From the Capitol

Legislative Accomplishments

Promises made. Promises kept.

Dwayne Bohac has a proven record of achievement as a legislator who puts the needs of his district first and understands that less government is better government. The following is a list of some of the bills authored, coauthored or sponsored by Representative Dwayne Bohac that have become law since he took office in January of 2003.

79th Legislative Session (2005)

Property Taxes

HB 1984
Requires that your annual appraisal notice and property tax bill include a comprehensive 5-year analysis showing how your appraisal value and total tax levy have changed over the years. This will increase public understanding about changes in annual tax burdens and add more accountability to the process.

Public Education

HB 3297
Requires public schools to distribute the latest campus performance rating (exemplary, recognized, academically acceptable or academically unacceptable) with a student’s first grade report, along with an explanation of the rating. It also requires a school district to provide this information on the website for each campus in their district. This will provide another means for parents and other interested parties to find out how their local schools are performing under the state accountability system.

Crime & Public Safety

HB 225
Extends the renewal time for a concealed handgun license from four to five years, which reduces the average annual cost of a license for law abiding Texans. The bill would still require licensees to attend a continuing education course in order to renew the license.

HB 322
Lowers the age requirement from 21 to 18 for members and veterans of the U.S. armed forces to obtain a concealed handgun license if the applicant had not been dishonorably discharged. The bill would also add members and veterans of the U.S. armed forces to the list of people to be charged half of the normal fee for concealed handgun licenses.

HB 2507
Clarifies that Harris County and the City of Houston have the authority to enforce existing state health and safety regulations relating to mobile food units and roadside food vendors. This will eliminate confusion over which authorities have the right to enforce these rules and will make sure that mobile food units are in compliance with existing state law regarding food preparation and sanitation.

HB 2509
Allows municipal courts to hear cases involving “curbstoning” violations in Houston. Curbstoning is the practice of illegally selling automobiles on the street curb or in parking lots. It is both a consumer protection issue and a public safety threat that creates an atmosphere that negatively affects the quality of life in our community.

Healthcare

HB 790
Requires the Department of State Health Services to expand screening of newborns to the 29 disorders recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG), instead of the eight disorders that are currently on the list. Newborn screening for these disorders is an inexpensive and easy public health service that identifies health problems that would not otherwise be apparent.

HB 1771
Creates a new model of Medicaid managed care that improves patient health and social outcomes, improves access to care, constrains health care costs, and integrates acute care and long-term care services and supports.

SB 310
Protects firefighters and emergency medical technicians by creating a presumption that certain diseases or illnesses are work-related, including heart disease, tuberculosis, respiratory illness, and cancer. This will improve firefighter and emergency personnel benefit security and shift the burden of proof away from the employee to the local government or risk pool in determining whether an employee’s illness was caused by the performance of duties.

AMENDMENT No. 3 to SB 410
This amendment was the exact language from HB 173, authored by Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) and Rep. Bohac. It protects Texans who buy prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies by allowing the Texas Board of Pharmacy to inspect pharmacies that ship prescription drugs to Texas residents. The inspection process would ensure that Texans are buying their prescription drugs from safe, reliable sources and would also ensure that drugs are FDA approved, properly handled, and safely shipped. This will mean real savings and improved safety for Texans who need help with the rising costs of prescription drugs.

Consumer Protection

HB 1130
Fights identity theft by making a privacy policy necessary when a person requires disclosure of an individual’s social security number to obtain goods or services or enter into a business transaction. This is necessary to ensure that consumers’ social security numbers are adequately protected.

HB 2223
Requires a financial institution to process checks received after an account closure as forgeries in accordance with the financial institution’s customary procedures if a victim of identity theft closed the account because of the identify theft. By alerting check payees that a check has been forged, the victim is protected against credit damage and legal actions.

Election Reform

HB 56
Helps prevent voter fraud by making it a felony offense for tampering with an electronic voting machine to change, or attempt to change, the outcome of an election. This addresses security concerns as more counties increasingly move away from the old paper ballot method and toward electronic voting.

HB 1268
Updates the Texas Voter Registration Application to help county voter registrars keep more efficient records and give the voter more information when applying to vote. It also gives the applicant a space to indicate if they are interested in serving as an election judge.

HB 1271
Provides that individuals who claim exemption from jury duty because they no longer live in the county will be placed on the voter suspense list because they have made a legal statement that they no longer meet the requirements to vote in that county.

HB 1580
Expands the period that all precinct election records are preserved from 60 days to 22 months, which is the current procedure for federal election records. This will protect the general public’s right to inspect election records and keep the preservation period for all records consistent.

Miscellaneous

HB 540
Honors President Ronald Wilson Reagan by naming a portion of U.S. Highway 290 inside Harris County the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway. Private donations will pay for the Reagan Highway project. The bill specifically states that the Texas Department of Transportation is not required to design, construct, or erect new highway signs until they receive grants or donations to cover the costs.

HB 894
Allows farmer’s markets in cities of one million or greater to have produce samples distributed to customers. This would place farmers’ markets at the same advantage as large grocery stores or supermarkets that regularly offer customers samples of produce.

HB 3560
Adjusts the boundaries of the Spring Branch Management District and makes changes to the district’s board of directors. The Spring Branch District was created during the 78th Legislature to help redevelop and revitalize Spring Branch, one of the oldest and most close-knit communities in the Houston area.

SB 399
Provides that an employee of a property owner cannot be held personally liable for code citation if the employee provides code enforcement officials with the name and address of the owner. While it is appropriate to hold the property owner responsible or liable for violations, it is wrong to hold an onsite employee personally responsible.

HJR 6
Protects the sanctity of the institution of marriage by proposing a constitutional amendment stating that marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. The proposal will be presented to Texas voters on Tuesday, November 8, 2005.

HR 2195
Recognizes October 29, 2005, as Spring Branch Day in Texas, in honor of the third annual Spring Branch Parade and Festival.

78th Legislative Session (2003)

During one of the most successful legislative sessions in decades, Bohac helped pass a balanced budget without raising taxes at a time when Texas faced a budget shortfall. He also supported significant homeowners insurance reform that led to substantial rate rollbacks for policyholders and voted for strong government reorganization measures aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing the size of government.

Serving his first term in office, Bohac had an aggressive legislative agenda and was the only freshman legislator to have authored a bill placed on the Major State Calendar of the Texas House of Representatives. The following is a list of some of the bills authored, coauthored or sponsored by Representative Dwayne Bohac during the 78th Legislative Session that were signed into law:

Property Taxes

HB 136
Permits local taxing entities to establish an ad valorem tax freeze on residence homesteads of the disabled and of the elderly and their spouses.

HB 217
Prohibits an increase in the total amount of school district ad valorem taxes that may be imposed on the residence homestead of a disabled person.

HB 3546
Establishes requirements for an organization that constructs or rehabilitates real property for affordable housing to qualify the real property for a tax exemption, protecting communities and school districts from abuse due to unfair and undeserved tax exemptions.

Public Education

HB 319
Adds the express objective of public education that educators will prepare students to be thoughtful, active citizens who appreciate the basic values of our state and national heritage and who can understand and function productively in a free enterprise society.

HB 1844
Creates a program to reimburse teachers who spend their own money to provide school supplies for the classroom.

HCR 15
Directs the State Board of Education to include personal finance knowledge among the essential knowledge and skills in the required public school curriculum.

SB 83
Requires that each public school day begin with pledges of allegiance to the U.S. and Texas flags, followed by a one-minute moment of silence.

SB 930
Adds new protections for teachers and other school professionals against frivolous lawsuits and provides ways for alternate dispute resolution.

Homeowners Insurance

HB 329
Establishes licensing requirements for mold assessors and remediators in order to address the problem of costly mold assessment and remediation expenses, as well as hazardous and inefficient extraction of mold by untrained and unlicensed mold remediators that have resulted in significant increases in homeowners’ insurance premiums.

Crime & Public Safety

HB 11
Adds to the list of terroristic threats that constitute felonies of the third degree and establishes when a murder committed in the course of a terroristic threat is considered a capital murder.

HB 3477
Allows the Governor of Texas to negotiate concealed handgun reciprocity agreements with other states, allowing licensed Texans to carry in states that meet the same level of concealed handgun standards as Texas.

SB 501
Provides uniformity and consistency in Texas’ concealed handgun license law for both licensees and law enforcement.

SB 1010
Updates public and common nuisance provisions in the law and allows a person to bring a suit to abate the use of a place as a common nuisance. Also creates a nuisance abatement fund for the City of Houston to be used for further nuisance abatement and law enforcement personnel to crack down on illegal activities such as gambling, prostitution, illegal drug use and gang activity.

Healthcare

HB 4
Tort reform measure that establishes limitations on noneconomic damages and cracks down on frivolous lawsuits are driving up the cost of healthcare.

SB 418
Establishes new prompt payment regulations for transactions between health care providers and insurers, including preferred provider organizations and health maintenance organizations.

Community Improvement

HB 3629
Creates the Spring Branch Area Community Improvement District, an economic development measure aimed at the revitalization of the Spring Branch area of west Houston.

HR 1295
Urges the City of Houston to move forward with their efforts to redevelop Long Point Road.

Election Reform

HB 1863
Protects an individual’s social security number and other personal information from being obtained by a third-party from their voter registration application.

HB 2064
Makes it easier to request an early voting ballot by mail by eliminating unnecessary provisions in the law that in the past have jeopardized senior citizens’ right to vote.