Here's a look at Speaker Phelan's priority bills for the 88th legislative session

After months of anticipation, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s list of priority bills to pass during the 88th legislative session is complete, setting the tone for the political negotiations and battles to come in the lower chamber.

The list of 20 bills, and nine additional priority legislation the speaker’s office announced, include delivering property tax relief; increasing school safety; improving broadband and water infrastructure; addressing border security; and expanding access to mental health services.

Notably absent from the list are a few of the most controversial culture war topics pushed by ultra-conservative GOP officials and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, such as a school voucher system that would allow public tax dollars to pay for private school tuition, and prohibiting gender affirming care for transgender children.

Included among the speaker’s priorities is a bill that would create a novel law enforcement unit called the Border Protection Unit, which would have the authority to arrest, detain and deter people from crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. It's likely to be one of the most hotly debated topics in the Capitol during the remainder of the 140-day session.

Here is a complete list of the speaker's priority bills:

House Bill 1: 2024-25 state budget

Filed by Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood, HB 1 is the House’s preliminary draft of the 2024-25 biennium state budget, allocating more than $288 billion dollars.

More:Border security, tax relief among top priorities in Texas House, Senate budget proposals

House Bill 2: Property tax relief

Filed by Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, HB 2 would lower the cap on yearly appraisal increases from 10% to 5% and apply to all properties in Texas, rather than just homesteads.

In a speech at a policy convention hosted by the conservative think tank the Texas Public Policy Foundation on March 2, Phelan touted the measure as necessary to provide property tax relief to both home and business owners.

“I have constituents who don't even own a home, they pour it all back into their business because they want their children to inherit that business and move up, go to college, be independent,” said Phelan, R-Beaumont. “But when their (business property) values go up 200% and there's nothing they can do about it but go hire an attorney to fight it, it's not right. It's not Texas, and the Texas House is going to do something about it this session.”

Phelan said that under this proposal, the owner of a $350,000 home would save $461 on their next tax bill, and $590 the following year.

Patrick has indicated he does not support the measure, pushing instead an increase in the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000.

House Bill 3: School safety and security

Filed by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, HB 3 would clarify how the Texas School Safety Center and the Texas Education Agency are responsible for working together to develop and enforce school safety requirements and standards, and conduct safety audits on school campuses. The bill also would require school districts to have a minimum of one armed security officer on each campus during regular school hours, and allocate a minimum of $15,000 to each campus every year for school safety measures.

House Bill 4: Data privacy

Filed by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, HB 4 would give Texans the right to request a copy of their personal data that have been collected by a company to examine or review, and request the company to delete it. It also would create new responsibilities and restrictions for companies who collect consumers’ personal data.

House Bill 5: Job creation and economic development

Filed by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, HB 5 would create economic incentives for companies to base large-scale projects related to manufacturing, national security and energy infrastructure in Texas, to create new high-paying jobs and encourage economic development in the state.

House Bill 6: Increased punishments for fentanyl-related crimes

Filed by Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, HB 6 would increase the punishments for many fentanyl-related crimes to first-degree felonies.

House Bill 7: Legislative Border Safety Oversight committee

Filed by Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, HB 7 would create the Legislative Border Safety Oversight committee to provide research analysis and recommendations to inform state border safety policies and oversee the state’s border protection unit. The bill would also establish a border protection court program that would have jurisdiction over border-related issues, appropriate money to compensate property owners for any damage caused by people crossing the border from Mexico, establish a grant program for institutions of higher education that have programs designed to recruit and train professionals in border-related fields or who conduct research related to border safety or resulting criminal or public health threats, and create a grant program for local governments and community institutions that construct or maintain facilities related to border safety.

House Bill 8: Community colleges funding

Filed by Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, HB 8 would adjust the funding model for the state’s junior colleges, and create a scholarship program for educationally disadvantaged high school students who enroll in dual credit courses at institutions of higher education

House Bill 9: Rural broadband infrastructure

Filed by Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, HB 9 would create the Texas Broadband Infrastructure Fund to appropriate money to expand and ensure access to reliable, high-speed broadband connectivity across the state

House Bill 10: Water infrastructure development

Filed by Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville, HB 10 would establish the Texas Water Fund to provide state dollars for water development, supply and infrastructure projects.

House Bill 11: Teacher recruitment and retention

Filed by Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, HB 11 would attempt to improve teacher recruitment and retention by creating salary minimums based on qualifications, prohibit school districts from requiring teachers to complete additional training outside of the hours required per school year by the state without compensation, provide free pre-K for teachers' children, provide an allotment to school districts for each teacher with less than two years of experience who participates in a mentoring program, and provide funding for teachers who receive special education or bilingual credentials.

House Bill 12: Expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage

Filed by Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, HB 12 would expand Medicaid coverage for new moms to 12 months after giving birth.

House Bill 13: School active shooter plans, mental health resources

Filed by Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, HB 13 would require school districts to implement an active shooter preparedness plan annually; require school district employees to complete mental health first aid training; establish a procedure for students to report concerning behavior by other students and trigger an assessment by the district; and provide every school district an $100 annual allotment per student based on average daily attendance for school security and safety measures.

House Bill 14: Streamline property development approvals

Filed by Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, HB 14 would require regulatory authorities to approve or disapprove any property development documents, permits or inspections within a specific time frame, or use third-party reviewers to complete the reviews.

House Bill 15: Mental health and brain health research

Filed by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, HB 15 would create the Mental Health and Brain Research Institute of Texas, which would be responsible for researching mental health and brain-related diseases, disorders, injuries, addiction, and developmental and neurological health issues.

House Bill 16: Juvenile justice reform

Filed by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, HB 16 would enhance the court system’s ability to divert children from the juvenile justice system at key intercept points, and establish funding for community-based programs that provide rehabilitative services and work to intervene and divert children from ending up in the state’s juvenile detention facilities.

House Bill 17: Uniform enforcement of criminal laws

Filed by Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, HB 17 would ban district or county attorneys from adopting, announcing, or implementing any policies that prevent or limit enforcement of state criminal laws.

House Bill 18: Data privacy and protections for minors

Filed by Rep. Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, HB 18 would ban digital service companies from collecting the personal identifying information of minors (with limited exceptions), and would make them obligated to provide parental tools to allow parents or guardians to supervise their children’s use of the digital service, control their privacy and account settings, restrict their ability to make financial transactions, and monitor the amount of time their children spend on the service. The bill also would require digital service providers to ensure any algorithms the service uses to automate the suggestion, promotion or ranking of information or content does not cause any physical, emotional or developmental harm to minors.

House Bill 19: Creating a business court system

Filed by Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, HB 19 would create a specialized court system for business cases, with judges appointed by the governor.

House Bill 20: Creating the Border Protection Unit

Filed by Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, HB 20 would create a law enforcement unit based at the border that would have the authority to arrest, detain and deter people crossing the border illegally, and would oversee the construction and maintenance of physical barriers on the border. According to a summary of the bill by the speaker’s office, the unit would eventually replace Texas National Guard soldiers and state troopers who have been deployed to the border as part of Operation Lone Star.

Additional priority legislation:

• House Bill 90 (Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco): Would grant Texas military members on state active duty the same workers’ compensation and death benefits as Department of Public Safety officers killed in the line of duty. The bill is called the “Bishop Evans Act” in honor of the Texas National Guard member who was deployed to the border as part of Operation Lone Star and died trying to save two migrants from drowning.

• House Bill 100 (Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian): Would establish a minimum salary schedule for classroom teachers and other specific school employees. The bill would also transition most allotments made under the state’s school finance system to being based on average enrollment, rather than average daily attendance.

• House Bill 200 (Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano): Would reestablish the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council, a state agency that would investigate and address allegations of incompetency or misconduct by prosecuting attorneys. The council would have the authority to issue subpoenas, conduct hearings and order depositions, as well as file petitions to remove prosecuting attorneys.

• House Bill 300 (Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin): Would exempt feminine hygiene products, diapers, baby wipes, baby bottles, maternity clothes and breast milk pumps from state sales and use taxes.

• House Bill 400 (Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth): Would establish incentive grant programs for institutions of higher education that run programs to recruit, train and produce behavioral health and psychiatric specialists, with a priority on those who serve rural or underserved areas.

• House Bill 600 (Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendswood): Would provide an annual cost-of-living adjustment for retired teachers, contingent upon whether the Texas Retirement System pension fund’s average return over the previous five fiscal years reaches or exceeds 7%.

• House Bill 800 (Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City): Would increase the mandatory minimum sentence for those convicted of human smuggling to 10 years. It would also establish a minimum sentence of five years for those convicted of running a “stash house,” with the potential to add an additional felony charge if the person has committed other specific offenses.

• House Bill 900 (Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco): Would require book vendors to identify, review and rate all books that contain “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant” material, and provide the Texas Education Agency with a list of all books that fall under either of those two categories that have previously been sold to any public school or charter school in the state for the agency to review and post online. It also would ban vendors from selling books with “sexually explicit” content to school libraries, and require school districts to get parental consent before allowing a student to access books with “sexually relevant” content in a school library.

• House Bill 1600 (Rep. Cole Hefner, R-Mt. Pleasant): Would make it a third-degree state felony for someone who is not a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident to enter Texas from Mexico anywhere other than a legal port of entry.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Here are the Texas House priorities for the 88th legislative session