The first one-third of this legislative session is over, and nothing has been settled on any issue—but that's normal for the legislature. The deadline to file substantive bills is next Friday, March 11. After that, legislators will focus on discussing those bills in committees and debating them on the floor. In the short term, though, the volume of bills filed over this final week will be mind-numbing, so please be patient with us as we try to catch up.

Budget cuts

There is nothing new to report on this front. As for the big picture, the budget cuts contained in the initial Senate bill are still too draconian to garner enough votes to make it out of the Senate Finance Committee, and the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee is trying to talk committee members into drawing down about $4 billion from the Rainy Day Fund (mostly to cover shortfalls in the current biennium's budget). Meanwhile, a slew of pro-gambling/gaming/casino/slot machine bills were filed this week to take advantage of the budget-induced discomfort many legislators are experiencing; as they say, timing is everything!

Committee recap

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee followed the example of its House counterpart and approved SB 121 by Ellis, a bill to reform eyewitness ID procedures. The Senate version differs slightly from the House version (HB 215), but that will be worked out along the way—look for one of those two to be among the first criminal justice bills sent to the governor this session. That same Senate committee also approved SB 316 by Whitmire, a bill to reform asset forfeiture practices, and sent it to the Local & Consent Calendar, which means it should pass without being debated or amended (which cuts out the potential for mischief or other unfriendly amendments).

In the House, the State Affairs Committee took up a half-dozen immigration enforcement bills of varying shapes and sizes. The only one you need to watch is HB 12 by Solomons—that is the governor's preferred "sanctuary city" bill. HB 12 was left pending, but we'll update you if and when it moves out of committee, along with any other bills of interest heard in committees this past week were left pending.

Committee hearings

Here's a glimpse of what's on tap for next week ...

Monday, March 7

House Land & Resource Management (1:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.012)

HB 138 by Callegari relating to acquisition/compensation through eminent domain
HB 188 by Sheffield relating to eminent domain authority
SB 18 by Estes relating to eminent domain authority

House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.010)

HB 289 by Jackson relating to human trafficking-related acts that constitute a nuisance
HB 501 by Solomons penalizing the dissemination of certain criminal history information
HB 905 by Thompson relating to hearsay statements of a child in a protective order case
HB 1072 by Solomons waiving State Bar dues for an attorney employed by the state

House Ways & Means (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.014)

HB 255 by Hilderbran relating to the civil and criminal enforcement of tax laws

Tuesday, March 8

House Licensing & Administrative Procedures (8:00 a.m., E2.012)

HB 82 by Flynn relating to gambling and gambling devices (8-liners)

House Insurance (1:30 p.m., E2.026)

HB 1020 by S. Miller imposing minimum liability insurance coverage for DWI offenders

House Criminal Jurisprudence (10:30 a.m. or upon adjournment, JHR 120)

Not posted as of Friday at 4:00 p.m.; keep checking http://bit.ly/f0WLRz for the details

Senate Criminal Justice (1:30 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.016)

SB 116 by Uresti expanding protective orders to include certain victims of dating violence
SB 170 by Ellis reorganizing indigent defense funding and oversight
SB 250 by Zaffirini expanding protective orders to include stalking victims
SB 279 by W. Davis expanding protective orders to include pets and companions

Wednesday, March 9

House Transportation (8:00 a.m., E2.028)

HB 37 by Menendez relating to using wireless communication devices while driving
HB 93 by Cook relating to using wireless communication devices while driving
HB 103 by Martinez Fischer relating to ... ditto
HB 243 by Craddick relating to ... ditto
HB 287 by Lucio III relating to ... ditto

House Corrections (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.014)

HB 1915 by Madden abolishing TYC & TJPC; creating a Texas Juvenile Justice Dept.

Bill filings

Here is a short summary of some of the new bills filed since last week's update (current through yesterday):

HB 7 by Thompson (& SB 24 by Van de Putte) relating to human trafficking
HB 255 (& SB 934 by Williams) relating to the enforcement of tax laws
HB 700 by Hilderbran consolidating the Racing, Lottery, and Alcoholic Beverage Commissions into a new Alcoholic Beverage and Gaming Commission
HB 1856 by Woolley expanding the scope of and penalty for tampering with a witness
HB 1874 by Zedler expanding the scope of improper relationship between educator/student
HB 1888 by S. Miller requiring public employers to use E-Verify
HB 1890 by Fletcher granting the OAG concurrent criminal jurisdiction to prosecute barratry and related solicitation crimes
HB 1891 by S. Davis relating to the execution of a search warrant for electronic data
HB 1915 by Madden (and SB 653 by Whitmire) abolishing TYC and TJPC and creating a new Texas Juvenile Justice Department
HB 1918 by Larson (and SB 1028 by Harris) relating to appointed counsel in capital cases
HB 1928 by Zedler creating a public integrity unit within the OAG and granting it exclusive jurisdiction to prosecute certain crimes
HB 1937 by Simpson relating to certain airport searches that may qualify as sexual assault
HB 1974 by Sheets relating to state and county defined contribution retirement plans
HB 1994 by Weber (and SB 1060 by Van de Putte) authorizing prostitution courts
HB 1995 by Weber changing the state-local fine split in certain environmental crimes and eliminating Travis County's venue in those cases
HB 2014 by Thompson relating to human trafficking
HB 2015 by Thompson making juvenile probation a CINS offense
HB 2019 by McClendon authorizing certain victim-offender mediation programs
HB 2037 by Madden relating to court-ordered medication of incompetent defendants
HB 2065 by Allen authorizing certain victim-offender mediation programs
HB 2097 by Giddings adding bath salts to Penalty Group 2
HB 2101 by Hernandez Luna sealing court records containing personal or ID information
HB 2111 by Woolley (and SB 1118 by Hinojosa) authorizing video lottery terminals (VLTs) at certain locations
HB 2118 by Coleman adding bath salts to Penalty Group 2
HB 2119 by Kolkhorst creating a property interest in certain DNA sample
HB 2122 by Lozano relating to elected prosecutors called to active duty military service
HB 2159 by Coleman revising the insanity defense
HB 2176 by T. King reducing the DPS surcharge for certain non-DWI convictions
HJR 111 by Woolley (and SJR 33 by Hinojosa) amending the state constitution to authorize VLTs
HJR 112 by Melendez (and SJR 34 by Ellis) amending the state constitution to create the Texas Gaming Commission and authorize casino games and slot machines
SB 9 by Williams relating to homeland security
SB 964 by Uresti relating to theft and fraud committed against disabled victims
SB 973 by Hinojosa reforming capital sentences for certain juvenile offenders
SB 1010 by Huffman providing certain victims with notice of a plea bargain agreement
SB 1024 by Rodriguez expanding the offense of theft of service
SB 1055 by Carona authoring "commitment reduction plans" and related funding mechanisms for probation departments
SB 1066 by Estes adding bath salts to Penalty Group 2
SB 1076 by Ellis mandating probation for certain 3rd-degree felony POCS cases and expanding non-disclosure to certain straight probation records
SB 1077 by Ellis creating time credits for probationers' early termination
SB 1079 by Ellis relating to the application of the death penalty to a person with MR
SB 1103 by Carona expanding venue for certain theft offenses
SB 1106 by Harris facilitating the exchange of certain information concerning juveniles
SB 1108 by W. Davis requiring IT workers to report images of child pornography
SB 1115 by Wentworth authorizing OAG or private legal action against certain fraud
SB 1116 by Whitmire restricting the ability to cite students for certain Class C offenses