Rep. Justin Holland wraps up special legislative session in the Texas House

Rep. Justin Holland wraps up special legislative session in the Texas House

(ROCKWALL, TX — August 25, 2017) In the 30 days of the first call special session of the Texas Legislature, State Representative Justin Holland (R-Heath) sponsored a package of bold and conservative legislation through the House.

This special session will go down as one of the most pro-life sessions in Texas history. The Legislature passed a slew of pro-life reforms; including, House Bill 214, making abortion insurance coverage a supplemental coverage, House Bill 215 and House Bill 13, which make abortion complication reporting my stringent and accurate, and Senate Bill 11, which makes end of life decisions solely the patient and family’s decision.

Sunset had to be passed during the special session to continue the Texas Medical board and other licensing medical boards to ensure patient protection.  Senate Bill 20 was passed to extend these boards and Senate Bill 60 was passed as the funding mechanism for the boards. They will be reviewed again starting in September of 2019.

Public Education- the Legislature passed House Bill 21 addressing needs in Public Education this special session. HB 21, adds an additional $212 million (up to $350 million) to buy down premiums and deductibles for TRS-Care or to assist those under TRS-Care in caring for their adult dependents with special needs. HB 21, sets aside $40 million from the Foundation School Program (FSP) to establish innovative grant programs for students with autism and students with dyslexia. HB 21 also provides $322 million in additional funding for public schools, including charter schools.

Private Property Rights was another key issue on the Governor’s call and the Legislature responded with House Bill 7 dealing with municipalities that impose tree mitigation fees to give property owners credits for trees planted. These credits will help to both stimulate the planting of more trees and offset the amount of the mitigation fee. Senate Bill 6 ends the abuses of the current practices surrounding forced municipal annexation in certain counties. Municipalities are only authorized to annex property only if the property in question is in the municipality’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). The greatest protection given to property owners in populous counties, requires the annexing authority to gain property owner and resident approval for annexation to occur via an election or petition.

Mail-in Ballot Fraud penalties were strengthened through Senate Bill 5. The intent of Senate Bill 5 is to clarify current election law as it pertains to mail-in ballot fraud by elevating existing penalties for those who knowingly and intentionally deceive, mislead, or misinform voters.

“I’m proud of the steps we took as a State during this special session” Rep. Holland said. “As a freshman legislator, I worked diligently with my colleagues to tackle issues that are important to my district. We didn’t get everything accomplished that we wanted, but Texas is a better off after this special session than it was before the Legislature met.”

For more information on Rep. Hollands legislative package and the bills passed through the Texas House, please contact Robert Paulsen at robert.paulsen@house.texas.gov.

Submitted press release.

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