Coppell legislators' update: Special session opens with flood response, property-tax agenda and 18-item call

Coppell — At a July 22 work session, legislative consultants Jennifer Rodriguez and John Kroll updated the Coppell City Council on the recently concluded regular session of the Texas Legislature and the first-call special session that began the day before.

Rodriguez led the briefing and said the regular session produced a record volume of legislation: “8,700 plus bills filed,” she said, and only about 14 percent reached the governor.

That statistic matters because the governor’s priorities — property-tax relief, an education savings account plan, water investment, teacher pay raises, career training, bail reform and a Texas cyber command — largely moved through the legislative process during the regular session. Rodriguez noted the legislature did not tap the economic stabilization (“rainy day”) fund this session and cited an…