Habemus res tax pactum!
Week in Review
If you thought you heard the low roll of thunder in the distance last night only to be disappointed by the lack of rain, blame the Legislature—that sound was probably emanating from Austin as the echoes of their chest-thumping and back-patting for finally agreeing to a property tax deal that could have been wrapped up six weeks ago. But hey, better late than never, right? And best of all, they did no harm to anything else.
After the long-awaited legislative compromise was sent to the governor yesterday afternoon (who publicly confirmed that he would sign it into law), both chambers adjourned sine die. What comes next is unclear. Many in Austin expect a special session on the governor’s pet issue of school choice to be called after school begins again in the fall, but whether that is held during or after the Attorney General’s September impeachment trial is unclear. There were also quite a few regular session bills the governor vetoed in a manner that some believe indicated his willingness to add those random issues to the call of a future special session after the legislature delivered a deal on property tax reform. But again, whether the resurrection of those bills would be in conjunction with a school choice special session or afterwards (if at all) is unknown.
For now, all we can say with certainty is that the legislature is no longer in session. Accordingly, these weekly legislative updates will shift gears to the monthly schedule we follow during normal interim periods. Look for our next email update at the end of July.
Impeachment news
Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill is joining the prosecution impeachment team.
Legislative Update CLEs and books
To pre-order your updated TDCAA code books (which will be shipped out starting in August), visit our Books webpage.
Our Legislative Update CLE course will be offered online in August 2023. While we work on that, those of you who prefer in-person training can register for a live Legislative Update presentation to be held on Tuesday, September 19, in Round Rock immediately prior to the start of our Annual Criminal & Civil Law Conference at the Kalahari Resort and Convention Center. To register online for the Legislative Update course—which requires a separate registration from the Annual Conference—click HERE.
TCFV training (free!)
Our friends at the Texas Council on Family Violence are offering a free online CLE (via Zoom) that will focus on legislation from the 88th Regular Session affecting prosecutors who handle family violence cases. The class will air on Friday, July 28, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m., and viewers will qualify for 1.5 hours of CLE (including 0.5 hour of ethics). To tune in and watch this course by TCFV Legislative Director Krista Del Gallo, TCFV Public Policy Director Molly Voyles, and 46th Judicial DA Staley Heatly, register HERE.
Scattershooting
Here are some recent stories you might’ve missed:
- “Gov. Greg Abbott taps longtime aide Angela Colmenero as interim attorney general” (Texas Tribune)
- “Exclusive: Ken Paxton met with GOP activist his office was prosecuting, jeopardizing child abuse case” (Houston Chronicle)
- “New school safety laws seek to add armed guards, chaplains and mental health training. Here’s what you need to know.” (Texas Tribune)
- “Rockwall District Attorney Elected as VP of National Prosecutors’ Association (Blue Ribbon News)
Quotes of the Week
“The idea that just by virtue of living in [Texas], since they’re technically government employees, that research will be expressly forbidden—that’s a precedent we need to confront now, because it’s a catastrophically bad idea. … I just don’t even understand what threat they’re trying to solve.”
—David Karpf, associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, explaining why a coalition of university professors has sued to stop the implementation of SB 1893, which will ban TikTok from all state and local government devices (including public universities).
“It’s so hot two Hobbits just walked by and threw a ring into my yard.”
—As seen today on Twitter and it made us laugh. Hope it makes you laugh too!
(Watch your inbox for our next interim update at the end of July.)
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