Here are some highlights from Day One:
- House Bill 49, by Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, would get rid of daylight saving time in Texas. Some lawmakers have tried to do this in past sessions.
- House Bill 63, by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, would make it a civil offense — not a crime — to be caught with less than one ounce of marijuana. Moody’s bill was one of several filed Monday aiming to loosen marijuana laws in Texas.
- House Bill 84, also by Moody, would repeal the section of the Texas penal code that lists “homosexual conduct” as a crime. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that the section is unenforceable, but it remains on the books.
- House Bill 222, by Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, would prohibit Texas cities from adopting or enforcing ordinances that would require employers to offer their employees paid sick leave. San Antonio and Austin have passed paid sick leave ordinances this year. Soon after Austin passed its ordinance, state Rep. Paul Workman, R-Austin, announced that he would file legislation banning the ordinances, but Workman was defeated in Tuesday’s election.
- House Joint Resolution 24, by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, would propose a constitutional amendment requiring the state to fund at least half of the cost of funding public schools. If the amendment were approved by voters, local property tax collections would not apply to the state’s share.
- Senate Bill 66, by Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, would reduce and eventually eliminate the state’s franchise tax.
My reaction, in order: Oppose, favor, favor, oppose, favor, neutral. It makes me happy that the pro-sick employees faction had to find a new lackey after their original sponsor got tossed. I’ll be following this stuff as usual as we morph into the legislative season.
Neutral on a tax cut, when our state lege underfunds all its duties and achieves a so-called balanced budget only by accounting trickery of the highest order?
What about SB 90–legalizing medical marijuana?
https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/san-antonio-state-senator-files-medical-marijuana-bill-for-texas/500-613858743
I expect the liquor, pharma, and police lobbies to squash this one, too, but if HB 63 gets a mention, why not this one?
As to the ones mentioned:
Eliminate daylight savings time? Yes. We’ve got that new fangled electric light now. DST is a relic.
Civil ticket for pot? Sure, why not?
Repeal the law criminalizing homosexual conduct? Yes.
Stop cities from requiring paid sick leave? Yes. If you require business to pay for days not working, you also need to require business to lower the hourly wage to make up for that. Companies that have paid sick leave have that already built in the wage structure. Why not just let business and employees negotiate their own terms of employment?
State funds half the schools? Yes, but can we tie that in with ending Robin Hood?
Killing franchise tax? Yes.