85th Texas Legislature Regular Session, Nov. 21 Update – Prefiled Bills Week 1

The Texas Legislature has begun prefiling bills in preparation for the start of the 85th legislative session.

House Bills

• HB 51 - Relating to the management of commercial oyster boats in this state.
• HB 57 - Relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products.
• HB 78 - Relating to credits to certain accounts of the Parks and Wildlife Department resulting from the allocation of the proceeds from taxes imposed on the sale, storage, or use of sporting goods.
• HB 83 - Relating to a fee waiver for a combination resident hunting and fishing license for certain military personnel.
• HB 101 - Relating to the development of and contracting for reclaimed water facilities in certain municipalities.
• HB 173 - Relating to the licensing and regulation of certain rainwater harvesting; providing administrative penalties; authorizing fees; requiring an occupational license.
• HB 174 - Relating to the authority of the Texas Water Development Board to provide financial assistance to political subdivisions for water supply projects.
• HB 180 - Relating to the review of groundwater conservation districts by the state auditor.
• HB 203 - Relating to a waiver of certain state park fees for United States veterans.
• HB 279 - Relating to the continuation of the women’s health advisory committee.
• HB 294 - Relating to the revocation of certain water utilities’ certificate of public convenience and necessity for major rules violations.
• HB 352 - Relating to the procedure by which a state agency may issue an opinion that a watercourse is navigable.
• HB 394 - Relating to the designation of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin as the state botanical garden and arboretum.
• HB 407 - Relating to protection of the electric power transmission and distribution system.
• HB 420 - Relating to the admissibility of certain evidence relating to climate change or global warming in certain criminal cases.
• HCR 30 - Urging Congress to direct the Bureau of Land Management to affirm the provisions of the Red River Boundary Compact and to acknowledge that the vegetation line on the south bank of the Red River forms the boundary between Oklahoma and Texas.
• HCR 31 - Urging Congress to encourage the U.S. Department of Agriculture to revise existing policies that promote the waste of water after an irrigated crop has been declared a failure.

Senate Bills

• SB 59 - Relating to energy and water management planning and reporting requirements for state agencies and institutions of higher education.
• SB 95 - Relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products; adding a provision subject to a criminal penalty.
• SB 103 - Relating to the provision of bags to customers of a business at the point of sale.
• SB 168 - Relating to the operations of the Department of Public Safety, Parks and Wildlife Department, and state military forces in the border region.
• SB 177 - Relating to unit operations for oil, gas, or oil and gas production from depleting reservoirs or carbon dioxide storage; authorizing a fee.
• SB 189 - Relating to notice of an application for a permit to drill certain injection wells within a certain distance of a groundwater conservation district.
• SB 225 - Relating to the referral by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to the State Office of Administrative Hearings of an issue regarding an application for a water right.
• SB 248 - Relating to the dissolution of a special utility district after the transfer of all obligations and services.