Frisco | March 2025

State

BY COMMUNITY IMPACT STAFF

5 legislative updates from Dallas-Fort Worth-area lawmakers

Just over one month since the 89th Texas Legislature started Jan. 14, state representatives from the Dallas- Fort Worth area have filed new bills and discussed multiple pieces of legislation. All state representatives and senators have been referred to a variety of committees that will review the already-filed and future bills. The deadline to file any new legislation passed March 14.

3 Tax on electric vehicle charging stations proposed House Bill 2099, filed by Rep. Giovanni

2 Legislature forms new Texas Legislature-UK partnership Lawmakers have created a new Texas Legislative- UK Caucus called “Friends of the UK Caucus.” The caucus was announced Feb. 11 and is designed to strengthen the relationship between Texas and the United Kingdom, Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, said during a Feb. 11 press conference at the Texas Capital. He will co-chair the caucus alongside El Paso Rep. Claudia Ordaz. The caucus will encourage a “productive dialogue on key policy areas” for the governments of both Texas and the UK, including energy, technology, healthcare and to exchange best practices, Parker said Feb. 11. “Our caucus will further cultivate this very dynamic partnership, providing a framework for advancing economic opportunity as well as bilateral policy discussions and meaningful cultural engagement.” TAN PARKER, STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 12 5 Bill to increase property tax exemptions passes unanimously Senate Bill 4 was passed unanimously by state senators on Feb. 13. It was co-authored by multiple members including Paxton, Sen. Kelly Hancock, Sen. Bob Hall, Parker and Sen. Brent Hagenbuch from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The bill would increase the homestead exemption to $140,000. The exemptions would apply retroactively to 2025 tax bills, according to a news release from Patrick.

Capriglione, R-Southlake, would impose a tax on commercial electric vehicle charging services based on the amount of electricity transferred. Proceeds from the tax would fund highway development and maintenance through the Texas Department of Transportation.

1 New bill would create library advisory councils

Proposed tax: $0.026 per kilowatt hour

Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, filed Senate Bill 13, which would give parents additional input in the books their children could check out from school libraries and direct the school districts to create library advisory councils. The bill would allow parents to access the catalog of materials available at each school library and allow them to submit a list of materials their child cannot check out. The district’s board of trustees would also be required to form a local school library advisory council to assist district officials in “ensuring that local community values are reflected in each school library catalog in the district.” The bill states the advisory council could only make recommendations that were in accordance with existing library standards. Instructional material would not be affected. The idea of allowing parents to have more say in the books allowed in public schools was highlighted as a top priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

SOURCE: TEXAS LEISLATURE ONLINE/COMMUNITY IMPACT

4 Proposed legislation HB 2916 would add defenses for people who destroy unauthorized drones The defenses in the bill, filed by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, would apply to a person who disabled, damaged or destroyed unmanned aircraft not authorized to be on or over their property.

Homestead exemption Senior homestead exemption

$150K

Duties of the library advisory council

• Recommend policies and procedures related to acquiring library materials • Inform the district’s board of trustees whether the recommended library materials are appropriate for each grade level • Recommend the removal of library materials • Meet at least twice a year

$100K

$50K

Current

Proposed

SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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