by Sen. Robert Nichols, Senate District 3
The pace of session continues to pick up and important deadlines are around the corner. Committee hearings, voting, and debating on the Senate Floor take up most of my days. Only a little over 80 days left!
Here are five things happening around your state:
1. Bill filing deadline approaching
Friday, March 14 is the sixtieth day of session and marks the bill filing deadline for the 89th Legislative Session. After Friday, only local bills and emergency item bills are allowed to be filed. At this time, over 2,500 bills and joint resolutions have been filed in the Senate and almost 5,000 have been filed in the House. By the end of the day Friday, there may be even more bills filed. From this point forward, the pace of session accelerates and the days get longer. As always, if there are bills of interest, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office.
2. Senate Committee on Transportation holds first hearing
This week, the Senate Committee on Transportation, which I chair, held our first hearing. We heard testimony on 9 bills and 1 concurrent resolution from several different members. I authored Senate Bill 1555 which was heard in committee. SB 1555 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 25, by Senator Alvarado, stem from a tragic incident in Houston last December. Sergio Ivan Rodriguez was on his way to school and tragically lost his life while crossing a set of train tracks near Milby High School. Senate Bill 1555 would create a grant program through the Texas Department of Transportation to award grants for railroad grade separation projects. The grants would go to political subdivisions for rail-roadway projects, which could include a pedestrian bridge. Relatedly, SCR 25 is a resolution urging the City of Houston to construct a pedestrian bridge over the rail crossing near Milby High School to ensure students can get to school safely. Further, the Legislature would ask the City name the bridge in honor of Sergio Rodriguez.
3. Senate Bill 16 filed
Senator Bryan Hughes filed Senate Bill 16 this week to further secure our elections by ensuring that only legal citizens vote in Texas elections. The bill would require anyone registering to vote to supply proof of citizenship at that time. That proof could include a passport, birth certificate, citizenship papers, or other identification issued by the United States. If citizenship cannot be verified, the person would be registered to vote only for federal elections, not state elections. It also creates a mechanism for registrars to verify the citizenship of existing registered voters. Protecting our elections from non-citizens who are not eligible to vote is the next step in ensuring our elections are free, fair, and secure.
4. Bills expanding FCIC authority pass committee
This week, the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, chaired by Sen. Pete Flores, heard testimony on three bills I filed related to the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (FCIC). FCIC was created in 2021 by the Legislature initially to combat card skimming devices at motor fuel terminals, especially at gas stations. Today, the FCIC is the statewide fusion center that coordinates investigations for various types of organized financial crime. One of the bills I authored would expand the Center’s statutory authority to include all kinds of payment fraud. Senate Bill 1499 changes statute to reflect FCIC growing role in combating financial crime.
As evidence of the value FCIC brings the state, this week two people were arrested in the Dallas area for their role in a multi-million dollar credit card fraud scheme. FCIC played a central role in investigating the case in coordination with local police departments, US Customs and Border Protection, and Texas DPS. The operation is estimated to have prevented more than $5.2 million in potential losses to victims. Authorities seized a fully operational card skimmer factory which was designed to affix skimmers to ATMs. They also discovered hundreds of altered credit cards, $16,000 in cash, and other card skimming tools and equipment.
5. UT System approves new ag and forestry building at SFA
Late last month, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved an additional $5 million for the construction of a new forestry and agriculture building at Stephen F. Austin State University. The additional funding will support an Agricultural Engineering and Technology Building. The project will be funded in part by the Permanent University Fund, a fund exclusively benefiting UT System and A&M System schools. SFA joined the UT System officially in 2023 after extensive community input.
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