 |
Abstract
The 78th Regular Legislative Session which ended on June 2, 2003, was a most unusual Session. It may well be remembered most for what did not pass.... school finance reform, closing tax loopholes, government reorganization, Congressional redistricting, and, of particular interest to the construction industry, a couple of very controversial construction-related proposals (see discussion under "Unfinished Business" below)... rather than for what did pass... tort reform, insurance reform, ethics reform, and a parsimonious Appropriations Bill without a tax increase (at least for now).
It was a Session in which partisan issues impacted the normal legislative process to an extent not seen in recent memory. It was a Session which began with few bills on file and much wringing of hands due to the uncertainties of the budget... and which ended with massive bills fighting to beat the clock and more wringing of hands due to tremendous uncertainty about unfinished business. It was a Session in which the once amazing feat of 11 Senators managing to hide in a garage apartment in West Austin (the infamous "Killer Bees") was surpassed by 51 House Democrats publicly hiding out in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and managing to kill Congressional redistricting (for now) and a whole lot more legislation (some good and some bad).
And, of course, the really bad news is..... it is not over. The Governor has called a Special Session to begin on June 30, 2003, to deal with Congressional redistricting. He indicated a willingness to open up the Session to other "important issues." The Governor has also indicated that he will call a Special Session later in the biennial cycle to address school finance. A Special Session on school finance will almost certainly include revenue "enhancement" and cost saving issues such as possible tax reform (or shifting) and government reorganization. One bit of good news... now that the Comptroller finally certified the Appropriations Bill , a separate Special Session this summer solely to address further budget cuts and ways to save money (i.e., more government reorganization) is almost certainly unnecessary.
The Session started slowly with only a trickle of legislation filed in its first few weeks. However, as the Session proceeded, the pace took a dramatic turn and, by the constitutional bill filing deadline on March 14, almost 5600 bills were filed in the House and Senate (slightly more than in 2001). Interestingly, less than 1400 were finally passed and sent to the Governor (down from 1600 in 2001). The statistics confirm what many lobbyists predicted... this Session was no time to try to get legislation enacted. It was an unusually tough, uphill battle this Session.
As for those bills that did manage to make it through the legislative process this past Session, the effective date for most of them will be September 1, 2003.
Below is a brief discussion of the construction-related bills that have passed both the House and the Senate and have been acted on by the Governor. Although the Governor did not repeat his record-setting veto performance of 2001, he did manage to veto a number of bills, including some construction related legislation noted below.
Following the discussion of enacted legislation, there is a discussion of several construction-related proposals or issues that were left "unfinished" (i.e., bills that died or issues that were defeated but which will almost certainly re-emerge in the Sessions ahead). See "Unfinished Business" below.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Mechanic's Liens / Bond Claims
- Residential Construction
- Public Works
- Competitive Bidding / Procurements
- Sovereign Immunity
- Prompt Pay
- Tort Reform
- Insurance
- Licensing
- Unfinished Business
- Architects and Design Professionals
- Damages
- Conclusion
|
