City staff briefs council on legislative filing deadline and committee activity

An intergovernmental relations presenter told the City Council on the floor that March 14 is the deadline for members of the Texas Legislature to file bills and that committees will begin substantive hearings as bills are referred to them.

The presentation, delivered by Ryan Skrabarczyk, summarized committee organization, early subcommittee assignments on House Appropriations, and items likely to reach committee hearings in the coming weeks. Skrabarczyk said Representative Villalobos was assigned to two House Appropriations subcommittees — general government, judiciary and public safety; and natural resources and business regulatory — and that Representative J.M. Lozano was assigned to the health and human services subcommittee.

Skrabarczyk told the council the number of filed bills was increasing rapidly and that municipalities were tracking “a little over a thousand bills.” He said as of the previous Friday 4,765 bills had been filed and he expected another several thousand filings in the weeks ahead. He advised council members that introduction alone does not guarantee a hearing; presiding officers must refer bills to committees before hearings can be scheduled.

Skrabarczyk also described types of early hearings he expected: agency legislative appropriations requests (LARs) from state agencies and higher education institutions, initial organizational committee hearings, and Appropriations subcommittee testimony on items such as Defense-Industrial Assistance Grants (DIAG) and transportation. He said the city is monitoring water-related and regulatory bills that would affect municipal compliance and implementation.

Mayor Paulette Guajardo thanked Skrabarczyk for the update and said staff memos and further briefings would follow. No formal council action was taken on the presentation.