• Revoke taxpayer funded pensions of felon politicians;
• Automatically eject felons from the Legislature and statewide elected office;
• Require state officers and candidates for state office to disclose government contracts, bond counsel, and legal referral fees;
• Cut the meals reporting threshold for lobbyists in half from 60% of per diem to 30% of per diem;
• End the practice of "ticket splitting," in which multiple lobbyists collaborate to make an expenditure above the reporting threshold;
• Prohibit elected officials from registering as lobbyists;
• Establish a "cooling off" period of one full legislative session before members of the Legislature may become lobbyists; and
• Institute a two-year freeze of campaign accounts before members of the Legislature may become lobbyists.

Lt. Governor Patrick complimented the Senate saying, "Government, at all levels, must inspire the public's trust in a transparent and ethically principled manner. I congratulate Senator Taylor on today's unanimous vote in the Senate to pass SB 14 - this is a victory for Texas voters."  

Gov. Abbott commented on the passage saying, "The faith that people have in their democracy is linked to the trust they have in their elected officials. Representatives in Austin must be voting with their constituents' interests in mind - not their own - and I am confident that this session will lead to increased accountability and meaningful reforms that are desperately needed in Texas."     

• SB 1 provides $4.3 billion for Article VI, which funds agencies related to natural resources.
• SB 1 provides $162.6 million All Funds for the Railroad Commission, which experienced a $44.9 million decrease in fee collections due to declining oil and gas activity. The agency is asking for a supplemental appropriation from General Revenue to make up the shortfall.
• SB 1 provides $263 million All Funds for the General Land Office (GLO), which is asking for $43.5 million for the Alamo. Last session, the GLO received $32.1 million for the Alamo - a $30 million increase in General Revenue over the previous session.

CLICK HERE to view schedules, bills, minutes, and more.    

TAX ISSUES

FRANCHISE TAX PHASE-OUT

On Friday, Feb. 9, Senator Nelson announced the filing of SB 17, which would establish a formula with the goal of phasing out the franchise tax over the next 10 years. Senator Nelson said, "SB 17 keeps Texas on the path to responsibly eliminating the franchise tax while maintaining the ability to meet our needs. If we are to remain the friendliest state for businesses, we need to remove this obstacle to job creation and economy growth. Under SB 17, as the economy grows, so does tax relief." Specifically, SB 17 would:

• Reduce the franchise tax every biennium if the comptroller certifies that the state will experience at least 5% revenue growth; and
• Stipulate that 50% of the additional revenue is dedicated to franchise tax relief.

Based on current revenue estimates, the franchise tax would be phased out within about 10 years.

GROWTH IN PROPERTY TAX BILLS

On Thursday, Feb. 8, Senator Bettencourt released a data comparison chart showing that property tax bills are growing two and one-third times faster than that of household income from 2010-2015. The chart uses property tax bill growth for the median home in Texas versus published median household income from the  Dallas Morning News. The rise in property tax bills was calculated by the Texas Taxpayer and Research Association and is 33.7% over 5 years on the average home.  

Senator Bettencourt said, "This reliable Texas data replaces faulty federal data showing only a 13.9% increase in property tax bills over the same five-year period. ... Not only does the reliable Texas data support the Select Committee's findings, but 50 hours of public testimony taken from taxpayers across the state last year proves it as hundreds of Texans expressed their frustration with ever-rising property tax bills. These property tax increases are unsustainable. My SB 2 empowers voters to decide how much government they want to 'buy.' This will be achieved by lowering property tax rates as appraised values increase and by voting in an automatic election if the rollback tax rate is exceeded." CLICK HERE to read his full remarks.  

Center for Public Policy Priorities spokesman Dick Lavine commented on Senator Bettencourt's announcement saying, "Texas local governments - cities, counties, community colleges, and hospital districts - provide vital services to their constituents. Locally elected officials decide how to provide these services and how to pay for them, an arrangement that reflects the values and desires of local voters. The Texas Legislature is no threatening to interfere in these local decisions by limiting the ability of local governments to raise the revenue needed to deliver the public safety, health care, education, parks, libraries, and other services their communities wants. CPPP opposes SB 2 because it would override the values and desires of local voters and limits ability to provide services." CLICK HERE to read more from CPPP.