Lubbock-area state legislators file 196 bills: Here's what they are.

Friday marked the 60th day of the 88th Texas Legislative session - the deadline for lawmakers to file bills and joint resolutions - and area lawmakers filed nearly 200 bills ranging from reforms in higher education and utilities to water planning and school safety.

With that being the rule, Lubbock's state representatives and senator have filed 196 bills as of the 60th day, not counting house or senate resolutions that pertain to congratulatory motions or commemorations of individuals.

All bills proposed for introduction from now on that are not "local bills, emergency appropriations, and all emergency matters submitted by the governor," must receive a four-fifths vote in the bill's respective chamber to be considered.

Here's a breakdown of some key proposals Lubbock-area state lawmakers have proposed.

State Senator Charles Perry

Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, filed 143 bills that he either authored or co-authored. In total, 2,565 senate bills have been filed in the State Senate along with 31 senate concurrent resolutions, 91 senate joint resolutions and 300 senate resolutions.

Of the 143 bills Perry has filed, 86 have already been sent to committees - groups in charge of considering the bills on a smaller specialized level that also holds public hearings on the bill to hear expert and public testimony on why the bill is good for the state or why it's not.

Once a committee has its public hearing, it's up to it to decide to report in favor or opposition to a bill or make no ruling at all — which means the bill died in committee. So far, Perry has two bills — SB 711 and SB 159 — waiting for action in their respective committees.

Perry's bills focus on water issues that West Texas faces, reforming ERCOT, address higher education issues and health care concerns.

The following bills are drawing attention from around the state and are in committee.

• SJR 26 — "proposing a constitutional amendment to entitle all component institutions of The Texas A&M University System and The University of Texas System to participate in the income and other benefits of the permanent university fund."

• SJR 43 — "proposing a constitutional amendment creating the water for Texas fund to assist in financing water projects in this state."

• SJR 45 — "proposing a constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the electric generating facility fund to finance construction and maintenance of electric generating and transmission facilities."

• SJR 69 — "Proposing a constitutional amendment dedicating to the national research university fund a portion of certain income from the lease for oil and gas exploration of land dedicated to the permanent university fund."

• SB 162 — "relating to the required inclusion of a person’s sex on a birth certificate and prohibited change of sex on the birth certificate of certain minors."

• SB 245 — "relating to discipline management and access to telehealth mental health services in public schools."

• SB 249 — "relating to the offense of genital mutilation."

• SB 250 — "relating to the provision of and professional liability insurance coverage for gender transitioning or gender reassignment medical procedures and treatments for certain children."

• SB 857 — "relating to the use of the electric generating facility fund to finance construction and maintenance of electric generating and transmission facilities in the ERCOT power region; authorizing an assessment."

• SB 1047 — "relating to funding and activities of the Texas Produced Water Consortium."

State Representative Dustin Burrows

Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, filed 26 bills that he either authored or co-authored. In total, 5,301 house bills have been filed along with 83 house concurrent resolutions, 206 house joint resolutions and 550 house resolutions.

As of Friday, 17 of his bills have already gone to committees, of which four bills have a public hearing scheduled. One bill — HB 393 — is currently awaiting action from its respective committee.

Of note, Burrows has co-authored three bills listed as top priorities in the House. For context, the Speaker of the House designates House Bills 1 through 10 as top priorities for the house along with other specific bills not in those numbers.

Burrows' other bills also focus on education, safety and parents' rights.

The following bills are drawing attention from around the state and are in committee.

• HB 2 — "Relating to providing property tax relief through the public school finance system and property tax appraisal and administration."

• HB 3 — "Relating to the development and implementation of, and funding for public school safety and security requirements."

• HB 5 — "Relating to agreements to create jobs and to generate state and local tax revenue for this state."

• HCR 22 — "Urging Congress to propose and submit to the states for ratification the "Keep Nine" amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

• HJR 85 — "Proposing a constitutional amendment protecting the fundamental right of parents to raise their children."

• HB 393 — "Relating to restitution payments for the support of a child whose parent or guardian is a victim of intoxication manslaughter."

• HB 900 — "Relating to the regulation of books sold to or included in public school libraries."

• HB 1313 — "Relating to a study on the side effects, adverse reactions, including death, and the effectiveness of vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) or its variants.HB 892

• HB 1750 — "Relating to the applicability of certain city requirements to agricultural operations."

State Representative Carl Tepper

Starting his freshman year in the House, Rep. Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock, filed bills that have prompted discussions across the state.

Tepper has filed 25 bills, nine of which have gone to committee as of Friday. None of those committee bills have a public hearing scheduled at this moment.

Tepper's priorities when filling out bills have been on diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and government hiring, as well as regulating local government powers and authority.

The following bills are drawing attention from around the state and are in committee.

• HJR 64 — "Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to set a lower limit on the maximum appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation."

• HJR 65 — "Proposing a constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to limit the maximum appraised value of commercial property and rental property for ad valorem taxation."

• HB 1006 — "Relating to protected expression, intellectual freedom, and viewpoint diversity at public institutions of higher education."

• HB 1033 — "Relating to prohibiting the use of political tests by governmental entities and certain government contracts."

• HB 1041 — "Relating to the limitation on increases in the appraised value of a residence homestead for ad valorem taxation."

• HB 1046 — "Relating to prohibiting the use of political tests by public institutions of higher education."

• HB 1279 — "Relating to the extent of a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction."

• HB 1489 — "Relating to the issuance of certificates of obligation by local governments."

• HB 2225 — "Relating to the filing with the Texas Ethics Commission of campaign treasurer appointments and reports of political contributions and political expenditures."

The legislative session has until May 29 to consider all of the 9,127 bills and resolutions plus any other emergency bill or matter that is brought to the floor.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock-area state legislators file 196 bills, here's a quick look