North - Northwest Austin Edition | June 2023

AT THE CAPITOL

News from the 88th legislative session

QUOTE OF NOTE

Paxton impeachment trial to begin Sept. 5 in Senate

NUMBER TO KNOW have set aside in a 1,030-page budget, which will fund a variety of state programs for scal years 2024 and 2025. $321B That’s how much Texas lawmakers PETER LAKE, OUTGOING CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS. LAKE RESIGNED JUNE 2. “TODAY OUR GRID IS MORE RELIABLE THAN EVER. TOGETHER WE’VE OVERCOME INSURMOUNTABLE CHALLENGES AND DELIVERED ON OUR PROMISE TO TEXANS SOMETIMES SEEMINGLY THAT WE’D KEEP THE LIGHTS ON.” UPDATES FROM LOCAL LEGISLATORS

BY HANNAH NORTON

A TIMELINE OF THE IMPEACHMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON

After two days of discussions behind closed doors, the Texas Senate set a Sept. 5 start date for the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton and adopted rules governing the proceedings. The 31 state senators will serve as jurors, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will preside over the court, similar to a judge. Sen. Angela Paxton, RMcKinney, the attorney general’s wife, must be present for the trial, but is not allowed to participate or vote, according to a resolution adopted in a 25-3 vote June 21. The attorney general is accused of bribery, conspiracy, retaliation against former employees and more. The Texas House adopted 20 articles of impeachment against him with a 121-23 vote on May 27. Paxton was immediately suspended without pay follow- ing the House vote. The Senate will decide whether he will be reinstated or permanently removed from oce. Former secretary of state John Scott is serving as interim attorney general in the meantime. Paxton can plead guilty or not guilty to 16 articles of impeachment during the trial. A two-thirds vote is needed to convict him of any charges. Houston attorneys Tony Buzbee and Dan Cogdell will defend the attorney general during the trial. Dick DeG- uerin and Rusty Hardin, who are also based in Houston, will prosecute Paxton on behalf of the House.

FEB. 10 Paxton enters into a $3.3 million settlement agreement with four former employees who said they were wrongfully red in 2020. FEB. 21 Paxton asks the Texas Legislature to fund his settlement with taxpayer money. MARCH 820 House General Investigating Committee opens an investigation into Paxton and the proposed settlement. MAY 24 Attorneys present material from the investigation during a four-hour committee hearing. MAY 25 The committee unanimously adopts 20 articles of impeachment against Paxton. The articles and a full transcript of the hearing are shared with House lawmakers. MAY 31 Gov. Greg Abbott appoints former Secretary of State John Scott to serve as interim attorney general. MAY 27 After four hours of debate, Texas House votes 121-23 to impeach Paxton. He is immediately suspended from oce. SEPT. 5 The impeachment trial is scheduled to begin in the Texas Senate. State senators will serve as jurors and determine if Paxton is guilty of 16 individual charges. JUNE 21 After two days of deliberations, the Texas Senate adopts 31 rules governing the impeachment trial.

SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINECOMMUNITY IMPACT

VIKKI GOODWIN Democrat District 47 Elected: 2019

Texas lawmakers clash on property tax cuts

Texas Legislature expands rearm background checks

HOUSE BILL 59 A bill requiring all child care organizations to obtain written permission from parents that their child knows how to swim or needs a life vest before entering a body of water was signed into law June 2. Introduced by Goodwin, the bill is eective Sept. 1 and intends to curb the trend of preventable child drownings in Texas.

BY HANNAH NORTON

POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF TAX RELIEF PLANS

After the Texas Legislature ended its regular legislative session May 29, Gov. Greg Abbott quickly called lawmakers back to Austin for a 30-day special session to cut prop- erty taxes and increase penalties for human smuggling. The governor specied lawmakers should provide “lasting property tax relief for Texas taxpayers” by reduc- ing tax rates for public schools. The Texas House passed three bills May 30 that met the governor’s request and adjourned for the rest of the session. This left the Senate with two options: pass the House’s proposals or end the session without any bills being signed by the governor. Senators passed their own legislation but did not approve the House bills. All bills must be passed by both chambers to become law. Abbott said he would call a second special session to resolve the issue if lawmakers do not agree on a property tax proposal.

The Texas House and Senate advanced competing plans to cut property taxes May 30. Here’s what the two proposals could mean for homeowners. Both plans • Use $12.3B in state funds to compress school tax rates House Bill 1 • Reduce rates by $0.162 for every $100 of a home’s value Senate Bill 1 • Reduce rates by $0.10 for every $100 of a home’s value • Raise homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000 Homestead exemption : the portion of a home’s value that cannot be taxed Tax rate compression : state provides money to public school districts to reduce their tax rates

BY HANNAH NORTON

Under a new law, federal law enforcement can access informa- tion about Texans with potentially harmful mental health conditions during the routine background checks completed before someone can buy a rearm. Senate Bill 728 requires county clerks to notify the Texas Depart- ment of Public Safety if a court determines an adult with a mental illness or intellectual disability is unt to go to trial, is not responsi- ble for their own actions, or needs inpatient services or residential long-term care. State Rep. Je Leach, RPlano, said the law does not impact responsible gun owners but will “[keep] rearms out of the hands of dangerous Texans who do not need to have them.” Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill June 2. It will become law Sept. 1.

SARAH ECKHARDT Democrat District 14 Elected: 2020

SENATE BILL 371 A bill relaxing the eligibility requirements for Reserve Ocers’ Training Corps scholarships was passed May 23 and will go into eect Sept. 1 to require one year of training instead of four for students to be eligible for the Texas Armed Services Scholarship. The bill

was authored by Eckhardt and Sen. Donna Campbell.

SOURCES: TEXAS COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE COMMUNITY IMPACT

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM