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 updated revenue estimate from Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock showing the fund could exceed its cap by 2027.

City relevance and the special session

The consultants told council members that the governor’s July special-session proclamation lists 18 initial issues and allows the governor to add items; the special session is limited to 30 days, ending Aug. 19. Flood-related bills were among the very first priorities assigned by Lieutenant Governor staff, Rodriguez said: the Senate reserved SB1 as “natural disaster preparation and recovery,” SB2 for “flood emergency communications and warning,” and SB3 for Hill Country flood relief funding. Rodriguez said a joint flood committee is scheduled to meet and that the House and Senate are beginning redistricting hearings.

Counsel and next steps

Rodriguez and Kroll also flagged other items the city should watch: a taxpayer-funded lobbying ban that the Senate sent forward, a title-theft/deed-fraud bill that Senator West was assigned as SB15, and a lieutenant-governor priority described as Senate Bill 9 aimed at cutting property taxes. John Kroll noted senators and statewide officials are already shifting campaigns and offices, and the consultants encouraged the city to monitor the “low-number” reserved bill slots — the numbers the House speaker and lieutenant governor reserve to signal priority measures. Rodriguez and Kroll said many members have filed bills that may not strictly match the call; such bills are vulnerable to point-of-order challenges if they advance.

Questions from council members focused on whether flood emergency work would overshadow other priorities and on how property-tax proposals might be structured. Rodriguez said flood measures could move rapidly in the Senate and that the House is likely to follow; she characterized the governor’s property-tax call as broad and said members might pursue a “scattershot” of proposals (for example, rate cuts or limits on spending growth by local entities), with details to emerge during debate.

Council members asked for follow-up reporting; Rodriguez and Kroll said they will continue to monitor the work of the joint flood committee, redistricting hearings, and priority bill numbers for items affecting cities.

Ending

No council action was taken on state legislation at the meeting; the presentation was for information and monitoring. Rodriguez and Kroll emphasized that the special session’s fast timetable and the governor’s discretion to alter the call make near-term monitoring by the city important.