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The Bills NE Texas' State Lawmakers Have Filed for 2019

Northeast Texas’ state legislators are busy pre-filing bills for the 2019 session. The 86th State Legislature begins in less than a month.

Heading into January, State Senator Bob Hall has been the most prolific. Hall represents District 2 –  and he’s pre-filed 19 bills. Some are more agricultural in focus. SB-86 looks to limit the number of chickens homeowners can raise to six. That bill also disallows municipalities or county governments from writing exceptions to that limit.

Meanwhile, SB-80 looks to set labeling rules on sales of raw milk. This is a sister bill to one pre-filed in the Texas House by District 2 State Representative Dan Flynn.

Flynn has pre-filed four bills for the upcoming Legislative session, including HB-307. That bill would keep public school districts from prohibiting displays of the 10 Commandments in classrooms. Flynn told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that teachers should be able to hang a copy of the 10 Commandments as easily as they can hang Halloween decorations. The passing of that bill, however, would doubtless cause a stir. Legal scholars say displaying the 10 Commandments in public school classrooms violates the U.S. Constitution.

Elsewhere in the House, District 1 State Representative Gary VanDeaver has pre-filed six bills, most related to school security and access to instructional materials at schools.

And District 30 State Sen. Pat Fallon has pre-filed a single bill for 2019 – one aimed at making it harder to change the names of public institutions and monuments. SB-226 states that if a school, for example, has had the same name for 20 or more years, the name can only be changed by a public vote in the school’s district.

The 86th Texas State Legislature convenes on Jan. 8.

House District 1 - Gary VanDeaver  (R)

HB397: Relating to acceptable uses by a school district of the instructional materials and technology allotment.
HB331: Relating to the application of the open meetings law to the medical advisory board.
HB497: Relating to the classroom instruction part of the handgun proficiency course taken to obtain a license to carry a handgun.
HB418: Relating to the availability of personal information of a current or former federal prosecutor.
HB396: Relating to acceptable uses of the instructional materials and technology fund and the instructional materials and technology allotment.
HB330: Relating to excluding certain students from the computation of dropout and completion rates for purposes of public school accountability.

House District 2 - Dan Flynn (R)

HB503: Relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products.
HB307: Relating to the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
HB310: Relating to the designation of a portion of Farm-to-Market Road 1570 in Hunt County as the John L. Horn Parkway.
HB414: Relating to a defense to prosecution for and the civil liability of an educator who uses force to protect the educator's person, students of the school, or property of the school and the suspension of a student who assaults an employee of a school.

Senate District 2 - Bob Hall (R)

SB86: Relating to the regulation of raising or keeping six or fewer chickens by a political subdivision.
SB81: Relating to the naming of a reservoir by certain water districts.
SB84: Relating to the right of public officers to information of certain governmental entities; creating a criminal offense.
SB80: Relating to the regulation of raw milk and raw milk products.
SB85: Relating to the regulation of the conduct of certain counseling professions.
SB79: Relating to the elimination of a requirement that certain buses that transport schoolchildren be equipped with three-point seat belts.
SB78: Relating to the use of automatic license plate readers by a law enforcement agency or municipal parking enforcement authority.
SB77: Relating to the use of information from traffic surveillance technology by governmental entities.
SB76: Relating to the security of the electric grid.
SJR3: Proposing a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to life of unborn children and prohibiting abortion to the extent authorized under federal constitutional law.
SB83: Relating to the designation of a portion of Farm-to-Market Road 1570 in Hunt County as the John L. Horn Memorial Parkway.
SB82: Relating to expenditures for lobbying activities made by a recipient of state funds.
SJR2: Proposing a constitutional amendment requiring legislative approval of the historical narrative for certain exhibits featured at the Alamo or a museum owned or operated by the state.
SB75: Relating to forensic audits of certain school district projects.
SB88: Relating to a pilot project for financing certain Texas Department of Transportation projects.
SB89: Relating to a ribbon for certain members of the military forces who served in support of operations to secure the Texas border.
SB74: Relating to voting and election procedures; creating a criminal offense.
SB191: Relating to the repeal of the driver responsibility program and the amount and allocation of state traffic fine funds; temporarily increasing a criminal fine.
SB87: Relating to the repeal of the driver responsibility program and the vehicle safety inspection program for certain vehicles; imposing replacement fees.

Senate District 30 - Pat Fallon (R)

SB226: Relating to maintaining certain monuments and memorials and the names of certain public institutions; providing civil penalties.

Scott Morgan has been an award-winning journalist since 2001. His work has appeared in several newspapers and magazines as well as online. He has also been an editor, freelancer, speaker, writing teacher, author, and podcaster.