July 25, 2017 - When our 150 state representatives and 31 senators arrive in Austin on the second Tuesday of January each odd numbered year, everyone knows that there is an incredible amount of work to be done in only 140 days. Now that we are through those long, hectic days I want to make certain that you are aware of legislation that has, or will in very short order, become law. This column will focus on legislation that was passed specifically to solve issues in East Texas.
This session, the House and the Senate collectively filed almost 7,000 pieces of legislation. I can tell you first hand that this results in a lot of committee hearings and floor debates to sort through so many pieces of legislation. The result of those 7,000 filings was 1,160 pieces of finally passed legislation. It is important to remember that not all of these create new laws, as many reform existing laws and many remove existing laws, rules and regulations.
One of the efforts that I undertake before each session is to travel to all six counties in District 9 with the express purpose of sitting down with our local elected officials and community leaders to discuss the problems that they are facing in the day-to-day operations of our cities, counties, and schools that can potentially be solved in the upcoming legislative session. This input is where many of the best legislative ideas come from, not from Austin.
Some of the ideas from our local officials that became law this session include HB 3167 which would remove Harrison County from the Office of Court Administration's (OCA) onerous fine collection program. In discussing this issue with Judge Hugh Taylor, it became apparent that this program was unneeded as Harrison County already had an effective collection program in place to collect fines assessed to people convicted of crimes. The OCA's program was just adding work to the court staff's already heavy work load without a significant increase in collections. As a result of Judge Taylor's leadership, 23 other counties will also have the option to exit this program and use their limited resources more effectively as well.
Another package of legislation that will benefit Marshall, Carthage, Queen City, and the surrounding areas is HB 3484 and SB 942. These bills allow those entities to use a portion of the already collected hotel occupancy tax funds (HOT funds) to maintain and improve sports facilities. These improvements will help attract more youth sports tournaments to our area, resulting in more visitors spending more money in our hotels, restaurants, and stores. This is an example of using existing tax dollars more efficiently to help bring more tourism dollars to East Texas.
Senator Hughes and I also passed SB 1479, which ratifies moving the Panola County Groundwater Conservation District's election date from May to the more popular November uniform election date. This change should make it easier for Panola County voters to have a say in the membership of the District's board. Anything we can do to make it easier for voters to participate is a victory for all of us.
There are also some important things that happened as a result of amended legislation or work in the budget writing process. One example of such an amendment is granting Harrison County the authority to more closely regulate illegal 8-liner game rooms. Our local law enforcement leaders sought this expanded authority and I hope that it will make it easier for the county to shut down these hubs of illegal activity.
An example in the budgeting process is the efforts to fund the Courthouse Preservation Program. This is the program that has helped counties restore beautiful, historic courthouses across the state. Unfortunately, when the grant funding was spent last year, Marion County was the first county left out. I am confident that with the funding maintained in this budget, Marion County will be the first county awarded a grant and the county will be able to restore their courthouse to its prior beauty, but will also make it safer and more efficient and spur private investment in the downtown area.
These are just a few of the thousands of pieces of legislation considered this session and I will be writing further columns to discuss other specific areas that are important to East Texas. If you have a question about a specific piece of legislation that you would like answered, please contact me at 512-463-0556 or district9.paddie@house.texas.gov.
