Bills Passed During the 80th Legislative Session - 2007

House Bill 2694 (Author)

HB 2694 requires that the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management administer the disaster contingency fund, removing the role of the disaster emergency funding board. It would allow a state agency, local government, or other eligible entity to request money from the fund to pay for extraordinary costs incurred in employing preventive measures taken before or during an emergency and costs incurred in recovering from a disaster.

Texas has seen an unprecedented level of emergencies and disasters in the last two years, and HB 2694 would aid those agencies and local governments whose resources and personnel have been stretched thin by these demands. Local governments typically have qualified for federal aid in fewer than 10 percent of major incidents, as categorized by the state, and the bill would provide a way for them to be reimbursed for unexpected response costs and repairs.

House Bill 23 (Author)

Requires that all buses used by a school district have the same safety features as all other automobiles – a seat belt. The bill gives school districts and the companies with which they charter buses a reasonable amount of time – 2010 for school buses and 2011 for charter buses – to comply in a cost effective manner with all new buses purchased.

House Bill 566 (Author)

Allows a school district board of trustees to adopt a policy requiring a person who voluntarily enrolls in or attends school after the person’s 18th birthday to attend school until the end of the school year. A person required to attend school under this policy commits a Class C misdemeanor offense if the person fails to attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year or on three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period and is subject to prosecution for that offense. The bill exempts such student’s parent from prosecution for contributing to the student’s nonattendance, and exempts a school district or open-enrollment charter school from the requirement to send a warning notice to the parent of such student regarding the consequences of a prolonged absence from school.

House Bill 1820 (Author)

Authorizes Orange County to impose a maximum 2% hotel occupancy tax. This tax has the ability to generate over $200,000 a year that will be spent to promote tourism in the area. The Orange County Economic Development Corporation has created a comprehensive economic development plan, which includes a multi-use conventioned that will feature a covered rodeo facility. According to county officials, funds from this tax will go toward the creation and completion of this project. This will improve opportunities for tourism, which will increase the number of hotel occupants and the length of their stays.

Senate Bill 1879 (Co-Sponsor)

The bill requires a person who administers or dispenses certain controlled substances to record the prescribing practitioner’s Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) registration number in certain emergency situations and requires the registration number to be included on certain prescriptions for a controlled substance. The bill authorizes the DPS director to charge a late fee relating to a renewal application to manufacture, distribute, prescribe, possess, analyze, or dispense a controlled substance, and requires a dispensing pharmacist to send information about the prescription filled to the director within a certain amount of time.

There has been explosive growth in the market for pain medication prescription. Texas’ borders and major highways have experienced a proliferation of pain clinics that issue prescriptions for powerful pain medications. Many of these maintain poor records, and state agencies are poorly equipped to provide adequate oversight of questionable prescriptions. This bill requires doctors and pharmacists to begin reporting recording all prescriptions for Schedule II through Schedule V controlled substances. This will facilitate appropriate government oversight.