LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
February 28, 2009
The 81 st Session of the Texas Legislature is in full swing. So far, five bills have been filed in support of the TSAFF Legislative program, with two still in Legislative Counsel. The TSAFF bills are:
S.B. 460 and S.B. 461 by Senator Gallegos, amending Local Government Code, Chapter 143.
H.B. 1648 by Representative Menendez, amending Local Government Code, Chapter 143.
S.B. 1213 by Senator Gallegos and Senator Deuell, adding a new section to the Government Code to provide a statutory MRSA presumption.
H.B. 2054 by Representative Rodriguez, adding a new section to the Local Government Code to provide benefits to fire fighters employed by non-municipal fire departments.
These bills will also be filed in the other respective house as companion bills. Our bills that are still in Legislative Counsel relate to the DFW Airport Local and the second bill relates to collective bargaining. The collective bargaining legislation will enact law to conform to the pending federal legislation, once the federal law is enacted.
S.B. 623 by Senator West, and it’s companion, H.B. 1146 by Representative Anchia are bracketed specifically for the Dallas Fire Fighters. Local 58 President D.D. Pierce has been to the Capitol several times already, working on this legislation. This coming week, the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee will hear S.B. 623 (along with S.B. 461) on Wednesday at 9:30 A.M.
The Sunset Review of the Commission on Fire Protection is moving smoothly, with Representative Linda Harper-Brown of Irving and Senator Craig Estes of Wichita Falls chosen to sponsor the Sunset legislation. Both of these legislators have a long history of supporting our legislation, and we are extremely pleased that Chairman Carl Isett chose them for this important work. The draft of this bill will soon be available. The Commission recently appeared before the Senate Finance Committee and if the comments from the committee are any gage of the level of funding for the agency, they will be in good shape financially.
As you all know, President Obama recently signed the federal stimulus act which will trickle money from the federal government down to the states, counties, cities and other political sub-divisions. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus formed the Select House Federal Economic Stabilization Funding Committee, which has been meeting almost daily to hear testimony from various agencies in order to coordinate the transfer of funding to Texas . The debate on the stimulus issue has almost been a distraction from the “normal� legislative activity, and some predict that the state budget and the debate over what to do with some of the stimulus funding will overshadow the routine issues usually considered by the Legislature.
FIRE FIGHTER DAY AT THE CAPITOL
Many of you have contacted us with questions regarding our Fire Fighter Day at the Capitol this session, which will be held on April 2, 2009. On April 1, 2009 we will hold our legislative briefing at 3:00 P.M. at the Texas AFL-CIO Building , then a reception from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on the rooftop patio of the Texas Trail Lawyers Building . The full details are in the attached document. We look forward to seeing you there.
If there are questions regarding our legislation or the Fire Fighter Day at the Capitol, please contact me.
Mike Higgins
