Natalie Ralston, the city’s intergovernmental relations manager, briefed the Arlington City Council on June 24 about outcomes from the 89th Texas legislative session and a pending special session called for late July.
Ralston said the team tracked 1,737 bills this year and monitored 187 that passed; most are enacted with various effective dates while some require voter approval or further rule-making.
Key enacted bills and local effects
- Education: Ralston said House Bill 2 raises the basic student allotment and directs new funding for teacher pay, special education, early learning and school safety; House Bill 33 (the Uvalde Strong bill) strengthens school-safety rules; both were in the packet and effective Sept. 1.
- Property and land development: SB 15 (the “tiny lot” bill) limits maximum lot sizes for certain unplatted parcels and was negotiated up to a 3,000-square-foot lot limit from an earlier 1,400 figure; SB 840 allows some mixed-use and multifamily development in commercial zones without rezoning; several other bills would have restricted local land-use authority but were narrowed or failed.
- Public safety and local initiatives: HB 1893, an Arlington initiative, will permit law-enforcement agencies to disclose vehicle-license-plate images captured on recording systems without redaction under public-information requests; Ralston said the bill cleared the governor’s desk.
- Transportation and economy: SB 1555 is a new grant program for railroad grade separation projects that staff will screen for eligible local projects; SB 2004 adds the IndyCar Grand Prix of Arlington to the state’s major-events reimbursement program.
Open Meetings Act and administrative changes
City Attorney Molly Shortall summarized HB 1522, which amends the Texas Open Meetings Act: the statute now requires three business days between posting an agenda and the meeting rather than a simple 72-hour clock. Shortall noted that the change will shift typical council posting practice (for example, agendas that used to be posted on Friday for Tuesday meetings will need to be posted Wednesday).
Bills that failed or were narrowed
Ralston listed multiple bills that originally would have had broader impacts but were negotiated or stopped. Among the failures she cited were bills that would have required new annual reappraisal plans in certain appraisal districts and other preemption bills that the city opposed.
Special session and next steps
Ralston said the governor called a special session beginning July 21 with a limited list of items; the city will monitor additions. She also flagged local delegation changes announced during the interim and said the team will return with more detailed implementation guidance where state law requires municipal action or rule-making.