The 87th Texas Legislature won鈥檛 gavel in until January, but state lawmakers on Monday got their first chance to file legislation for what鈥檚 expected to be a particularly tough 140-day stretch at the Capitol next year.
, the first day to pre-file legislation, more than 530 bills had already been filed in the House and Senate. Thousands of bills are expected to be filed throughout the legislative session, though only a fraction of them will make it through both chambers and end up on Gov. 鈥檚 desk.
State leaders have already said they expect to be the toughest state lawmakers have seen in years. The state is forecasting billions of dollars in shortfalls to the state budget, which the coronavirus pandemic has fueled. On top of that, lawmakers are set to undergo the once-in-a-decade process of redrawing the state鈥檚 political maps.
House Redistricting Committee Chair , a Weatherford Republican, filed legislation Monday morning related to the composition of House districts and State Board of Education districts with House Bill and, respectively. Later Monday, King related to congressional districts.
With fights over voter access and ballot integrity dominating the election offices and courthouse across the state in recent months, lawmakers are also seeking to resolve some of the central issues around how Texans vote with a battery of bills filed in the early hours Monday. Before noon, nearly 30 pieces of elections-related legislation had already been proposed in both chambers.
Mail-in voting and voter registration emerged as two key focal points in bills filed by members of both parties. There was also legislation focused on countywide voting centers, voter identification, access for voters with disabilities, straight-ticket voting and designating any day an election is held statewide, including primaries, as a state holiday.
State Rep. , R-Muenster, filed proposals aimed at curbing the power of the governor's emergency powers, including an "Emergency Powers Board" to provide oversight during a declared disaster. The state's "Big Three" 鈥� the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House 鈥� would sit on the board, as would the chairs of the House and Senate State Affairs Committees. Abbott has overstepped his authority as the state has responded to the pandemic.
Filing a bill early typically results in a low number. But the lowest numbers are reserved for the highest priority bills set by the House speaker and lieutenant governor 鈥� and sometimes, those pieces of legislation won鈥檛 be filed until session is well underway.
A list of notable bills filed from the day, which will be updated regularly:
- by state Rep. , R-Spring, would prohibit the state or elections officials from distributing mail-in ballot applications to voters who had not requested them. The bill comes after months of battle between Texas Republicans and nearby Harris County over a plan, , to send unrequested applications to some 1.9 million registered voters younger than 65.
- and by Houston Democratic state Reps. Jarvis Johnson and Shawn Thierry, respectively, would abolish Confederate Heroes Day in Texas. The Jan. 19 state holiday is meant to honor Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and 鈥渙ther Confederate heroes,鈥� according to . Meanwhile, by Springer, the Muenster Republican, would aim to protect historical monuments by limiting Texans鈥� options for removing, relocating or altering them.
- by state Rep. , D-Round Rock, would prohibit law enforcement departments from working with reality television shows. The bill comes after Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody on a felony evidence tampering charge in the case of Javier Ambler, a Black man who died in 2019 after being stunned with a Taser multiple times by deputies. The incident was caught on camera for an episode of the since-canceled police reality show 鈥淟ive PD,鈥� that never aired.
- by state Rep. , R-Junction, would abolish school district maintenance and operations taxes in the state. During the last legislative session in 2019, Murr tried to pass a proposal that would have eliminated such taxes in 2022 and directed a committee to find a new funding source before 2021. Those property taxes, paid by local residents of each public school district, plus state funding make up the bulk of a district鈥檚 budget.
- by state Rep. , R-The Woodlands, would ban abortions at or after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. prohibits prohibits abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. If passed, the bill would go into effect Sept. 1, 2021.
- by state Rep. , D-Houston, known as the , is named after George Floyd, a Black man killed over the summer in Minneapolis police custody, and would make a number of policing and criminal justice reforms.
- by state Sen. , D-San Antonio, and by state Rep. , D-Missouri City, would expand the state鈥檚 to make more patients eligible and lower fees associated with operating a dispensary, among other things.
- by state Rep. , R-Odessa, would establish the "Texas Active Shooter Alert System" to notify Texans if there is an active shooter in the area. The legislation would require the Texas Department of Public Safety to develop the system and the Texas Department of Transportation to create a plan for releasing information to people who are within 50 miles of an active shooter. Landgraf's legislation comes after a fatally shot seven people and injured 22 others in Midland and Odessa last year.
- by state Rep. , D-San Antonio, would expand Medicaid eligibility to certain people under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Texas is currently in the minority of states that have to people with incomes near or below the poverty line. If passed, the bill would also establish an annual report on the effects of expanding eligibility for medical assistance, including the effects on uninsured Texans and on state and local health care costs.
- by state Rep. , D-El Paso, would designate the day after the Super Bowl a state holiday.
Karen Brooks Harper and Aliyya Swaby contributed to this report.
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