Here’s why the Texas Legislature probably won’t do much to help the Fort Worth area

Local government and business leaders are drawing up their wish lists for next year’s legislative session. And there’s plenty that lawmakers could do for the Fort Worth area when they go back to work in January.

But between the coronavirus pandemic, a recession-shocked budget and general uncertainty about future needs, many of those wishes may go unfulfilled. If the Legislature does no harm to local government and schools, that may constitute victory for Tarrant County and the region.

The pandemic casts a pall in several ways, but in practical terms, it will probably limit how much legislation lawmakers can even consider. Given the danger posed by indoor gatherings, House and Senate committees won’t be able to have many hearings on bills, so they probably won’t take up the myriad of issues, large and small, that they usually do.

Two immediate priorities must be helping small business and protecting school funding.

Any significant financial help will have to come from Washington. But Texas can help ease the pain for small business in particular. The state should look for ways to lift tax and regulatory burdens for such firms as much as possible.

Rep. Ramon Romero, a Democrat whose district includes parts of northwest, south and east Fort Worth, said one obvious step would be to suspend or reduce licensing fees for businesses that can operate. An example would be liquor licenses for bars and restaurants hammered by closure and crowd-limitation orders.

“Small operators really need the support,” he said. Noting that commercial real-estate owners often depend heavily on rent from restaurants, he added: “We don’t want to see foreclosures on strip centers.”

Romero also cited franchise-tax relief as a way to help smaller companies. The Legislature has struggled in recent years to reform how it taxes business, but if it can lessen the blow now, larger changes can wait.

One opportunity borne of the pandemic is to seriously review suspended regulations and determine whether they should be resurrected. Not long after the virus struck, Gov. Greg Abbott used emergency powers to waive rules on everything from licensing nurses to alcohol sales. Some should certainly return, but the Legislature should scrutinize the real-world results before just setting things back the way they were.

For local governments, recent sessions of the Legislature have called for defensive maneuvers, as conservative Republicans have tried to limit cities’ and counties’ powers over taxes and regulating business. That will no doubt continue; Abbott has already set his sights on limiting taxpayer funding of lobbyists for local entities and freezing revenue for cities that reduce police budgets.

These were already bad ideas that impinge on the principle of local control. Removing flexibility on budgets in particular is an even worse proposal as the pandemic and recession linger. If local voters want to punish leaders for cutting police funding or paying lobbyists, they can do so at the ballot box.

Of particular interest to booming Fort Worth-area communities will be decisions on school funding. Under last year’s overhaul legislation, the state assumed a greater share of funding public education than it has carried in nearly a decade. Maintaining that will be a challenge, but lawmakers must avoid cuts. Schools face huge challenges from the pandemic, and property tax revenue may be uncertain. A step back on state funding of schools is a major blow to Texas’ future.

Other priorities beckon. Lawmakers will want to debate the response to future emergencies such as the pandemic. Many believe that for a situation that goes on for weeks or months, the Legislature should have more of a say in policy, and they’ll look to create a mechanism for that. The pandemic also revealed the strains on healthcare in Texas, and though Democrats failed to win the mandate they sought to expand Medicaid for the working poor, lawmakers must consider ways to get more Texans insurance coverage.

There’s also the need to redraw districts for congressional and legislative seats, which always adds a layer of political drama and complication to the Legislature’s work. But that may be delayed if the federal government can’t deliver the necessary Census data on time.

Indeed, redistricting is one of many priorities that’s likely to be pushed to the back burner. The Legislature has big musts on its list and a challenge to its very ability to do business. Much will have to wait, and that means it could be a long summer or even fall in Austin.