SB 617 defines food producer as anyone who grows, raises, manufacturers, processes or otherwise adds value to the food that they are selling (except for simply repacking). This bill caps the permit fees for both farmers and “food producers” selling at a farmers’ market. The Farmers’ Market Bill, SB 617, also passed with overwhelming support and went into effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature. Wilson (R-Marble Falls), and their staffs, who worked many hours on this bill. There is a lot of work to be done to fulfill the potential of this new program, and we are already in discussions with the Board about how we can help! Huge thanks go to Sen. The Board is to provide education, outreach, technical assistance, and grant funding to help farmers and ranchers sequester carbon in their soils and improve its biological, chemical, and physical characteristics. It directs the Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board to create an “on the ground conservation program” for several purposes, the first of which is to promote healthy soils. This bill passed with just one dissenting vote in the entire Legislature. The Healthy Soils Bill, SB 1118, tops our list of good news from this session. We passed two of our six priority bills – which was more than twice the general bill passage rate! Combined with our successes in helping other bills pass, killing some bad bills, and laying the groundwork for future sessions, FARFA continues to significantly build the power of the local food movement and move us towards a more resilient, healthy agricultural and food system. Although our work is and always has been bipartisan, the debates over hot-button issues took up most of the legislators’ focus, making tempers run short, exhausting everyone, and generally leaving little room for rational discussion of common-sense policy reforms.ĭespite all of that, our bill passage rate stayed strong. And the level of divisiveness and personal rancor was worse than we have ever seen it. Although the session ended with only a small deficit, the original predictions of a large budget deficit cast a cloud on much of the session. Many offices refused walk-in meetings, and some offices never agreed to in-person meetings at all. This session was extremely challenging, thanks to COVID, the Big Freeze, and broader politics. Here, long-awaited, is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the 2021 Texas regular legislative session! Our usual round-up of news from the Texas legislative session was delayed as we waited for the final list of signed and vetoed bills (the deadline for vetoes was June 21), and then delayed again in the crunch of conference preparations. With limited time left in the legislative session, it is uncertain whether it will be scheduled for a vote.The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: The ’21 Texas Legislative Session The Committee report was sent to Calendars, where it would be scheduled for a House vote but it has not yet. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, has made it further than Cain’s and was reported favorably by the House Committee on Transportation. It was read in the House for the first time in February and was referred to the House Committee on Transportation for further action. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, filed HB 521, nearly 60 of Bricoe’s Republican colleagues and one Democratic colleague sponsored the bill. This story got national attention, and a few months later, two Texas lawmakers filed duplicate bills (HB 1744 and HB 521) to allow pregnant women to drive in HOV lanes with only their unborn fetuses.Īfter Texas Rep. “I said, ‘Well, not trying to throw a political mix here, but with everything going on, this counts as a baby,’” Brandy Bottone told a Dallas station, referring to the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. She fought the citation because she argued her unborn fetus should count as another passenger. In July 2022, an officer pulled over a pregnant woman for driving in an HOV lane without a passenger. Pregnant women can drive in High Occupancy Vehicle lanes With the end of the 89th legislative session nearing, we wanted to update you on how they are doing. AUSTIN (KXAN) – Last November, KXAN perused the new bills pre-filed by Texas legislators and pulled four that we thought were peculiar.
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