Monday marked the final day for Texas House bills to pass out of committee in time to get a vote on the House floor. Those bills that didn't make it are now effectively dead.
Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, said it's far more likely that a bill will die in the Texas Legislature than become law.
"The basic fact is that about 7,000 bills are introduced into each Texas legislative session. Only about 1,200 of those are actually going to pass and be signed into law by the governor,” Jillson said. “So, that means some 5,800 bills are going to fall by the wayside at some stage in the legislative process."
One House bill that failed to make it out of committee, HB 5177, would have transferred surplus funds from the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) to the City of Houston. Political consultant Bill Miller said that the City of Houston pushed hard for this legislation, with the aim of getting $80 million in HCTRA funds every year for five years to cover various budget shortfalls.
"There was a strong pushback from the Harris County lobby group," Miller said.
HB 5177 failed to secure a vote from the House Committee on Transportation by the end of the day Monday.
"There was a Senate bill that came over [SB 2722], but it was referred to a subcommittee ... and that bill is effectively dead, too," Miller said. "The HCTRA bill is dead, and the members in the Legislature chose to say, in not passing the bill, negotiate — county and city business, negotiate it between yourselves. Don't bring it to Austin to settle your differences."
No bill is truly dead until the legislative session ends. House bills that died in committee can still be revived as amendments to bills that make it to the floor. But Jillson noted the chamber is running out of time for that option as well.
"Resurrecting it is possible, but increasingly difficult as the session goes along," Jillson said. "Usually, a bill that doesn't receive consideration is not being pulled along by the committee chairman and the presiding officer of the Texas House ... and unless they become interested, it's going to be very difficult to resurrect a bill."
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