious during past sessions with a coalition of rural Republican and Democratic House members coming together to defeat any effort.  While the Governor talked about his support of school choice during the campaign, the Lt. Governor qualified his support with the desire to protect rural communities.  How far this effort progresses remains to be seen.  Regardless, this type of issue manages to remove lots of oxygen from the room and eat up lots of legislative time. 

A number of other issues will also steal time from needed infrastructure discussions including:

Transgender considerations, abortion restrictions, border security, CRT and other red-meat Republican issues. If past is prologue, figure that bills will pass and be signed reflecting these interests. 

The General Appropriations Bills have been filed.  Lots of water still to pass underneath this bridge as this is just a beginning.  Both the House and Senate bills are very similar emphasizing tax relief, school funding, and border security.  While both spend similar amounts they of course differ in the details.  Both bills leave approximately $50 Billion on the table based on Comptroller Hegar’s budget estimate.  127 days till the session over.  Hang on, its going to be a bumpy ride.