These Bills Deal With Everything From Worker's Compensation Reform To Amending The Texas Constitution Defining Marriage As Being Between One Man And One Woman

Each session of the Texas Legislature produces literally thousands of new bills. Typically only a few hundred make it through the entire process and are signed into law by the governor.

The 79th Texas Legislature has been no different. Along with the high-profile bills, such as those dealing with public school reform and property tax relief, state lawmakers have filed thousands of bills.

Since the start of the session, state Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, and state Rep. Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, authored or co-authored about 150 bills.

These bills deal with everything from worker's compensation reform to amending the Texas Constitution defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

"This session has involved a great deal of work and a lot of long hours," Staples said. "We've received tremendous input from the public during the process on vitally important topics like school reform and property tax relief."

"I feel like I've been making a difference here," McReynolds said. "I may not have moved heaven and earth, but I've moved a pebble here and there, and hopefully, I've helped make Texas a better place for all of us."

In light of recent events like the incident in Canton Thursday in which a high school football coach was critically injured when he was shot by an angry parent and the school shooting at Red Lake High School in Minnesota that left 10 people dead earlier this year, Senate Bill 11, which passed in the Senate on Wednesday, is even more important, Staples said.

"Every parent's worst nightmare is something like the recent massacre at Red Lake High School in Minnesota, leaving 10 students dead and 14 injured," Staples said in a press release that was issued before Thursday's shooting. "Senate Bill 11 will take Texas the step further to ensure our school officials, law enforcement, first responders and students know how to detect, deter, and respond in the event of such an emergency.

"I am thankful Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst has made this issue a priority for our state."

If SB 11 is passed into law, it would require that schools: adopt their own multi-hazard emergency operations plans; train teachers for different emergencies, implement mandatory school drills, foster better communication with local law enforcement, undergo a security audit every three years; and follow certain safety design codes when building new facilities or renovating existing ones.

In a previous bill, Staples said the plan would not require state funding. He said state lawmakers are working with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security to provide federal funding for the plan's implementation.

Homeland security, workers comp

Another bill that deals with Homeland Security is SB 9, Staples said. That bill would require stiffer penalties for trespassing in facilities that make up the state's critical infrastructure, such as dams or water treatment plants.

Staples also pointed to SB 5, which deals with reform of the workers' compensation system. He explained that all the low-numbered bills are those considered to be top priorities by Dewhurst.

"Workers in Texas aren't getting the care they need, and they're not returning to work as rapidly as they do in other states," Staples said. "Plus, businesses are paying higher workers' compensation premiums."

SB 5 would provide for increased temporary income benefits, create a network of doctors that take workers' comp cases, provide greater oversight into insurance matters and provide a higher level of accountability. Staples said the bill has passed in both chambers of the Legislature and is awaiting final approval.

If passed into law, SB599/SJR 17 would amend the Texas Constitution to allow judges the discretion to revoke bail for violent felony offenders who violate the conditions of their bail, Staples said. He explained that the bill stemmed from the murder of Faye Harris.

Staples said Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth approached them about the need for such a bill. He said Faye Harris was in the process of divorcing her husband, and that the man burned down her house, harassed her, pushed her down and violated a protective order before he shotgunned her to death at her mother's house as she was returning home from church.

Staples also mentioned SB 1647, which deals with providing adequate compensation for people who lose property to state agencies through condemnation proceedings and SB 170, which allows poultry producers to have the water quality plans required by changes in the EPA's standards drawn up by the Texas Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

Marriage amendment

One of the major bills McReynolds joint-authored was HJR 6. He said early in the session state Rep. Warren Chisum asked him to join him on a bill designed to protect traditional marriage.

"Texas already has a Defense of Marriage Act," McReynolds said. "But ... in recent months, judges in San Francisco and Massachusetts have been requiring states to recognize gay marriages.

"What HJR 6 would do if it is passed is allow Texans to go to the polls and a make a decision on whether or not to amend the state Constitution to protect the definition of traditional marriage. I think it's one of the core principals of our society that marriage be defined as only between one man and one woman."

McReynolds said even though an editorial in The Lufkin Daily News stated that he had political reasons for signing onto the bill, he made the decision based on his moral standards. He explained that as a deacon in the Church of Christ, he has presided over numerous marriages.

In addition, McReynolds is one the leaders of a group of House members that meets every Tuesday for a devotional. He said it's a very diverse group of people that includes people of the Quaker, Catholic Protestant and Jewish faiths.

"I believe what most Texans believe – that a family with a father and a mother is the safest place for children to be," McReynolds said. "That has been the case since the beginning.

"It doesn't mean you, I or anyone should look down on someone. I think the Scriptures are pretty plain-spoken on this issue."

Fifteen other states have already passed similar constitutional amendments in light of the fact that the proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution is losing momentum, McReynolds said. He said he expects most of the remaining 35 states to pass similar measures at some point in the future.

McReynolds said he talked to the lesbian daughter of a good friend, and told her, ‘‘I love you to death, and I'm not trying to hurt you or disappoint you with this bill. It's just something I feel very strongly about.'

Helping disabled vets

In addition to bills that deal with creating county assistance districts for the collection of sales tax in non-incorporated areas of the state and a reforestation bill, McReynolds also authored a bill designed to iron out some of the glitches in the Veterans Administration's rule governing disabled veterans.

A Desert Storm veteran approached McReynolds and said that he is considered 34 percent disabled according to the VA's standards. He said the man has a friend that is 35 percent disabled, and because the VA rounds up, the second man was able to receive a homestead exemption on his property taxes while the first one wasn't.

If the bill is passed, it would mean that veterans who are considered to be 30 to 41 percent disabled would be eligible for a $5,000 homestead exemption. Depending on the veterans' level of disability, they could be eligible for up to a $12,500 exemption.

Another bill McReynolds is proud of stemmed from the massive recovery operation that took place after the space shuttle Columbia exploded in the skies above East Texas on Feb. 2, 2003. Local National Guard troops were called up to active duty to assist with the search, he said. He said soldiers that were attending college at Stephen F. Austin State University and Sam Houston State University said they had trouble making up assignments and exams from the week or so they were on active duty.

McReynolds said lawmakers coordinated with the Board of Higher Education to craft the bill, which allows National Guard soldiers to receive excused absences and make-up exams for any short-term deployments.

Other bills McReynolds has authored or joint-authored include a measure to set the student-teacher ratio for classes in grades K-5 at 22 students for every teacher, and another bill will extend teachers' step pay raises another fives years. Under the current state laws, a teacher's step pay raises stop after 20 years.

HB 1407 will clear up an oversight that state lawmakers unwittingly put in a bill that said children of firefighters and volunteer firefighters are exempted from having to pay tuition at state universities. As the original legislation was written, it excluded the children of Texas Forest Service firefighters killed in the line of duty. McReynolds said HB 1407 addressed that issue and added TFS personnel to the list.