Senate Continues Deliberations on House Bill One

The Senate resolved into a Committee of the Whole Senate to continue hearing public testimony on House Bill One, the comprehensive property tax and school finance reform bill. Several members of the public testified on a range of topics. A representative of a coalition of non-profit organizations offered the Senate a plan to expand bingo gaming to increase revenue. Others testified on how the sales tax or property tax should be changed, and some encouraged the Senate to consider an income tax. Following public testimony, the Senate recessed until the afternoon while Senators worked out the details of House Bill One.

Plano Senator Florence Shapiro, sponsor of HB1 in the Senate, explained to the Senate what she thought the timeline for the bill should be. She expected that a version of the bill should hit the floor tomorrow or Saturday for amendments and full debate. Following potential passage of House Bill 1, the legislation will head back over to the House of Representatives, where it will likely be amended further. If that version of HB1 is passed, then a conference committee consisting of both Senators and Representatives will be formed to work out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.

The Senate will reconvene tomorrow, May 14 at 10 a.m.

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