Texas Senate

Subject: Property Tax Exemption at Expense of Other Taxpayers, Senate Joint Resolution 64 (SJR 64)

• Author: State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas)
• TFR Position: Oppose
• Background: SJR 64 seeks to allow counties and municipalities to provide property tax exemptions for childcare facilities. Although well intended, property tax exemptions ultimately hurt those that do not qualify for such an exemption, shifting the burden. The priority of the legislature should be to provide as much tax relief as possible to Texas taxpayers and SJR 64 will ultimately result in higher taxes for everyone else. For this reason, TFR opposes SJR 64

Subject: Education Options for Child Victims of Sexual Grooming, Senate Bill 1557 (SB 1557)

• Author: State Sen. Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound)
• TFR Position: Support
• Background: SB 1557 seeks to protect children victimized by any crime or official misconduct, including sexual grooming, and allows them a new start in a safe environment. SB 1557 would provide options for parents and their children by allowing funds, totaling the normal apportionment for that child in a public school district, to be used at a school of their choice. The new school may be a different campus in the same district, a neighboring district, a charter school, or a private school. Children should not be trapped in a school where misconduct or sexual grooming takes place. For this reason, TFR supports SB 1557.

Subject: Anti-ESG, Senate Bill 2530 (SB 2530)

• Author: State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola)
• TFR Position: Support
• Background: SB 2530 seeks to revise certain definitions related to the comptroller’s list of financial companies that boycott energy companies and also establishes additional reporting and contracting requirements for various state investment entities. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 2530.

Texas House of Representatives

Subject: Prohibition on Public Funds for Gender Transitioning, Senate Bill 14 (SB 14)

• Author: State Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels)/State Rep. Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress)
• TFR Position: Support
• Background: SB 14 seeks to prevent public funds from being used for procedures and treatments on children for gender transitioning, gender reassignment, or gender dysphoria. For these reasons, TFR supports SB 14.

Subject: Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, House Bill 2837 (HB 2837)

• Author: State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler)
• TFR Position: Support
• Background: HB 2837 seeks to prohibit the use of a merchant category code for a firearms retailer. There is a significant risk, given recent changes in standardization, that governmental actors, in conjunction with banking institutions, will have access to unprecedented information with regard to the activity of citizens seeking to purchase firearms and ammunition. That information could potentially be used in a way contrary to the support of both the federal and state constitutional right to keep and bear arms. For these reasons, TFR supports HB 2837.

Subject: Studying the Potential Leasing of State Property for Artists, House Bill 1495 (HB 1495)

• Author: State Rep. Bobby Guerra (D-Mission)
• TFR Position: Oppose
• Background: HB 1495 seeks to require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) to collaborate with the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) on a study regarding the leasing of state agency buildings and property for the use of artists for the practice and performance of their arts. These facilities are in large part funded by taxpayer dollars. Using these facilities in this way is not in support of being a good steward of that money. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 1495.

Subject: Pro-Taxpayer, House Bill 5217 (HB 5217)

• Author: State Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. (R-Montgomery)
• TFR Position: Support
• Background: HB 5217 seeks to allow residents and property owners in an extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) to use petition and election procedures to remove themselves from the ETJ, similar to municipal annexations. For this reason, TFR supports HB 5217.

Subject: Pro-Taxpayer, House Bill 613 (HB 613)

• Author: State Rep. Cody Vasut (R-Angleton)
• TFR Position: Support
• Background: HB 613 seeks to prohibit governmental bodies from charging a fee for providing copies of campaign finance reports unless the reports are available online and authorizing the attorney general to reduce or even cancel fees imposed under certain circumstances. HB 613 seeks to ultimately lessen the burden these charges may present to citizens. For this reason, TFR supports HB 613.

Subject: Creation of a Grant Program, House Bill 3723 (HB 3723)

• Author: State Rep. Stan Gerdes (R-Smithville)
• TFR Position: Oppose
• Background: HB 3723 seeks to establish a rural workforce training grant program to provide on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and workforce education courses to counties with a population of less than 200,000. This is not the proper role of government. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 3723.

Subject: Prohibiting Property Owners’ Associations From Preventing Section 8 Housing, House Bill 1193 (HB 1193)

• Author: State Rep. Chris Turner (D-Grand Prairie)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 1193 seeks to prohibit a property owners’ association from denying or prohibiting a property owner from renting to a person based on their method of payment. Ultimately, HB 1193 prevents these associations from prohibiting federal Section 8 housing. Forcing associations to participate in a program that was designed to be voluntary and consists of many bureaucratic issues is burdensome to not only landlords but also to property associations. For these reasons, TFR opposes HB 1193.

Subject: Anti-Free Enterprise, House Bill 1234 (HB 1234)

• Author: State Rep. Ed Thompson (R-Pearland)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 1234 seeks to require an insurer that offers cosmetic metal roof coverage under a residential property insurance policy under which the insured is given the option to reject coverage, as opposed to an opt-in option, to require an insured who rejects, declines, or refuses to accept the coverage to acknowledge in writing that the insured has done so. This proposed requirement is antithetical to free enterprise. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 1234.

Subject: New Corporate Welfare Program, House Bill 2509 (HB 2509)

• Author: State Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 2509 seeks to establish the Texas grocery access investment fund program to provide financing to construct, rehabilitate, or expand grocery stores in underserved low-income and moderate-income areas in Texas. Ultimately, HB 2509 seeks to create a corporate welfare program to address the issue of “food deserts”. With an indeterminate fiscal note, HB 2509 attempts to address an issue that is best left to the free market. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 2509.

Subject: Anti-Free Enterprise, House Bill 3942 (HB 3942)

• Author: State Rep. Salman Bhojani (D-Euless)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 3942 seeks to require a health benefit plan to provide coverage for telemedicine medical services, teledentistry dental services, and telehealth services with an originating site or distant site located outside Texas on the same basis and to the same extent that coverage would be provided if such sites were located in Texas. This proposed requirement is antithetical to free enterprise. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 3942.

Subject: Expanding Corporate Welfare, House Bill 4264 (HB 4264)

• Author: State Rep. Angie Chen Button (R-Garland)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 4264 seeks to ensure that all events of the National Reined Cow Horse Association Championship Series are eligible for funding under the major events reimbursement program. Government should not be in the business of stealing from taxpayers to give corporate welfare in the form of reimbursement for major events. This practice is antithetical to free enterprise and TFR opposes all subsidies and corporate welfare.

Subject: Anti-Free Enterprise, House Bill 5146 (HB 5146)

• Author: State Rep. John Raney (R-Bryan)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 5146 seeks to establish the Building Better Futures Program to facilitate the delivery of educational and occupational skills training opportunities and support services to Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With an indeterminate fiscal note, HB 5146 attempts to address an issue that is best left to the free market. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 5146.

Subject: Hotel Occupancy Tax for Nacogdoches County, House Bill 5178 (HB 5178)

• Author: State Rep. Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 5178 seeks to allow Nacogdoches County the ability to use Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) revenue for the purpose of funding initiatives such as tourism development, historic preservation programs, and promotion of the arts. The continued use of HOT to finance projects is antithetical to free enterprise. The use of such things lacks accountability. There is no reason to create new taxes and grow the government to build buildings not crucial to infrastructure. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 5178.

Subject: Licensure Requirement, House Bill 2945 (HB 2945)

• Author: State Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park)
• TFR Position: Oppose on Local, Consent, and Resolutions Calendar
• Background: HB 2945 seeks to authorize a person who produces eggs that are produced by the person’s own flock and for which the person does not claim a grade to sell up to 120 dozen ungraded eggs per week directly to consumers or wholesale. HB 2945 would prohibit such a person from selling the eggs at wholesale unless the person holds a license as an ungraded dealer-wholesaler issued by the Department of Agriculture (TDA). Though allowing those who would sell ungraded eggs the ability to sell to consumers is preferential, the institution of a license to do so is burdensome and ultimately stifles free enterprise. For this reason, TFR opposes HB 2945.

Reminder: Vote Notices are provided to both Texas state lawmakers and the general public in advance of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility’s position on issues to be rated as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Index prior to votes being taken in each legislative chamber.

Disclaimer: We reserve the right to consider amendments to legislation that may be introduced without notice as a part of issues to be rated as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Index. We will make every effort to provide notice on amendments that are pre-filed.