2nd Special Session
Wrap-up & 
3rd Special Coming Soon
 
September 8, 2021

It was a long time coming, but once the House finally reached a quorum, we were able to work through most of the special session agenda relatively quickly. In total, there are 15 bills set to become law, each pertaining to the issues the Governor placed on the special session call. 

We've talked about it before, but the marquee issue of this special session was the election integrity bill. Without rehashing all the details, this bill makes election laws consistent across the state, expands early voting hours for most counties, and increases the penalties for those who commit voter fraud. It's a good bill that is the result of lots of negotiation and input from Texans across the state. I, along with the majority of my colleagues, voted yes, and the bill is set to become law before the 2022 midterm elections. 

In other news, the Legislature passed SB 4 to shore up protections for women's health. This bill strengthens existing reporting requirements for abortion-related complications and tightens the regulation of drug-induced abortions. Given the fertility and health risks associated with these drugs, this legislation will protect children and their mothers. Though some tried to make this a partisan issue, it was actually continuing safety regulations started during the Clinton Administration. 

We also appropriated over $3 billion this session which will go towards property tax relief, securing the border, increasing rates for foster care providers, and funding Article X of the budget (ensuring that legislative staff and legislative agency staff will continue to be paid for their work).

Additionally, there are bills headed to the Governor's desk to provide a 13th check to retired teachers, reform the bail system, improve K-12 education, address critical race theory in school classrooms, and prevent censorship on social media. We've included a full list of bills set to become law below.

Finally, the Governor announced yesterday that the Legislature will convene for a third special session on September 20, less than two weeks away. Redistricting will be the main priority as we work to draw state and congressional maps for the next election cycle. There are a handful of other issues on the call as well: appropriations of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, vaccine mandates by governmental entities, transgender athlete participation in UIL sports, and dog tethering restrictions.

That means that we've had another special session announced before we were able to get out this recap newsletter of the last special session. It's truly been a long summer!

As always, if you have questions about specific bills that did or did not pass, please contact us and we'll be happy to get you additional information.

May God bless you and your family,
James B. Frank Signature
Representative James B. Frank 
 
Bills Passed

The following bills were approved by both chambers of the Texas Legislature, and are set to become law pending the Governor's signature: 

SB 1 is the election integrity bill described above.

SB 3 prohibits districts from compelling teachers to discuss particular current events or controversial issues and requires schools to make instructional materials available to parents.

SB 4 is the pro-life bill described above.

SB 6 prohibits certain violent offenders (such as those charged with murder or kidnapping) from being released on bail and creates a reporting structure to provide transparency and information on the use of bail in the criminal justice system. This reporting structure will provide judges with relevant information for setting appropriate bail amounts.

SB 7 provides a one-time "13th check" (supplemental payment) to retirees in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. 

SB 8 allows homebuyers to receive their homestead exemption when they purchase the property, rather than having to wait until January 1st of the following year.

SB 9 establishes requirements for a public school district that provides instruction on the prevention of child abuse, family violence, and dating violence.

SB 12 / SJR 2 are designed to lower the property tax bill for individuals who are over 65 or disabled by extending the tax compression rate established in the school finance reform bill passed in 2019 to them specifically.

SB 13 creates a structure to change the dates of the candidate-filing period, primary election, and primary runoff election in the 2022 election cycle if there is a delay with 2020 redistricting.

SB 15 provides schools the ability to establish or continue full-time virtual learning programs and to receive equivalent attendance funding from the state for doing so. This will give school districts additional options for student learning as families, teachers, and administrators continue to navigate COVID and beyond.

HB 5 provides the funding for Article X of the budget (the legislature), and distributes additional money for schools, foster care, cybersecurity, and election administration. 

HB 7 prohibits the disposal or storage of high-level radioactive waste in Texas.

HB 9 appropriates additional funding to secure the border. 

HB 20 prohibits a social media platform with more than 50 million monthly users from censoring a person or their content based on the user's viewpoint.
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