Officials from the Texas House of Representatives held a public hearing for a new bill that aims to redirect 25% of Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s sales tax revenues back to its member cities. The bill was left pending in committee after the hearing.
The house also voted on new legislation that would create a state cyber command responsible for cybersecurity matters across the state. That bill was packaged and sent to the Texas Senate after the third reading and record vote.
Catch up on five bills filed by DFW-area lawmakers for the 89th legislative session. The legislature’s last day in session is scheduled June 2.
1. Officials talk DART funding during public hearing
Texas lawmakers heard testimony from dozens on a bill that could potentially redirect 25% of DART’s sales tax revenues back to its member cities.
The house’s Transportation Committee held a public hearing for House Bill 3187 on April 24 that featured more than 2.5 hours of testimony provided by officials and residents from across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. North Texas officials who spoke during the hearing included representatives from DART, and the cities of Plano and Richardson.
HB 3187, a bill filed by Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, seeks to mandate that 25% of Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s sales tax revenue is made available to its member cities for general mobility improvements.
Shaheen filed the bill in February and opened the public hearing with a description of what the bill aims to accomplish. Shaheen said the transit authority is bringing financial harm to many of its member cities.
He referenced the study completed by Ernst and Young Infrastructure Advisors in 2024 which found that multiple member cities contributed more sales tax revenue in 2023 than operations, capital and interest expenses cost to maintain transit service in those cities.
“Because of DART’s unwillingness to address these overpayments, I have filed HB 3187 that provides a legislative fix to these imbalances DART refuses to fix.”
Nadine Lee, DART’s president and CEO testified against the bill saying taxpayers have voted twice to invest billions of dollars into the transit authority’s system, referencing elections that came in 1983 when DART was first formed and in 2000 when the voters approved $2.9 billion in long-term financing for system expansion.
Defunding DART by 25% in perpetuity will reduce available revenue for transit investments by $7 billion over a 20-year period, she said. DART officials project “devastating” cuts for the entire system’s maintenance and overhead times, she said.
“That will create a downward spiral until the entire system collapses,” she said.
2. House to vote on Frisco lawmaker’s social media bill
House Bill 186 is headed to the house floor for a second reading after the Trade, Workforce and Economic Development Committee approved a committee substitute bill in early April.
The bill was filed by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, and aims to prohibit social media use for children under the age of 18. During a March 19 committee meeting, Patterson said it was “the most important bill” that he would present this session.
“After researching and participating in study committees in this body, I firmly believe that social media is the most harmful product that our kids have legal access to in Texas,” he said.
The bill is scheduled for a second reading April 29. Representatives can debate the bill and suggest amendments before the house records a vote. Then the bill will be scheduled for a third reading and record vote.
If approved by the house, the Texas Senate and signed into law, the bill would require age verification for all social media platforms and prevent anyone under the age of 18 from creating an account. Parents of children with social media accounts would also be able to request the social media company delete their child’s data and information, according to the bill.
3. State cybersecurity command approved by the House
The House voted in April on new legislation that would create a state cyber command responsible for cybersecurity matters across the state. The bill was engrossed and received in the Texas Senate after the record vote that was taken April 16.
House Bill 150, filed by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, would create a “Texas Cyber Command” out of the University of Texas at San Antonio. The command would take over many digital security responsibilities currently held by the Texas Department of Information Resources.
The command would also expand cybersecurity training requirements and move Texas into an "operational posture" with a new threat intelligence center, critical incident response unit and digital forensic lab, Capriglione said.
4. Library advisory council bill referred to education committee in the House
Senate Bill 13, which was co-authored by Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, was received and read on the house floor before it was referred to the Public Education Committee. The bill has not been scheduled on the committee's calendar yet.
If signed into law, the bill would mandate the formation of a local school library advisory council to assist school district officials in managing the school library's material catalogue. The council would be made up of local community members appointed by the school district’s board of trustees.
The bill was amended in the senate to specify the advisory council shall meet at least twice a year and any other times as necessary complete its duties.
The bill states the advisory council could only make recommendations that were in accordance with existing library standards under the state Education Code. Instructional material would not be affected.
5. Cancer screening bill for firefighters stalls in Calendars Committee
A bill that would require political subdivisions to offer free occupational cancer screenings for firefighters is stalled in the house’s Calendars Committee.
Rep. Ben Bumgarner, R-Flower Mound, filed House Bill 198 in November which was then referred to the subcommittee on county and regional government. The committee passed the bill without any amendments onto the Calendars committee to be scheduled for a second reading in the House.
The committee voted to not place the bill on the house calendar in April.
If approved by the house, the senate and signed into law, the bill would require cancer screenings for each firefighter after five years of employment. The firefighters will be allowed another free round of cancer screenings once every three years after the initial screening, according to the bill.
The occupational cancer screening must be confidential and test for each type of cancer, including:
- Colorectal cancer
- Prostate cancer, if applicable
- Lung cancer
- Brain cancer
