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 THE 82nd SESSION HAS ALREADY
BEGUN
Have you stated your proposed
bills?
By State Representative Joe E. Moody, District 78, El Paso
According to the Texas Constitution, the legislative session begins on the second Tuesday of every odd numbered year. The 81st session began with the striking of the gavel Jan. 13. For 140 days (and two days of a special session) bills moved their way through the capitol according to the rules that we adopted on the first day of the session. Once the gavel came down on the special session, one might have assumed that the capitol would stay silent until January of 2011. But even though activity on the floor of the house and the senate came to an end in July of 2009, there is no doubt that the 82nd session has already begun. Understanding the process that a bill must go through during the 140 days of session will help clarify why that is the case.
Every bill that is introduced in the Texas Legislature must be maneuvered through the same complex process in order to become law. A bill can be filed by a state representative or a state senator, and in many cases an identical bill is filed in both the house and the senate so as to increase the options available in order to pass a particular measure. Once the bill has been filed the bill is read for the first time, and assigned to a committee by the speaker or lieutenant governor depending on the chamber in which the bill was filed.
Once the bill is assigned to a committee, the committee posts notice and must hear the bill in a public hearing, and then take action on the bill. During the committee process the bill can be amended or substituted. Assuming that a bill is voted out of the committee it then heads to the Calendars Committee, where it is placed on a calendar to be heard on the floor for a second time. It is on second reading that most of the floor debate regarding the bill takes place. During that reading and debate, the bill can be amended as well. It is at that point that the bill is voted on by the membership. It then must also go through a third reading, and a final vote. Once that process has concluded, the bill heads to the opposite chamber than that in which it originated. It then must be navigated through the same steps in the opposite chamber where it can be amended as well. If a bill makes it through both chambers, it then heads to the governor to be signed. (See
www.tlc.state.tx.us/gtli/home.html for more information on the legislative process)
All of the steps described above have to be completed within the 140 day legislative session or the bill will die. Just the sheer number of bills filed (more than 4,000 in the house alone during the 81st session) can cause complications during the session.
The pitfalls and obstacles that a bill encounters during session are many, which makes the work done during the interim that much more important. Many of those obstacles can be avoided if the right approach is taken during the interim.
The path to passage starts with an idea. Which is why you should contact your local state representative and state senator to pass along any ideas that you may have in relation to the security business in Texas. Once an idea is fleshed out, one can begin to predict in which committee a proposed measure might be assigned once the session begins. That can lead to bringing a group of legislators together that currently serve on that committee and beginning to rally their support for the measure, as well as find a legislator who will be willing to file and fight for passage of that measure. The proposed language can be drafted and worked on during the interim without the pressure of the 140 day session clock ticking. Most importantly, as you begin to work on the proposed bill, any detractors or opponents can come to the table so that you are able to address any issues that they may have before the gavel even bangs in January of 2011. These are all steps that can and should be taken to give a bill the best possible chance of passage in the coming session.
I have been asked several times what I believe to be the biggest benefit of being an incumbent legislator as opposed to a newly elected member. My answer is simple - time. When I was first elected in the fall of 2008, there were only two months left to prepare for the upcoming session. Now, there are several months in which to meet with constituents and develop legislation as we move towards 2011. Because even though the gavel won’t fall for another year, the 82nd legislative session has already begun.
So if there is an issue out there that you would like to see addressed in the upcoming session, please remember to contact your state representative or state senator soon.
To find out who represents you in Austin, visit www.house.state.tx.us/resources/faq.htm#who_rep to find your state representative and
www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members.htm#FYI to find your state senator.
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