On Thursday, Texas Speaker Dade Phelan released interim charges for the 88th legislative session.
House interim charges are determined by the Speaker each year with input from House members. In the Senate, interim charges were set by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick back in early April.
“Today, I issued interim charges that set the foundation for House committees to gather insight from stakeholders and interested Texans, identify legislative solutions for our most pressing issues and make recommendations to the full House Chamber for consideration next session,” said Phelan in the release.
The full interim committee report includes charges for more than 20 House Committees.
The Committee on Public Education will “evaluate the use of education savings accounts in other states and make recommendations for a Texas program, including suggestions on eligibility and prioritization of applicants.”
Ways & Means will “study and make recommendations to build on the historic property tax relief provided by the 88th Legislature” including additional tax compression, appraisal limits for non-homestead and homestead properties and the current homestead exemption.
The Committee on State Affairs is asked to “conduct a review of functions and operations of state agencies involved with carrying out Operation Lone Star as they relate to securing the border and preventing transnational criminal activity.” The committee will assess whether there the state has adequate funding and authority to secure the border.
Public Health will review the best practices for responding to mental health emergencies and investigate the lack of access to prenatal care in rural areas.
The Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial services will “examine ways in which environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies are contradictory to fiduciary duties and resultant detrimental effect on investors.”
Business & Industry will “evaluate the impact on housing prices and rent caused by institutional buyers to determine whether policy changes are needed to ensure families and individuals are not unfairly priced out of homeownership.”
The full list of committee charges can be found here.
