Some have described a Texas legislative session as being like high school, but with money and power. We’re not sure what that analogy says for the Lege’s ability to avoid a COVID outbreak, but the thought is not filling us with confidence.
COVID & the Lege
Still no definitive word from the decision-makers about how they plan to pull off a COVID-safe legislative session starting next month. Ideas floated this week include holding a limited number of in-person committee hearings for the first 60 days but restricting public attendance to only those who register online several days in advance and provide proof of a negative coronavirus test in the 24 hours preceding the hearing. Such steps might help, but color us skeptical. Even now, with the capitol locked down and very little business being conducted before the session starts, there are rumors of legislators and staff members testing positive—the former because politicking is by nature an in-person gig, the latter because they are in the highest risk group for contracting the virus (namely, 20-somethings who socialize with each other and strangers). We say “rumors” of positive tests because, with very few exceptions, most of those results within the capitol community are not being publicly confirmed, something that only adds fuel to the already inferno-level gossip machine that is a regular part of the legislative process.
In other legislative news, the Lite Guv has announced his preference for yet another reduction in the number of votes it takes to bring legislation to the Senate floor, reducing what was historically known as the “Two-Thirds Rule” (21 of 31 senators) to what would be more like a new “7/12ths Rule” (18 of 31), bringing to fruition something we predicted last month. Assuming that rule is adopted, it would signal a further transfer of power from individual senators to their presiding officer, something that is likely to continue happening in both chambers as long as the pandemic continues (just as it may have happened on your local commissioners court).
Interim hearings
The Senate State Affairs Committee convened in person on Tuesday to consider the prohibition of “taxpayer-funded lobbying,” one of the Texas Republican Party’s public policy priorities for this session. (If you recall, last session a bill to restrict advocacy by local officials and their associations—Senate Bill 29 by Hall (R-Edgewood)—passed the Senate but was defeated on the House floor by a vote of 85-58.) The hearing went about as expected, with no new ground being plowed. Advocates for the ban blamed local officials for the past failures of their preferred policy positions (property tax reform, etc.), and being unable to defeat the offending messages, they apparently intend to “kill the messengers.” (Or, using today’s social media vocabulary, perhaps it’s more accurate to say they want to “cancel” the opposition.)
After the committee hearing, Senator Hall filed a new version of his bill as SB 234, which is an identical companion to HB 749 by Middleton (R-Wallisville), also filed earlier this week. These new bills differ in language from last session’s legislation, but their goal is the same: Prevent local governmental officials from spending public funds to hire or employ lobbyists, pay dues to trade or professional associations who employ lobbyists, or advocate for or against legislation (unless done on their own dime). Unfortunately, you (as local officials) and we (as your professional association) find ourselves in those crosshairs because of positions many of you have taken in the past on issues (such as preserving civil asset forfeiture) opposed by those supporting this new prohibition, so if these “cancellation” measures concern you again this session, now is the time to start expressing those concerns to your local legislators while you are still allowed to.
On more side note: Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of this hearing was that it was closed to public attendance and only accessible online, with invited-only witnesses testifying remotely. If that is a preview of what committee hearings might be like next session, then prepare to be on the outside looking in on many policy debates in 2021 due to lack of access.
Bill filing continues
Through yesterday, we are tracking 30 percent of bills pre-filed so far (313 of 1042 total bills). To see what bills would amend the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, or fall into our “Bills to Watch” category, use the links on the right-hand side of our Legislative page for a complete list. We maintain more than 40 different bill tracks for various topics, but these three lists will give you a good idea of what has been proposed so far. (And if you or someone in your office has proposed a bill that gets filed, please drop Shannon a note so he can track it as such.)
Legislative rotation
As you know, TDCAA can serve as your eyes and ears at the capitol, but the voice legislators need to hear is yours. To help you do that, we have in the past organized a rotating schedule of volunteer slots for elected prosecutors or their surrogates who wish to come to Austin to be a part of the legislative process. We have no idea what this next session will look like, or whether or how prosecutors will be able to participate, but if you would like to plan ahead and schedule a time to watch (or help) the sausage being made in Austin, contact Shannon for more details—he can tell you when to come, what to bring, and what to expect.
Key Personnel and Victim Assistance Coordinator Board Elections
TDCAA will hold elections for two positions on our KP/VAC board next Tuesday afternoon, December 15, 2020 via Zoom. The open positions are: (1) combined Regions 1 & 2, and (2) combined Regions 3 & 7. (Regional map available HERE.) Any key personnel or VAC is eligible to serve on the board if they are a dues-paying member of TDCAA and have the permission of their elected prosecutor employer. If you know of someone in your office who would be a good candidate for these positions, please email their name and contact information to Jalayne Robinson ([email protected]) ASAP—the elections are next week!
CCP changes for January 2021
As part of its code reorganization efforts, the Texas Legislature passed a bill (HB 4173) in 2019 that makes non-substantive changes to chapters in the Code of Criminal Procedure affecting protective orders, grand juries, and victims’ rights. Those changes take effect on January 1, 2021, and the crack staff in our publications department (read: one very busy Diane Beckham!) has laid out those new chapters, along with source and disposition charts, as PDFs that you can download for free at https://www.tdcaa.com/books/ (look for the links along the right-hand “rail” of your desktop layout). These changes will also be incorporated into the upcoming 2021 edition of TDCAA’s code books, which will be available next summer following the 87th Regular Session, but to bridge the gap until then, please take advantage of these free resources and share them with others in your courthouse as needed.
Quotes of the Week
“Was it the lobbyists, or the political will of the legislature?”
—State Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D-Brownsville), member of the Senate State Affairs Committee, in response to interim testimony this week that local officials and their associations killed bills limiting “taxpayer-funded lobbying” last session.
“I feel sorry for Texans that their tax dollars are being wasted on such a genuinely embarrassing lawsuit. Texas is as likely to change the outcome of the Ice Bowl as it is to overturn the will of Wisconsin voters in the 2020 presidential election.”
—Josh Kaul, Wisconsin Attorney General, tweeted in response to news that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a Hail-Mary-pass of a lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging presidential election results in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia.
“The only thing we have to do this session is we have to do the budget and redistricting. … [T]here’s not going to be as many bills, there’s not going to be as many opportunities to have public testimony and things of that nature because I don’t think there’s going to be as many committee meetings.”
—State Rep. Dan Huberty (R-Humble), chairman of the House Public Education Committee, in a local event earlier this week.
“The key to this session is very straightforward, and it is the Texas recovery. … [I]f we are focused on anything other than the economic and the health care recovery of this state, then we are not spending our time wisely.”
—State Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso), current speaker pro tem of the House, in an online panel discussion about the upcoming session.
“No, they have not. We’re not there yet. The House and Senate are kind of wandering in different directions.”
—State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth), chairman of the House Administration Committee, when asked earlier this week whether any decisions have been made on how the legislature will operate next session.
“It’s real. It will hurt you.”
—Bill Waybourn, Tarrant County Sheriff, who recovered from COVID-19 after losing 20 pounds and suffering coughing, fever, headaches, and fatigue symptoms.
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