89th Legislative Session ends

June 2 marked sine die, the last day of the 89th Texas Legislature. Both chambers typically have family and friends present to celebrate the occasion and much of the business in each chamber is spent on recognitions of legislative staff and the achievements of members old and new. With few exceptions, all bills for Gov. Greg Abbott to consider have already arrived at his desk where he will have between 10 and 20 days to sign or veto each bill, or leave them unsigned after which they will become law by default. 

In the House, various caucuses honored members with "Freshman of the Year" within their ranks and took time to recognize their staffers sitting in the gallery. Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), the Dean of the House (a title held by the longest-serving member in the chamber), was honored with a portrait that will hang in the Capitol to acknowledge her service as a state representative since 1972. She thanked members for the gift and clarified that she does not plan on retiring yet.

In the Senate, members elected Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) as president pro tempore ad interim, a largely ceremonial office for the person who serves as governor if both the governor and lieutenant governor are out-of-state at the same time. Perry will hold the office between legislative sessions, after which another election will take place within the Senate. Several of his fellow senators gave nominating speeches to honor him for his service to the Senate.

Behind the scenes, leaders from both chambers worked to hash out a conference committee report on SB 293 by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), a bill that would provide a significant increase to judicial base pay. The issue has long been politically contentious because retirement income for former members of the Texas Legislature is tied to judicial pay, so opponents of efforts to increase judicial pay often paint the issue as self-dealing for members. The bill remedies this issue by decoupling judicial base pay and legislative retirement beginning in 2030. Having reached an agreement on the bill late this afternoon, each chamber approved the conference committee report, then adjourned sine die, literally meaning "without a date" to reconvene. 

TCTA will keep you updated on which bills Gov. Abbott signs and provide a detailed retrospective of the session in the days to come.