Bills Gone Wild!

With the hot, bicameral action under the dome more than half-spent, it's time to fix our lens on some of the smaller, scrappier pieces in the shadows of school finance and property tax legislation. So we offer a tantalizing tease, by no means exhaustive, of what we hope will play out (or get played) during the 79th's waning days. Names in parentheses after the bill numbers refer to the bill's author(s).

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BAD

• HB 8 (Nixon) and SB 15 (Janek): Buzz term extraordinaire "tort reform" rears its ugly head again in limiting asbestos lawsuits by arbitrarily placing medical conditions on would-be litigants. These bills effectively say "you must be this close to death to sue." Additionally, the bill applies retroactively, so those who've had cases held up by insurers for years will have to wait even longer. By then, who knows – there might not be any lawsuits left! HB 8 has been pending since March 16; SB 15 received public testimony April 11.

• HB 1706 (Denny): From the GOP's point person on voter intimidation comes legislation mandating voters to bring a photo ID or two forms of nonpicture identification to the polls. Aside from elongating the process, the effect would be most detrimental to the poor, disabled, and elderly. Similar Republican muck clogging the pipeline includes HBs 1402 and 1293. The committee report on HB 1706 was sent to Calendars April 7.

• HB 1469 (Corte): This medically inaccurate anti-abortion bill is a real doozy, as it forces debunked information linking abortion with breast cancer, as well as forcing guilt-inducing measures onto patients a full day before the procedure can be completed. Aside from the bill's barefaced obtrusiveness, the 24-hour waiting period will seriously impact the young and poor traveling out of town for this most personal of decisions. The bill was scheduled for public hearing April 13.

• HB 789 (King): A boon to those poor, beleaguered telecom providers – all three of them, or so – this bill bars municipalities from setting up their own Wi-Fi Internet networks. HB 789 disregards the debate over whether Internet access is a utility or a luxury like cable by preventing smaller and rural counties from providing Web access. The bill last passed out of the House and was referred to Senate Business and Commerce early this month.

• HB 2758 (Bonnen) and SB 1542 (Armbrister) limit public input in Texas Commission on Environmental Quality hearings. Aside from denying due process on hotly contested enviro issues, the bill could conceivably clog courts with challenges. HB 2758 was last pending in committee; SB 1542 had a public hearing April 12.

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GOOD

• HB 1656 (Villarreal) seals loopholes in Texas' waste importation compact by limiting the import of radioactive waste to Texas' original partners, Maine and Vermont. Last summer, the governor's office drafted a report paving the way to import limitless amounts of nuke waste from outside the state. Also, HCR 85 (Gallego) asks the lieutenant governor and speaker to appoint a committee to study issues relating to the importation of radioactive waste into Texas. Last month, lawmakers referred 1656 to Environmental Regulation and HCR 85 to Energy Resources.

• HB 1348 (Eiland) is intended to end any shadowy political action committee activities funded by big business, like the Tom DeLay-fueled TRMPAC follies. The bill, from Todd Smith as well as Eiland, spells out finance definitively, so no last-ditch negative campaigning can be financed under the auspices of administrative cost. The bill is scheduled for public hearing today, April 14.

• SB 604 (Ellis): With unprecedented secrecy at the White House oozing down to state government under cover of security, and selective prosecution of leaks run amok (last I heard, Robert Novak was still at large), Ellis has proposed a "shield law" protecting journalists from revealing their sources in most cases. SB 604 was last heard in public April 7.

• SB 87 (King) streamlines the reparations process for individuals wrongly imprisoned by waiving the requirement that the district attorney in the case sign a certification of innocence, something Texas "tough-on-crime" prosecutors are loath to do. Legislators passed SB 87 out of the Senate and into the House early this month.

• HB 658 (Naishtat) is a simple, straightforward bill that allows seriously ill individuals' medical situations to temper prosecution if they're found in possession of marijuana. It also prohibits law enforcement agencies from investigating doctors who discuss marijuana's therapeutic values with their patients. HB 658 was last seen left pending in committee.

• HB 173 (Hochberg): Instead of sending cost-conscious Texans into the wilderness of online pharmacies, Hochberg's bill would create a licensing agency to safely regulate Canadian Internet pharmacies. The bill would mandate a set, 30-day price list, as well as call for random inspections. No Cialis or Viagra here. Unfortunately, the bill has not moved since January.

• SB 836 (Duncan) and HB 1798 (Swinford): Duncan's bill would quadruple the amount of renewable energy to be used in Texas by 2009, from 2,880 megawatts to a 10,880-megawatt standard by 2015. Swinford's bill is similar. SB 836 has been pending in committee since April 5; HB 1798 since March 30. Also pending are ambitious sister bills HB 2692 (Gallego) and SB 1075 (Zaffirini) – to increase the amount of energy from renewable sources to 20% of the total by 2020.

GOOD GONE BAD

• SB 747 (Carona) substantially increases a Medicaid waiver for poor Texas women seeking access to preventative health care. This would mean increased coverage for physicals, screenings for cervical cancer, breast cancer, STDs, and more. However, an amendment from Dr. (and Sen.) Robert Deuell, R-Greenville and graduate of the Bill Frist Medical School of Quackery, needlessly prohibits abortions, since using state funds for such is already prohibited. But in doing so, the amendment also shuts out major health providers like Planned Parenthood. SB 747 passed out of the Senate, oozing to the House April 8. – Wells Dunbar