87^th Texas Legislature
More than 6,000 bills have been filed by today’s deadline for the 87^th Legislature.

Process check: after a bill is filed in its respective chamber, it typically is assigned to a committee. But with 6,000 to consider before the May 31 end-of-session deadline, the majority of bills will die in committee.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan have all placed addressing the power outages at the top of the priority list. But they still have to address the budget and pandemic issues … all before the May 31 deadline. Another looming issue is redistricting, but as census data is delayed, that issue will be pushed to a special session. So, expect multiple special sessions on the horizon.

We’re following a number of bills relating to our Legislative Agenda. These bills focus on addressing broadband access throughout the state, limiting lawsuits as a result of the pandemic and expanding Medicaid. This list will be updated as more move through their chambers, but these bills of note have been assigned to their respective committees, which have started hearings.
 

Bill	Status	Summary/Title	Last Action
HB1	Intro	General Appropriations Bill. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-01 To House Appropriations Committee
SB1	Intro	General Appropriations Bill. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-08 To Senate Finance Committee
HB2	Intro	Relating to making supplemental appropriations and reductions in appropriations and giving direction and adjustment authority regarding appropriations. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-01 To House Appropriations Committee
HB3	Intro	Relating to state and local government responses to a pandemic disaster; creating a criminal offense. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-11 [Hearing: Mar 11 @ 8:00 am] To House State Affairs Committee
SB5	Intro	Relating to the expansion of broadband services to certain areas. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-17 [Hearing: Mar 17 @ 8:00 am] To Senate Transportation Committee
HB10	Intro	Relating to the governing body of the independent organization certified to manage the ERCOT power region [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-08 To House State Affairs Committee
SB10	Intro	Relating to the use by a county or municipality of public money for lobbying activities. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-11 To Senate Local Government Committee
HB11	Intro	Relating to the extreme weather emergency preparedness of facilities for providing electric service. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-08 To House State Affairs Committee
HB12	Intro	Relating to a study on a statewide disaster and extended power outage alert system and implementation of that system. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-08 To House State Affairs Committee
HB13	Intro	Relating to the establishment of the Texas Energy Disaster Reliability Council [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-11 To House State Affairs Committee
HB14	Intro	Relating to the creation of the Texas Electricity Supply Chain Mapping Committee. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-11 Filed
HB16	Intro	Relating to a prohibition on the sale of wholesale indexed products by retail electric providers. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-08 To House State Affairs Committee
HB19	Intro	Relating to procedure, evidence, and remedies in civil actions. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-09 To House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee
SB144	Intro	Relating to the extension of the expiration of certain parts of the Texas Economic Development Act. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-03 To Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development Committee
SB171	Intro	Relating to a report regarding Medicaid reimbursement rates and access to care. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-03 To Senate Health & Human Services Committee
SB506	Intro	Relating to the expansion of broadband services to certain areas. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-09 To Senate Transportation Committee
HB1446	Intro	Relating to the expansion of broadband services to certain areas. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-05 To House State Affairs Committee
HB1557	Intro	Relating to the authority of the governor and the legislature with respect to certain declared states of disaster. [Detail][Text][Discuss]	2021-03-08 To House State Affairs Committee

 
 
Federal news
In D.C., President Joe Biden has signed his huge Covid-19 relief bill but Texans will see a big chunk of change: $16.8 billion in funds for the state government and $10.4 billion for local governments.
Leaders of the House Small Business Committee reached a bipartisan deal to extend the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to May 31.
The latest on Biden executive orders, cabinet nominees: Click here to view TRP's comprehensive tracking document. Click here to view the hearing schedule for the President's cabinet nominees.
 
Here are some additional resources for in-depth coverage:
If you want to follow the specific activities of our local legislators, these links will lead you there.
Button Legislator Detail | BillTrack50
Leach Legislator Detail | BillTrack50
Johnson Legislator Detail | BillTrack50
Paxton Legislator Detail | BillTrack50
Ramos Legislator Detail | BillTrack50
Allred Legislator Detail | BillTrack50
Taylor Legislator Detail | BillTrack50
 
Richardson Chamber of Commerce Public Policy
Texas Legislature Online
My TLO
Legislative Reference Library
LegiScan Texas
Texas League of Women Voters
Texas Tribune: The Legislature Explained - YouTube
Texas Tribune: 2021 Texas Legislature
Harvey Kronberg's The Quorum Report
Teach the Vote | Teach the Vote (atpe.org)
Dallas Business News - Dallas Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
Politics | Chron.com - Chron
Austin, TX Local News | Austin American-Statesman
Austin, TX Local News | Austin American-Statesman