Rep. Flynn: Dallas Houston Pensions Update

Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas The Capitol has become very active! Last week I attended a religious liberties press conference where I discussed HB 1813 the bill that I filed that will give county clerks and certified officials the freedom to refuse to perform a marriage ceremony if it would infringe on their religious beliefs. My office and I have also been diligently working on the 93 totaling pensions in Texas as we prepare to get the Pensions Committee going this session Dallas Pensions The Dallas Pension Board voted 9-0 unanimously Monday morning to back my pension plan and use it as a foundation to work on finalizing language for a bill. Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings came to my office also on Monday morning and after meeting with him and hearing about the Pension Board vote I am even more optimistic about solving the pension fund problem in Dallas. The Pension Plan is attempting to fix its own problems and I appreciate their efforts and the efforts of the City of Dallas to step up financially to continue to fill the gap. I continue to have three main goals for the Dallas pension fund: to obtain actuarial soundness to protect the police and firemen retirees and to make sure the current police and firemen have a stable pension fund. The Dallas pension bill will provide a framework for the future emphasizing local control and problem solving. It has been my goal throughout to encourage the city and plan to make decisions together so that local control can be maintained. Houston Pensions Last Thursday I had the honor of meeting with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner who has helped negotiate the language being drafted for HB 43 the Houston pension bill. This bill is currently a shell bill as we are still waiting for the official language to come back from the Legislative Council. The city of Houston has been an outstanding example of how such a complex and important issue such as the depleting pension fund can be fixed with good leadership willing to compromise and take responsibility of the issue. Office Update I have enjoyed several constituents and groups who have come through my office this week and last. Students from both Canton and Van FFA groups a homeschooling family from Canton members from the Texas Optometric Association representatives from the Coalition of Student Government and Texas A&M Students and Alumni are just a few of the groups that I have had the pleasure of speaking with this week. It is always a joy to meet with both constituents and concerned interest groups or citizens. As I say frequently government is made up of the people who show up. Bill Update Last week I gave an update of all the bills that I have filed that have been assigned to a committee. This week I wanted to give a complete update of the total number of bills I have filed and their respective topics.

• HB 43 relating to the public retirement systems of certain municipalities (Houston Pensions).
• HB 45 relating to the application of foreign laws and foreign forum selection in this state.
• HB 56 relating to the carrying of a handgun by a first responder engaged in the actual discharge of the first responders duties.
• HB 57 relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products.
• HB 74 relating to the Texas Balance of Powers Act.
• HB 83 relating to a fee waiver for a combination resident hunting and fishing license for certain military personnel.
• HB 95 relating to daylight saving time.
• HB 206 relating to the Texas Veterans Land Board.
• HB 1675 relating to the methods of payment to health care providers by certain health plan issuers.
• HB 1813 relating to issuing a marriage license and conducting a marriage ceremony.
• HB 1920 relating to the Palo Duro River Authority following recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission.
• HB 1921 relating to the functions and territory of the Upper Colorado River Authority following the recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Commission.
• HB 1985 relating to debt cancellation agreements offered in connection with certain loans and retail installment contract and to amounts charged for certain agreements offered in connection with certain loans and retail installment contracts.
• HB 2180 relating to the Sulphur River Basin Authority following recommendations of the Sunset Advisory Committee.

You can find a complete list of all my bills and links to their text here