By Gary Joiner
TFB Radio Network Manager
The 85th Texas Legislature gaveled in on Jan. 10, with reduced state revenue, 24 new members and more than 1,400 bills awaiting lawmakers in Austin to start the 140-day regular session.
Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) is there and already tracking more than 100 pieces of legislation of interest.
“It’s going to be pretty interesting in the sense that the legislature is going to have less money to work with than it did going into the 2015 session. And with 24 newly-elected representatives and senators, that always makes for an interesting start, too,” Jim Reaves, TFB state legislative director, said.
On Jan. 9, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released a biennial revenue estimate of $104.87 billion. The forecast sets a ceiling on how much lawmakers may spend in this year’s session. The figure is 2.7 percent below the two-year revenue estimate released in 2015.
There are 22 new members in the Texas House of Representatives and two new members in the Texas Senate.
Reaves said the pace of bill filing is similar to the 2015 session. He expects between 6,500 and 7,500 bills to be filed this session.
“The first two months, not much happens. They appoint committees,” Reaves told the TFB Radio Network. “But once you start getting into late February and early March, our members really need to start paying attention. Whenever bills start moving, sometimes bad amendments are stuck onto good bills, and we need our folks to spring into action and contact their legislator, either through phone or email, or in person, if that’s a viable option for them.”
Eminent domain reform is TFB’s biggest legislative issue this session.
“We’ve got six of seven eminent domain reform proposals that we believe are necessary to protect private landowners,” he said.
Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus was reelected in the opening days of the session to his record-tying fifth term as speaker. Reaves said TFB is very pleased with Speaker Straus’ reelection.
“It’s very important that TFB members read our Notes from Austin column that is published during the session, along with the Austin Newsletter. It’s our update. It’s also very important to look for alerts,” he said. “The grassroots effort is crucial. Legislators love hearing from us [TFB legislative staff], but a lot of times they need to hear from farmers and ranchers and landowners who are directly impacted.”