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The next meeting of the Texas legislature begins Tuesday, January 11. However, legislators were able to begin pre-filing bills in November, and over the last few weeks I have been giving an overview of some of those bills. This week, I will continue to talk about a few of the bills that have been pre-filed by other legislators from around the state for the upcoming legislative session.
House Bill 127 would prohibit the sale of certain types of beverages on public-school campuses during normal school hours. Approved beverages include water, any fruit or vegetable juice that is at least 50% juice and includes no added sweetener, milk with no more than a 2% fat content, non-dairy milk, and sports drinks with no more than 42 grams of sweetener per 20 ounce serving. These rules would not apply on days when school is not in session, or beginning at least one half hour after the end of the school day. If this bill passes it will apply beginning with the 2011-2012 school year.
House Bill 139 relates to the drug testing of individuals who are applying for financial assistance benefits. This bill requires that any adult applying for financial assistance benefits, except those applying solely on behalf of a child, must submit to a drug test to establish the applicant's eligibility for those benefits. If the test indicates the presence of a controlled substance not prescribed to that person by a health care practitioner that individual would become ineligible for financial assistance for a period of 12 months from the date the results are received. Persons who do not pass the drug test the first time will be notified, re-tested by another drug test or other appropriate method, and will have the opportunity to have a public hearing regarding the results of the drug test. The denial of financial assistance to an adult in a household would not affect the eligibility of the person's child or other household members for financial assistance. If this bill passes it would take effect September 1, 2011.
House Bill 176 would designate English as the official state language, and repeals a current state code requiring state agencies to make a reasonable effort to ensure that Spanish-speaking individuals with limited English-proficiency can access state agency information online. According to this bill, except where required by federal law, state agencies would not be required to provide documents, publish written materials, or provide website content in any language other than the official language of the state. If this bill passes it would take effect September 1, 2011.
For more information on these bills, or to review all of the legislation that has been filed, please visit the website www.capitol.state.tx.us. You can contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us. My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.