This week, Senate Finance hears bills to support innovation in space and semiconductor manufacturing, economic development legislation lands in Senate committee, flood mitigation initiatives move forward, and an update on four bills to keep an eye on. 

Economic Development Bill Referred to Senate Committee 

Last week, the Texas House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved House Bill 5, the Texas Jobs and Security Act, by Representative Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi). This week, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce, chaired by Senator Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown). 

What’s next: As expected, the bill is likely to sit in the Senate for several days while Lt. Governor Patrick and Senate leaders determine how the bill will move forward. 

Why it matters: The bill creates a new state economic development program, attracting business investment to Texas. The bill would also support our state’s grid reliability, create high-quality jobs, provide money for Texas’ K-12 public schools, improve our supply chain, and enhance the state’s national security. 
What we’re hearing: In a recent poll*, Texas voters expressed strong support for a new statewide economic development program: 

• 71% of Texas voters support Texas utilizing economic development tools to attract businesses. 
• 83% of Texas voters believe Economic Development should be a priority in the Texas state government's funding. 

*Poll conducted by Morning Consult between April 21-25, 2023, among a sample of 2,003 registered voters across Texas.

Legislature Invests in Resiliency

The Legislature has taken a multi-faceted approach to invest in resiliency as the budget looks to appropriate around $1 billion in flood mitigation and infrastructure projects. 
House Bill 1: 
•    $350 million in general revenue for Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF)
•    $275 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for FIF
•    $500 million for projects sponsored by the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD)
Senate Bill 1:
•    $400 million in federal ARPA dollars for FIF
•    $500 million for projects sponsored by the GCPD

What's next: The conference committee has nearly finished its work negotiating the differences between the two versions of the budget.
Houston in Focus: On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development heard House Bill 2416 by Representative Dennis Paul (R-Houston). The bill would create the Gulf Coast Protection Trust Fund. The fund, administered by the General Land Office (GLO), will be used for infrastructure developments to protect property, human life, and economic vitality from severe weather events within the Gulf Coast Protection District (GCPD). The Coastal Texas Program will be the likely beneficiary of that fund. 

The GCPD is the state-local sponsor of the Coastal Texas Program, better known as the Coastal Spine or the Ike Dike, a proposed barrier flood gate and levee system located along the Texas coastline. The $13-17 billion dollar gate system, which will serve as a dual surge protection and flood mitigation mechanism, is funded through a governmental partnership of 65% federal with a 35% state-local match. Both budget bills provide $500 million to the GCPD to fulfill the state and local match requirements. 

Senate Finance Committee Hears Space Commission & CHIPS 
 
Texas Space Commission: 

• On Wednesday, House Bill 3447 by Representative Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood) was voted favorably out of the Senate Committee on Finance. The bill would create two entities: The Texas Space Commission and the Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium, both governed by a nine-member body working together to support Texas’ space ecosystem. The bill now awaits placement on the Senate intent calendar. 
• Why it matters: This landmark legislation will help Texas continue to be a leader in space exploration and accelerate the development of our regional commercial space economy. 

Texas CHIPS Act:

• On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Finance voted House Bill 5174 favorably out of committee. The Texas CHIPS Act, by Representative Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood), creates the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund to help spur semiconductor projects in Texas. The bill now awaits placement on the Senate intent calendar. 
• Why it matters: The proposed legislation would ensure Texas remains competitive in winning semiconductor projects and jobs, an opportunity established by the federal bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. 

On the Move: Four Bills to Watch 

Criminal and Business Courts: 

• On Wednesday, the Senate Jurisprudence committee heard House Bill 3474, by Representative Jeff Leach (R-Plano), the state’s omnibus courts bill. The bill includes six new criminal courts for Harris County. Harris County has only added one new criminal court over the past 40 years. These new courts represent a much-needed investment in Harris County’s court system, which has faced a significant backlog of felony cases in recent years.
• On Thursday, House Bill 19 by Representative Andrew Murr (R-Junction) was voted out of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee and is expected to be on the Senate floor next week. The bill would create a specialized court system for business cases, with judges appointed by Governor Greg Abbott. Establishing a new court system would transform the state’s judicial process and help the district court system manage its caseload. According to the Texas Tribune, 26 other states have some form of a specialized business court system. 

Nursing workforce: 

• This week, Senate Bill 25 by Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) was heard by the House Committee on Higher Education. Senate Bill 25 attempts to relieve many of the bottlenecks in the nursing education pipeline to increase the number of graduates going into the workforce. The legislation would achieve this by awarding scholarships, offering loan repayment assistance to nurses acting as part-time faculty, and extending the Nursing Innovation Grant Program to 2027.
• Why it matters: According to data gathered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas has a shortage of roughly 30,000 nurses; however, this number is not believed to reflect the true shortage post-pandemic. Additionally, Texas’ nursing shortage is expected to balloon to approximately 57,000 nurses by 2032. 

Advanced Recycling: 

• This week, House Bill 3060 by Representative Ed Thompson (R-Pearland) was voted unanimously out of the Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development Committee and placed on the Senate intent calendar. The measure removes barriers to the widespread adoption of advanced recycling, which diverts hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills by turning them into new products.

Session Reaches Critical Period, Legislative Deadlines Loom 
This week the House hit its first major calendar deadline with Thursday being the last day for the House to consider second reading for House Bills and House Joint Resolutions.

Any house bill not heard on the house floor by midnight last night is now dead. 
The Senate passed Senate Resolution 557, which speeds up the process by allowing floor consideration of bills on the intent calendar for one day (rather than two), beginning on May 15. 

What it means: We are entering the pivotal time of session where calendar deadlines can derail legislation and prevent passage. As the Legislature inches closer to the final days of session, moving bills quickly through the remainder of the legislative process is essential. 
Go deeper: see all dates of interest for the 88th legislative session and the end-of-session deadline calendar. 

During the 88th Legislative Session, the Greater Houston Partnership will provide a weekly update on newsworthy items from Austin. You can view more policy news and archives of our weekly updates here. Subscribe here to get our weekly legislative updates