Texas Legislature gets bills on texting, taxing, smoking and more

If the Texas Legislature doesn't pass a bill next year to outlaw texting while driving, it won't be for lack of trying.

At least six bills calling for a statewide ban on driver texting were introduced Monday on the first day lawmakers could propose legislation for the regular session that begins Jan. 8.

The first day of "pre-filing" bills traditionally is one when legislators seek to draw attention to pet projects, many of which have been tried unsuccessfully in previous sessions. It's also a day when Texans get a look at some of the major issues of the coming session.

If the texting ban gets legislative approval in 2013, it wouldn't be the first time. The House and Senate voted for a no-texting-while-driving measure last year, only to see it vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry.

"Texting while driving is reckless and irresponsible," Perry wrote in his veto message. But he called the bill "a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults."

The governor said the best way to approach the problem of drivers being distracted by their text messages would be "additional education on this issue in driving safety and driver's education courses, public service ads and announcements."

If he feels that way about lawmakers attempting to steer the behavior of adults behind the wheel, Perry probably won't like a bill filed by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston. SB 86 would ban smoking in all public places and in places of employment.

But other proposals introduced Monday are about things Perry has advocated in the past. Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, and Rep. Bill Callegari, R-Katy, introduced bills limiting the percentage growth in state revenue to a level equal to the percentage growth in Texas population plus a measure of inflation.

Patrick offered up a constitutional amendment that would rebate any un-obligated funds beyond that limit, a third of it to businesses that have paid franchise taxes and two-thirds to be used to reduce public school property taxes.

Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, a past chairman of the Transportation Committee, went with another perennial Perry favorite, a bill to limit the amount of revenue from motor fuel taxes that can be used for purposes other than building and maintaining roadways. A similar bill from Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, specifically would strip funding for the Department of Public Safety from that revenue stream.

Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, filed SB 95 to limit the increase in property value used to calculate property taxes. The bill would restrict annual taxable value growth to 5 percent or a level as high as the current 10 percent limit if it is adopted in a countywide vote.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, proposed a bill to shift responsibility for drawing congressional district boundaries to a new Texas Congressional Redistricting Commission. That's an idea long championed by Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, but Wentworth was defeated in a Republican primary runoff in July. The idea has merit, but West probably won't have any more legislative luck with it than Wentworth did.

Between now and March 8, the filing deadline for most substantive bills, there'll be more issues on the table than most people will care to think about. In the 2011 regular session, a total of 5,796 bills were introduced in the House and Senate. The two bodies passed 1,379 bills, and Perry vetoed 24.

The 140-day session ends May 27. But if you end up wanting more, take heart: Since 2003, there have been only six regular legislative sessions, but there also have been nine special sessions.

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