Legislative Update from the Office of Representative Wayne Faircloth

Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas -- This is the weekly update for the Office of Representative Wayne Faircloth. The purpose of this once a week email is to keep constituents up to date on the happenings at your Texas State Capitol. If you would like to contact me just click Here. House Unanimously Passes Measure to Eliminate all Toll Roads in Texas The House unanimously passed House Bill 2612 which requires the Department of Transportation to submit a report that includes a proposed plan to eliminate all toll roads in the state to the House Transportation Committee. The survey will also determine which toll roads have been paid off or are close to being paid off. Supporters believe toll roads irritate motorists and require high administrative costs. This report will list the amount of debt service on bonds issued for each toll project in the State of Texas. It will identify based on criteria provided by the Texas Transportation commission bonds that would be appropriate for accelerated or complete lump - sum payment of debt service; and proposes a plan to eliminate all toll roads in Texas except for tolls on roads constructed operated or maintained only with proceeds from the issuance of bonds by a toll project entity other than TxDOT by methods including the accelerated or complete lump-sum payment of debt service on the identified bonds or a requirement commitment as a condition on receipt of state financial assistance by a toll project entity to eliminate toll collection on a project for which the financial assistance is provided. House Passes Multiple Bills to Increase Penalty for Child Pornography The House of Representatives passed multiple measures last week authored by State Representative Chris Paddie and State Representative Tan Parker that seeks to increase penalties on persons who commit child pornography crimes such as possession or promotion. Both bills seek to increase the amount of jail time these offenders would face as well as insure that an offender would serve at least one half of their sentence before being eligible for early release regardless of how much good time credit they have accrued. House Passes Suicide Prevention Measure for School Districts Last week the Texas House of Representatives passed House Bill 2186 authored by Representatives Byron Cook Patricia Harless and Dan Huberty with overwhelming support. The bill also called the Jason Flatt Act requires educators and other employees of school districts to participate in Suicide Prevention training at least once per year. Currently school district employees are only required to participate in training once in their careers. HB 2186 provides training relating to mental health promotion and intervention and suicide intervention from at least one time in their career to once a year. It also removes the requirement that a district maintain records that include the name of each employee who participated in the training. Voters will Vote on Senate Joint Resolution 5 in November Last Monday Representatives Joe Pickett John Otto Yvonne Davis Ron Simmons and Patricia Harless were named to the conference on Senate Joint Resolution 5 which proposes a constitutional amendment to dedicate part of the revenue derived from the state sales tax and use tax to the state highway fund. Voters will consider SJR 5 which will expire on September 1 2018 at a November 3 2015 election. The House approved the bill 138-3 at the end of April. Conservative Legislation that Passed the House in the Last Two Weeks House Bill 416: Representative Faircloth Co-Authored this legislation - It requires personnel of abortion facilities and certain other facilities performing abortions to complete training on identifying victims of human trafficking. House Bill 861: Strengthens law enforcements ability to investigate and prosecute persons who solicit minors online. House Bill 1123: Increases the punishment for individuals in possession or promoting child pornography and changes the eligibility for parole. House Bill 15: Gives the Legislative Budget Board the ability to have more oversight of state contracts. House Bill 1294: Requires personal financial statements to disclose information related to certain contracts or subcontracts with governmental entities. House Bill 1096: Provides a post-registration check system for verification of a residence address when a voter residence is challenged or a discrepancy is found. House Bill 20: Representative Faircloth Co-Authored this legislation - HB 20 seeks to provide a framework to ensure that funds for transportation are administered in  an objective and transparent manner with accountability for every dollar spent. House Bill 966: Health savings Accounts have long been championed as a conservative health care solution. House Bill 966 creates an optional consumer-directed health plan for certain individuals eligible to participate in the group benefits program provided under the Texas Employees Group Benefits Act and their qualified dependents.
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