containing the committee’s findings and recommendations. These are conducted before the start of the subsequent session.
Jobs and economic growth are the top priorities as the House prepares for the 83rd Legislative Session. In a letter introducing the charges to House members and committees, Straus challenged each, and laid out the broader areas he views as being crucial to Texas’ future, including ways to: „ Attract more manufacturing jobs and build on economic development efforts;
„ Enhance public and higher education; „ Improve wildfire response and address water needs made more critical by the drought;
„ Improve the state’s transportation infrastructure;
„ Reduce state debt; and „ Make government more efficient and effective.
The House committees will conduct comprehensive studies of the issues outlined in the interim charges during
the 15 months between now and the next legislative session. Each committee is required to submit a final report no later than December 1, 2012. The findings often form the basis of legislation to be considered during the next legislative session beginning in January 2013.
The interim charges are developed in two ways: „ Members of the Legislature submit priorities for study, and
„ The Speaker includes his own priorities for review.
Each of the House’s standing committees study specific areas of potential or needed Texas public policy. The charges also include areas of special focus driven by pressing current events, such as the ongoing drought and its impact on the state water plan, which will be reviewed by the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In addition to charges for each of the standing committees of the Texas House, Speaker Straus also identified
two comprehensive charges that every substantive committee is to consider during the interim. These charges focus on economic growth by: „ Improving the state’s manufacturing capability; and
„ Finding ways to increase transparency, accountability and efficiency in state government.
For a full list of the 82nd interim charges, visit:
www.house.state.tx.us/members/ speaker/#interim-charges.
November 8, 2011 Election Update
The December magazine will include all the developments for the November 8 election including the City of Houston elected council members and numerous other seats across the counties. There is also a chance that several positions might result in a run-off, so please be ready to return to the polls again if need be! Please review the GHBA weekly e-newsletter for the most current information and updates.
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