SENATE PASSES BILL TO ENTICE MORE BUSINESSES TO TEXAS

(AUSTIN) — The Senate approved a plan on Thursday intended to make the state the most attractive in the country to incorporate a business. Today, that title belongs to Delaware, whose business-friendly regulatory environment has made them the premiere destination for those looking to start a company. Established companies use the state as their home as well; more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies have a Delaware mailing address. The bill approved by the Senate on Thursday, SB 29, seeks to change that by streamlining a number of regulations, offering protections against certain lawsuits, and makes other changes to the state’s corporate governance laws. “Let’s put out the word, that if you want to grow your business, you want to provide jobs, you want to be a good corporate citizen, you want to grow the economy and increase the standard of living, you are welcome in Texas,” said author and Mineola Senator Bryan Hughes.

Senator Brandon Creighton of Conroe says his bill will improve discipline in the classroom.

Also Thursday, the Senate passed an initiative aimed at addressing the top concerns of Texas teachers: classroom safety and order. SB 27, by Conroe Senator Brandon Creighton, was developed based on recommendations from a blue-ribbon study and statewide teacher survey on teacher vacancies and how to keep teachers in the profession. Creighton said that discipline and safety top the list of teacher concerns, and legislators are listening. “Texas lawmakers are standing with our Texas teachers, we’re sending a powerful message that we hear you, and we’re taking action,” he said.

Under the bill, teachers would be empowered to remove students from the classroom who are abusive, bullying, or repeatedly disrupt the teaching environment. This is critical, said Creighton, to keeping teachers from leaving the profession. “In recent teacher surveys, safety and classroom control and order were the most significant factor to teachers leaving the classroom,” he said. “SB 27 aims to keep our classrooms an environment for learning, an environment that has order, an environment where all students have an equal opportunity to learn.” Students removed from the classroom could not return until a return-to-class plan had been developed and approved by the teacher who ordered the removal. It wouldn’t apply to minor situations where a student is sent out into the hall for a short period of time.

The bill also looks to other ways to improve the education workplace and meet critical needs. It would commission a time study to look at how much time teachers spend in non-instructional activities, like professional development, and how that might impact their time educating students. It could form the basis for a future law that ensures teachers are given the time they need to teach class. The bill would also fill vacancies for positions with highly needed certifications like bilingual and special ed by waiving the first certification exam fee.

In committee Thursday, the Senate Committee on Border Security took up a measure that would create a permanent division of homeland security within DPS. This division would bring together intelligence gathering activities currently spread across numerous local and state agencies. “This can lead to overlapping efforts, gaps in coordination, and inconsistencies in how we collect and share intelligence,” said bill author and Flower Mound Senator Tan Parker. His bill, SB 36, would put them under the same roof, enabling cooperation and coordination and ensure that critical intelligence is shared between all relevant actors. It would focus on detecting and proactively responding to border security, threats to critical infrastructure, and handling and coordinating disaster management. “SB 36 ensures that Texas remains a leader in safeguarding our border, our residents, and our economic engines,” said Parker. “I believe it strikes the right balance between providing for our security, while at the same time respecting the roles of our local and federal partners.”

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