WEEK IN REVIEW

SENATE PASSES THC BAN

(AUSTIN) — The Senate passed three bills this week relating to the governor’s special session call, including the issue that brought them back to Austin in the first place: THC in hemp-derived consumables. Both chambers approved a full ban of the presence of the intoxicant in any hemp products, but Governor Greg Abbott vetoed the bill amid concerns about legal challenges. Following the veto, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick vowed that the Senate would again pass a full ban and on Friday the body made good on that promise. Final passage of SB 5, by Lubbock Senator Charles Perry, now sends the measure, which still allows the sale of products containing non-intoxicating cannabinoids CBD and CBG, to the House. That chamber has filed legislation identical to SB 5, but has yet to hold a hearing on any hemp-related legislation. Should the House follow the Senate’s lead on THC restrictions, it would be up to Abbott whether he wants to again veto the bill and call lawmakers back for another special session.

Also Friday the Senate gave final approval to two other bills answering the governor’s call. The first, SB 12 by Galveston Senator Mayes Middleton, would ban any political subdivision, including counties and cities, from spending public funds to hire professional lobbyists. The second, SB 11 by Senator Bryan Hughes of Mineola, would allow the state attorney general to intervene in cases involving election law violations if local prosecutors decline to pursue charges within six months.

In committee on Friday, the Senate Local Government Committee advanced a bill that would lower the rollback rate on property taxes from 3.5 percent to 2.5 percent. Currently, cities and counties must seek voter approval if they want to raise property taxes by more than the rollback rate. The bill, SB 9 by Houston Senator and committee chair Paul Bettencourt, would make the municipal threshold the same as school district property taxes. Rollback rates were initially lowered from eight percent in 2019. This bill comes just as the city of Austin has proposed a 24 percent property tax hike in its annual budget, which would require voter approval to go into effect.

The Senate Business and Commerce Committee approved a bill that strengthens protections against real property and deed fraud, adding new offenses to the criminal code. SB 15, by Dallas Senator Royce West, is a redux of a bill that passed both chambers in the regular session, one of three bills addressing this increasingly common form of fraud. Abbott vetoed this bill saying he worried some of the requirements in that bill might put an unfair burden on lower-income Texans. He promised, however, to add it to the call of the first special session, and the new bill addresses those concerns. The measure voted out of committee Friday would require that individuals conducting over-the-counter real property transactions present valid photo ID and that county clerks share this information with county prosecutors should a crime be alleged.

Thursday, the Senate and House Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding held a day-long public hearing in Kerrville as lawmakers consider ways to better predict, prepare for, and prevent the tremendous loss of life caused by floods in the Texas Hill Country over the July 4th weekend. The panel was joined by Lt. Governor Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows. “With this hearing, what we’re hoping to learn is how do we move forward so that when an event like this happens again at any level, that we’re better prepared and for it and that we know we’ve done everything we can do,” said Patrick. Members heard from county officials and residents for nearly 14 hours and will now use that testimony to help craft legislation that will cover flood recovery efforts, future prediction and prevention strategies, and improve warnings and notifications for Texans in the path of flash flooding.

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