At the beginning of the 79th Texas Legislature, the Daily Campus previewed four bills that were of interest. Like most college students waiting until the last night to finish a term paper, the legislature did not get around to passing most legislation until the final weekend. Here is the final status of those bills plus other notes from the session:
Senate Bill 25 – Dead
A bill that would have allowed local police, county sheriffs and state troopers to set up sobriety checkpoints on highways and streets never made it out of committee. The legislation was referred to the Criminal Justice committee and did not receive a chance for a vote.
Senate Bill 139 – Dead
A bill that would have required cell phone owners to use a “hands-free device” when operating the phone while driving died in committee. The legislation was referred to Transportation and Homeland Security and did not receive a chance for a vote.
House Bill 193 – Dead
A bill that would have required a lengthy process for registration of beer kegs was not passed. The bill stated that a registration label would be placed on each keg with the name and address of the purchaser, date and time of purchase and the keg registration number. Removal of the registration sticker from the keg would result in a Class C misdemeanor. The legislation was approved in the Licensing and Administrative Procedures committee, but stalled in the Calendars committee.
House Bill 255 – Dead
A bill that would have made the devaluation of gift cards illegal was killed on the floor of the House. Businesses would not have been allowed to reduce the amount over a period of time or charge fees for the non-use of a card. The bill was approved in the Business and Industry committee and made it through Calendars to the House floor. However, House members on the floor killed the legislation.
The 79th Legislature will be remembered mostly for what it did not accomplish. Members did not approve changes to the school finance situation, which means it will most likely be resolved in state court later this summer. School finance reform legislation died on the final weekend of the session during hardball negotiations between House Speaker Tom Craddick and Senate leader and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst. Legislators also failed to address the growing property tax burden on homeowners.
