Bohac Bills Signed Into Law

AUSTIN - State Representative Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston) is pleased to announce that his legislative agenda adopted by the legislature has now become law after Governor Rick Perry signed off on every one of Bohac’s bills that were sent to his desk. Property tax reform, strengthening public education and neighborhood quality of life ranked at the top of Bohac’s priorities for the 79th Legislative Session.

“I am proud that many of the bills I authored were supported by my colleagues and have now become law,” Bohac said. “These are good reforms that reflect the values of my district and my belief that nothing is more important than improving our local quality of life.”

The Bohac bills that passed include a requirement that homeowners receive a five-year property tax analysis on their appraisal notice and tax bill, a measure designed to crackdown on illegal automobile sales known as “curbstoning”, and new procedures designed to increase public school accountability by keeping parents and the community better informed of how their public schools are performing under the state accountability system.

Bohac also worked with fellow lawmakers to pass major lawsuit reforms to limit frivolous asbestos and fast-food lawsuits and to enact much-needed improvements to child and adult protective services in order to strengthen investigations, improve the effectiveness of ongoing services, and support families’ rights.

As a member of the House Committee on Business and Industry, Bohac took strong action to protect Texas workers and employers by supporting an overhaul of the Texas workers’ compensation system. The new reform measures will enhance care and benefits for injured workers, encourage good doctors and health professionals to rejoin the workers’ compensation system, and cut costs for employers.

Bohac also played a key role in election law reform after being appointed by House Speaker Tom Craddick to serve as Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Elections. In addition to several election bills he passed, Bohac worked with Chairman Mary Denny (R- Flower Mound) and other committee members to reform election law to ensure that Texans are guaranteed fair and open elections as the state transitions to new federal regulations required by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

Missing from the list of Bohac bills that passed is HJR 35, a property tax relief measure that would have lowered the current 10 percent annual appraisal cap on residential property. The constitutional amendment was stopped by a legislative maneuver on the House floor designed to kill the bill before the debate was allowed to begin.

“Although property tax appraisal reform stalled during the session, I look forward to working hard over the interim to build support among fellow lawmakers and people across Texas to make it happen next time,” Bohac said. “History has shown that all major, forward-thinking bills take several sessions to earn enough support to overcome the special interests in Austin. We’re not giving up.”

The Legislature returned to the State Capitol last week for a special session on school finance and property tax relief. Both measures failed during the regular session after the House and the Senate were unable to agree upon the proposals.

“I remain hopeful that the special session will give us a chance to get the job done right,” Bohac concluded. “It’s time we fully fund our schools and give hard-working Texans the property tax relief they deserve.”

View the complete list of bills authored, coauthored or sponsored by Representative Dwayne Bohac during the 79th and 78th Legislative Sessions that have been signed into law.