House bills languish awaiting Senate hearings

Despite the House passing a significant number of bills this session, many of that chamber's bills still await a hearing in the Senate. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tightly controls the Senate and manages the flow of House bills to the appropriate Senate committees, but beyond that, he maintains a level of control over which bills to schedule for hearings. 

Of the hundreds of House bills passed this session, only two have passed the Senate, while 108 Senate bills have passed the House. Likewise, only one House bill has been sent to the governor's desk, with 35 Senate bills awaiting Gov. Greg Abbott's signature. 

As the session enters the final stretch, delays in scheduling committee hearings can be the end of the road for a bill despite having passed smoothly through its originating chamber. Some bills have a similar or identical counterpart in the other chamber, so those may end up in a conference committee. In some cases, negotiations on what the final bill will look like begin taking place long before the conference committee is required. 

Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) highlighted this disparity on the House floor May 7, specifically mentioning HB 2, the House's signature school finance bill, as a victim of these delays. 

The Senate and House have taken different approaches to school finance this session, so a conference showdown is possible, but HB 2 has yet to be heard in the Senate K-16 Education Committee. 

Many education advocates and education-supporting legislators are frustrated with the lack of progress on school finance by the Senate given that school finance was held up last session because a school voucher bill did not pass. With school vouchers signed into law, the expectation has been that a comprehensive school finance bill will soon follow. It is worth noting that the House has also failed to take action on the Senate's proposal for teacher salaries and other funding issues, SB 26.