House District 8 Newsletter
By State Representative Cody Harris
Recent News
On Wednesday, Hill County stopped by the capitol for Hill County Day, where we recognized the group with House Resolution 73 read on the House Floor. While at the Capitol, they were able to hear from Larry McManus with the Texas Department of Agriculture and former Superintendent of Hillsboro ISD, Dr. Buck Gilcrease, who spoke on school finance issues. I also had the privilege to speak to all the Hill County constituents about the biggest concerns facing the Legislature this session. Everyone had great questions about what we are working on this session at the Capitol.
This week, my first two bills were referred to committee! The first bill was House Bill 693 which was referred to the House Committee on Transportation. This bill honors State Trooper Damon Allen who was killed in the line of duty on Thanksgiving Day in 2017 in Fairfield. This bill would name part of State Highway 84 in Freestone County the “Trooper Damon Allen Memorial Highway.” The other bill was House Bill 703 which was referred to the House Committee on Public Health. This bill protects private information by increasing the age at which birth records become publicly available. With people today living longer, this bill provides better protections for our elderly citizens and fights the rise of identity theft in the State of Texas. I look forward to having these bills set for hearings so they can be laid out in front of their respective committees and considered by my colleagues in the House of Representatives.
On Thursday this week, the Texas Legislature was honored to host “FFA Day at the Capitol.” We had groups from Frost FFA, Dawson FFA and Hillsboro FFA stop by the office and visit. It’s great to see young people engaged in the process and eager to serve their communities. Senior John Cate from Frost FFA joined me on the House Floor and was able to be a Honorary Page for the Day and get the thrilling opportunity to slam the gavel with Speaker Bonnen on the dais! Great job John!
We had another House Committee on Natural Resources meeting over flood management and mitigation. In the next few weeks we will start hearing bills that have been referred to the committee. If you want to follow along with all the committees here in Austin you can click here to see a full schedule of upcoming hearings.
Last week, I authored House Concurrent Resolution 46 which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday. HCR 46 celebrates Texas Court Reporting and Captioning Week from February 9 to 16.
Texas Court Reporters are essential to our justice system. Although they seldom ever speak themselves, they are responsible for protecting the integrity of the spoken word in our legal system. It was my honor to recognize them and all they do for us.
On February 16th our District Director Anglia Orr joined the Southern Oaks Volunteer Fire Department in Streetman for their Chili Supper and Cake Auction. Angelia is having a great time representing our office at events across House District 8 during this busy legislative session. You can look forward to seeing her at more events, open houses and constituent office hours during the legislative session.
Legislation
I am proud to have filed four bills this week relating to the two committees I sit on. This legislation will give land owners the rights they deserve, as well as limiting government overreach and regulation. I also filed a fifth bill this week which will help the Texas State Railroad in Palestine attract more tourists and create more economic activity in Anderson County. As you might know, Anderson County has one of Texas’ two State Railroad properties. The Texas State Railroad in Palestine is home to many events year round that bring people from all over the country to our wonderful state. With my legislation, I hope I continue to attract more visitors and revenue for House District 8 in the years to come.
HB 1978 – Currently, if you purchase agricultural land that has an agriculture tax exemption and changes the use of the land to residential, you have to pay the taxes on the land for the previous five years. This bill plans to abolish that from the tax code.
HB 2122 – gives landowners more rights when it comes to their groundwater. Currently, utility companies can take the water from underneath your property without compensating you for that water. This bill requires utility company’s either buy, lease, or get permission from the affected landowners to pump the groundwater under acreage the utility companies don’t own.
HB 2123 – would allow property owners to petition a groundwater control district to create rules regarding the water resources in a geographic area.
HB 2127 – is a great bill in eliminating obnoxious regulations for natural gas. This bill would simplify the regulations surrounding licensing for liquid natural gas storage companies.
HB 2196 – Currently, you can buy, sell and consume alcohol on the Texas State Railroad trains, but once you step off the train that is not allowed. This bill would change that and allow alcohol consumption on the property.
Currently this session there have been over 2200 bills filed. I have spent some time over the last few weeks to find good legislation and become a co-author on these bills. The following are a list of bills I have co-authored that will strengthen your second amendment rights as well as protect the life of the unborn. All these bills are good for the district and good for Texas.
HB 302 – promotes our second amendment rights allowing the carrying, storage, or possession of a firearm or firearm ammunition on certain residential or commercial property.
HB 2142 – Which is another bill filed to protect your private property rights from the proposed high-speed rail.
HB 1611 – which will stop the high-speed rail from being built next to our schools and will maintain the safety of our children while creating another road block from this project being built.
HB 1500 – makes it illegal to have an abortion at any point in which a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
HB 1929 – would stop abortion providers from receiving any tax payer money from governmental entities.
Coming Up
My District Director Angelia Orr will be in Anderson County to host a meet and greet from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm on Wednesday, February 27th at the Anderson County Courthouse Annex room 103 located at 703 N. Mallard Street in Palestine. She is available to you at any time, just give us a call or email her at angelia.orr@house.texas.gov.
Navarro County Day at the Capitol will be on March 6th. We are excited to announce that we will have Railroad Commission Chairwoman Christi Craddick, Land Commissioner George P. Bush, and Texas Business Leadership Council President Justin Yancy speaking to the group at their visit.
Our final constituent day includes Palestine Days in Austin on March 12-13th. I look forward to hearing from our communities’ leaders regarding the important topics that impact both District 8 and this great State of Texas.
Please contact our Capitol or District staff for more information on these events, and please let us know if you plan to visit Austin this session. We would love to meet you and share your Texas Capitol with you!
Resources
You can keep track of legislation, bill analyses, witness lists, and committee hearings from both the House and Senate sides here.
In addition to these online sources, you can also call the Legislative Reference Library’s Bill Status Hotline at (877) 824-7038.
