Rep. Walle’s 89th Session Legislative Portfolio
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House Bill 193
”Relating to the minimum wage.”
This bill would increase the minimum wage to $15/hr or the federal minimum wage (whichever is higher).House Bill 252
”Relating to the payment of employment compensation by certain state agencies.”
This bill expands the categories of state employees who are eligible to be paid twice a month (instead of monthly).House Bill 480
“Relating to required provision of workers' compensation insurance coverage for employees of building and construction contractors and subcontractors.”
This bill requires construction contractors and subcontractors to provide employees with Workers’ Compensation insurance.House Bill 777
“Relating to the places a public employer may provide for employees to express breast milk.”
This bill requires employers to provide a safe space for employees to pump at work that is not a restroom.House Bill 2271
“Relating to collecting and sharing capacity and enrollment information for certain day-care centers.”
This bill improves access to data regarding capacity and enrollment for any licensed childcare center in the state.House Bill 3463
“Relating to the prosecution of the offense of theft of service.”
This bill expands the methods in which a notice of theft of service can be received, allowing businesses and workers to more easily file a criminal complaint.House Bill 3982
“Relating to requiring certain employers to provide heat safety training and protections to employees; providing an administrative penalty.”
This bill requires certain employers to provide heat safety protections to employees and collect heat safety-related data while providing administrative penalties for failure to meet these requirements.House Bill 4024
“Relating to the establishment of the child care scholarship fund.”
This bill creates a child care scholarship fund to allow for the disbursement of funds to qualifying Texas families so they may be able to access quality child care. -
House Bill 314
”Relating to eligibility for supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits.”
The bill ensures that individuals who are initially certified or re-certified for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits remain eligible for those benefits for a period of 12 months (subject to certain exceptions).House Bill 740
”Relating to the eligibility of certain students enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution for supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits.”
This bill instructs the Health and Human Services Commission to identify college degree programs that are vocational or technical and permit students enrolled in those programs to qualify for SNAP benefits.House Bill 2344
“Relating to requiring the provision of certain information to the Texas Education Agency by a public or private school.”
This bill allows TEA to retrieve necessary information from schools to implement programs on a need-to-know basis. -
House Bill 573
“Relating to a request by a member of the legislature for an unannounced inspection of a concrete batch plant by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.”
This bill permits Legislators and affected individuals to together request the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality prioritize unannounced inspection of a concrete batch plant.House Bill 1498
“Relating to the monitoring of emissions from certain concrete plants”
This bill requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to establish a routine monitoring plan for operational concrete batch plants that are considered a major source of particulate matter or other pollution.House Bill 1499
“Relating to the creation of an environmental product declaration grant program for manufacturers of ready-mixed concrete.”
This bill establishes a grant program for manufacturers of ready-mixed concrete to access an environmental product declaration database to incentivize plants to use cleaner concrete mixes.House Bill 1513
“Relating to the location and operation of certain concrete batch plants.”
This bill requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to consider other nearby Concrete Batch Plants when ruling on ready-mix concrete permit applications.House Bill 1768
“Relating to the construction, expansion, or modification of certain concrete plants under a standard permit.”
This bill requires certain standard air permit applicants who request an extension for construction to update their plans to match the most up-to-date standard permit requirements.House Bill 1846
“Relating to the establishment of the Electric Truck Advisory Council.”
This bill creates an Electric Truck Advisory Council to ensure a strategic statewide approach to supporting the electric truck industry.House Bill 1918
“Relating to Class A water and sewer utility rate increases.”
This bill sets limits on water rate increases by Class A utilities.House Bill 3043
“Relating to the persons entitled to request a public hearing from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality related to the construction of a concrete plant.”
This bill allows a qualifying representative of a school, place of worship, licensed daycare center, hospital, medical facility, or a person residing within 440 yards of a concrete batch plant to request a hearing regarding a permit application.House Bill 4482
“Relating to corrective action plans for certain emissions events.”
This bill creates new procedures to address excessive air pollution emissions, which will be implemented by the commission in coordination with a local governing agency that operates an air pollution control program.House Bill 5380
“Relating to park land dedication requirements for subdivisions by counties; authorizing a fee.”
This bill gives counties the authority to develop standards that require developers to dedicate a certain percentage of land to park facilities, trails, or similar recreational facilities when building.House Joint Resolution 63
“Proposing a constitutional amendment to permit additional uses of certain dedicated general revenue transferred each fiscal year to the state highway fund.”
This bill allows revenues collected into the State Highway Fund to also be used for sidewalks, bike paths and public transportation. -
House Bill 618
“Relating to health benefit plan coverage of certain in vitro fertilization procedures for certain governmental employees and retirees.”
This bill requires state employee health benefit plans to cover IVF treatments.House Bill 731
“Relating to certain duties of the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.”
This bill requires the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee to participate in the federal Maternal Mortality Review Information App and the Center for Disease Control for improved data collection and analysis.House Bill 757
“Relating to the Medicaid eligibility of certain women following a pregnancy.”
This bill would expand Medicaid coverage to eligible pregnant women for no less than 24 months following the date of birth or miscarriage.House Bill 932
“Relating to the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact; authorizing fees.”
This bill would create an interstate compact for occupational therapist practitioners, allowing participating members to practice telehealth in participating states outside their own.House Bill 2117
“Relating to the duties of the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee.”
This bill requires the MMMRC to report annual data.House Bill 2573
“Relating to Medicaid coverage and reimbursement of doula services.”
This bill allows for doulas to receive medical assistance reimbursement in addition to receiving reimbursement for case management services.House Bill 3989
“Relating to the establishment of the supporting life pilot program as part of the Thriving Texas Families Program.”This bill establishes the creation of a pilot support program for teen parents that includes housing, child care, and career/college transition services, in addition to others offered, to help ensure young parents thrive in parenthood and can offer themselves and their children a chance at a fulfilling life. -
House Bill 636
“Relating to the implementation of a statewide homeless data sharing network to share real-time data on homelessness.”
This bill instructs the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to create a data sharing network to improve accessibility of response systems and resources for homeless individuals.House Bill 697
“Relating to the applicability of prohibitions on municipal or county regulations on the rental or leasing of housing accommodations.”
This bill prohibits landlords from refusing to rent to senior citizens or individuals who are disabled based on their fixed income status.House Bill 714
”Relating to the establishment and implementation by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs of the Texas Tenant Readiness and Landlord Incentive Pilot Program.”
This bill supports tenant preparedness and incentivizes landlords to help housing voucher recipients access housing.House Bill 798
“Relating to certain rights and duties of residential tenants and landlords; increasing the amount of civil penalties.”
This bill is the Texas Tenant Protections Act, and includes language that: shields renters from predatory fees and fines, provides basic disclosures about the eviction process, secures a tenant’s right to privacy, among other protections.House Bill 2214
“Relating to notice requirements for a leased dwelling located in a floodplain.”
This bill exempts landlords from the requirement to inform temporary tenants of a dwelling's location in a floodplain.House Bill 2578
“Relating to landlord and tenant dispute information reported by courts and published on a publicly accessible Internet website.”
This bill limits the publicization of information regarding certain landlord-tenant disputes by requiring courts to include the information in their official monthly reports. -
House Bill 678
“Relating to the inclusion of the National Sexual Assault Hotline on certain student identification cards issued by a public institution of higher education.”
This bill includes the National Sexual Assault Hotline phone number on all college student identification cards.House Bill 3648
“Relating to local control of the employment matters of sheriff's department employees in certain counties.”
This bill grants Harris County sheriff’s department employees the ability to negotiate wages and working conditions through a designated "meet and confer" process.House Bill 3696
“Relating to the provision by railroad companies of hazardous material incident training to certain fire and emergency medical personnel and peace officers.”
This bill instructs railroad companies to offer hazardous material training to various emergency personnel.House Bill 4480
“Relating to the authority of certain health care facilities to cooperate with officers engaged in immigration-related duties.”
This bill prohibits hospital workers from allowing immigration officers to enter for investigative purposes unless they present a judicial warrant.House Bill 5291
“Relating to reporting and planning requirements to reduce the occurrence of sexual assault near the campuses of public institutions of higher education.”
This bill establishes a standard for rate reduction for Texas’ higher institution's SA prevention plans and policies to ensure effective policies are put in place for the safety of Texas students. -
House Bill 537
”Relating to the authority of certain counties to regulate noise levels in residential areas; creating a criminal offense.”
This bill allows the Harris County Commissioners Court to regulate noise levels emanating from residences that affect residential areas in unincorporated areas of the country.House Bill 660
“Relating to employee caseload limit goals for child and adult protective services and child-care licensing services and call processing goals for certain of those services.”
This bill sets caseload limit goals for caseworkers in child and adult protective services and child-care licensing services to improve outcomes.House Bill 3012
"Relating to the fee for a driving safety course.”
This bill eliminates the mandatory $3 fee for course materials, supervision, and administration as we have moved toward more virtual administration of driving courses.House Bill 4839
“Relating to the development, promotion, and funding of certain recycling projects.”
This bill creates the Texas Recycling Market Development Program to improve recycling infrastructure, initiate pilot projects, stimulate the use of recycled materials, and increase stakeholder engagement.House Bill 5290
“Relating to the transfer of certain state property from the Texas Department of Transportation to the University of Houston.”
This bill authorizes a transfer of land ownership from the Texas Department of Transportation to the University of Houston Downtown for campus expansion.House Bill 5388
“Relating to operating agreements between holders of a distiller's and rectifier's permit and nonresident seller’s permit.”
This bill requires all in-state distillers to hold both distiller and rectifier permits.