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The 86th Legislative Session is Here!

The 86th Legislative Session kicked-off January 8th in Austin and over 1,000 bills have
already been filed. On the first day of the session, the House unanimously elected Republican
Rep. Dennis Bonnen from Angleton, as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Senator Kirk Watson, a Democrat from Austin, was elected by his fellow Senate members as
President Pro Tempore. Senator Watson will serve as governor of Texas if Governor Abbott or
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick are both out of state at the same time.

Scott Norman, Executive Director of the Texas Association of Builders (TAB), recently spoke to
600+ GSABA members at our 2019 San Antonio Housing Forecast on January 10th. He shared
that on January 9th, Governor Abbot, Lt. Governor Patrick and Speaker Bonnen met and are
Kristi Sutterfield working together on a very aggressive agenda for the upcoming session.
Executive Vice President Scott shared that Comptroller Glenn Hegar also released the Biennial Revenue Estimate
(BRE) and this estimate provides the number that our elected officials can spend during the
2020-2021 biennium. Comptroller Hegar said the State of Texas will have $119.1 billion dollars
for general purposes for two years starting January 1, 2020.
TAB has several priorities for the 86th Session and GSABA’s grass roots involvement is critical to our success in passing solid legislation
and defeating onerous bills that could negatively impact the residential construction industry. Governor Abbott is focused on two big
goals-limiting property tax increases and finding a better way to fund public schools in Texas. This is a tall order and we all need to be
plugged in to what is happening at the State Capitol over the next few months.
During Scott’s remarks at the Housing Forecast, he shared several critical issues facing us in the months to come that include County
rulemaking authority, annexation, transportation and more. We are vey fortunate to have Scott, his team in Austin and members from
across the state taking a stand on these tough issues.
Texas cities have authority to regulate land use, platting, structures and subdividing land as well as regulating utility services
which includes water and sewer. However, Texas counties must be granted powers by the Legislature. Unfortunately, some county
governments want to aggressively increase their authority and enact unnecessary and costly regulations. While the Texas Legislature
has denied such requests in past Sessions, we must be vigilant in our opposition to expand county rulemaking authority.
Annexation is a hot topic as well. Texas is one of a very few states that allows cities to expand their boundaries through forced
annexation. Cities can incorporate land into its city limits without the approval of the home owners and property owners in that area.
We believe that property owners have the right to decide if they want their property annexed. In 2017, our elected officials passed
Senate Bill 6 (SB 6), which put Texas counties into two different categories based on their populations.
Tier 1 counties with less than 500,000 residents are not required to allow a vote before annexing land outside their boundaries but
property owners can petition to include a proposition on their ballots to become a Tier 2 county as Tier 2 counties with 500,000+
residents allow residents to vote if they want their property annexed. Legislation has been filed or will be filed this session to extend
property owners’ rights to vote, regardless of their population, before cities can annex their land.
As you can see, these are tough issues and you can expect several bills filed relating to lowering the appraisal caps for homestead
properties to control or slow escalating local property taxes. We will keep you apprised of what is happening in Austin.
I want to personally invite you to attend our statewide Rally Day on Wednesday, March 20th in Austin. Our elected officials want to
hear from you. We have chartered a bus to take our members to Austin that will leave at 8am on March 20th and return by 8pm that
same day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided, and this is a great way to network with your fellow members and make your
voices be heard. Please join us!

Warm regards,

8 FEBRUARY 2019 | GREATER SAN ANTONIO BUILDERS ASSOCIATION