Representative Jeff Leach
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas This week marked the 70-day halfway point of the 140-day legislative session. In addition to bills being heard in committee the Texas House will begin deliberating bills from the House floor on a regular basis. As you may know the public has complete access to our work in the Texas Capitol - both in committee and from the floor of the Texas House.
This includes audio/visual footage of committee hearings and floor deliberations along with public notices related to floor schedules committee schedules and committee minutes. I encourage you to learn more by visiting Texas Legislature Online and I welcome you to contact my office should you have any questions or concerns navigating through the legislative process.
The State Budget
This week the House Committee on Appropriations
adopted House Bill 1 - known as the biennial state budget - which funds the
state government for the 2020-2021 biennium period. The budget
appropriates approximately $115 billion of state funds towards property tax
relief public education & school finance reform border security &
public safety criminal justice water & transportation infrastructure
among other essential functions of government. Next Wednesday March
27th the Texas House will begin deliberating the budget as a body providing
members with the opportunity to amend the budget through floor amendments.
Stay tuned for more specifics on the state budget in next weeks Rotunda
Report!
Legislative Spotlight - House Bill 3979
Since taking the oath of office in 2013 I am proud
of our collective work in the Texas Legislature to rein in the growing
epidemic of human trafficking. Make no mistake our work on this issue
continues and we must work vigilantly with our law enforcement community to
provide them adequate resources while building upon systemic reforms to
ultimately eradicate human trafficking in Texas. To that end I am proud
to author and file House Bill 3979 which provides law enforcement with
additional tools to bolster human trafficking efforts in Texas ensuring that
all cases are fully investigated and prosecuted. The bill provides
the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) concurrent jurisdiction in
multi-jurisdiction cases that cross county lines. Currently these types
of cases are tried individually in each county. Further the bill
provides the OAG with concurrent jurisdiction of cases provided that the local
government gives their consent.
Texas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act
This Monday I will have the opportunity layout House
Bill 16 - known as the Texas Born-
Alive Infant Protection Act in the House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence. The legislation is designed to strengthen protections for infants who survive abortion procedures by requiring the highest standard of medical care to be afforded to the baby. Importantly it outlines strong protections to ensure that the woman who seeks the abortion is shielded from liability in accordance with existing state law. With the filing of the Texas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act the Texas Legislature will draw a line in the sand proclaiming clearly and loudly on behalf of the Texans we represent that a baby who survives an abortion deserves the full protection of the law and the highest standards of medical care. I look forward to laying out this bill in committee which will convene this Monday March 25th at 8:00 am.
District Spotlight!
This week I enjoyed a great visit with my friends
from the North Texas Crime Commission. This hardworking group serves as a
collective tireless advocate for our law enforcement community and I am proud
to work with them arm-in-arm to advance policies that support our men and women
who faithfully serve to keep our communities safe.
