State
BY EMILY LINCKE, JESSICA SHORTEN & AUBREY VOGEL CONTRIBUTIONS BY RYAN REYNOLDS
5 legislative updates from Houston-area lawmakers
With less than two months left in the 89th legislative session, several Houston-area bills have made strides on the House and Senate floors. The session is scheduled to end June 2, barring no special sessions are called. Check out some of the bills filed by Houston-area lawmakers this legislative session.
3 Lake Houston district bill moves to next steps with edits A new board-governed maintenance district for Lake Houston is one step closer to being created as lawmakers advance House Bill 1532. HB 1532 would establish the Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance District, covering 1,748 square miles of the lake in Harris County’s boundaries, according to the Texas Legislature Online. The House passed the bill on April 29, but the Senate has not yet considered it.
2 Bill targeting child welfare system reform making headway House Bill 2216, filed by Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, would extend rights Native Americans receive under the Indian Child Welfare Act to all Texas children. The bill would require strong evidence before removing children from homes and emphasizes placing them with family. This bill was referred by the Senate to its Health & Human Services committee on April 28, according to the Texas Legislature Online. Meanwhile, House Bill 194, filed by Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, was referred to the Human Services committee Feb. 27 but hasn’t moved, per TLO. The bill would allow religious organizations to establish faith-based child care centers for children in the foster care system. “[HB 2216] simply mirrors the Indian Child Welfare Act. [ICWA] is the gold standard for child welfare cases, and all Texas families deserve it.” REP. LACEY HULL, R-HOUSTON 5 New grant program could provide aid to homeowners during storms A new program proposed by Senate Bill 2924 and House Bill 1576 by Sen. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, and Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, respectively, would create a grant program to help fund repairs of single-family homes from hurricanes and windstorms. According to the National Flood Insurance Program, nearly $6.5 billion in claims were paid out in high-risk flood zone areas for single-family homes across Texas in 2024.
1 Legislators refocus on HCTRA funds as revenues near $1B Senate Bill 2722 and companion House Bill 5177 made moves in the House and Senate after being left pending in committees in early April. The bills aim to change how funds collected by the Harris County Toll Road Authority are distributed by having 30%-70% of net revenue paid out to counties with tolls in their boundaries. SB 2722 stalled in the Senate Committee on Transportation before an amendment was approved by the committee April 22. The amendment clarified the bill wouldn’t impact revenue collected by HCTRA for the Austin area after the agency took over TxTAG operations in November. SB 2722 passed the Senate in a 21-8 vote, with two senators not present. The bill will take HB 5177’s place in the House for further consideration.
4 Veterans could qualify for underutilized business category Senate Bill 390, authored by Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, could categorize veteran-owned businesses as historically underutilized. These businesses are often considered when choosing businesses for state, city and county contracts. The bill was left pending in committee April 1.
HCTRA annual collections
Hardy Toll Road Sam Houston Tollway Westpark Tollway
Fort Bend Parkway Tomball Tollway
Houston-area days spent in severe weather event
Harris
Montgomery Fort Bend
Brazoria Galveston
80 100
$100M $400M $600M $800M
60 40 20 0
$50M
0
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
2019
2020 2021
2022
2023
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY TOLL ROAD AUTHORITY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
22
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