Texas Legislation Affecting Nonprofit Organizations Approaches Session’s End

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85th Texas Legislature, 2017 Regular Session
As of April 30, 2017

• Legislators race to the finish of session: 

With four weeks remaining in the 85th regular session, legislators are scrambling to get bills passed in their house and quickly referred to a friendly committee in the other house for quick action. There are now more than 7,000 bills and resolutions on file, depending on how you count them. Bills that passed one house but are not moving this week in the other house are likely dead “by the clock” for this session, unless the legislator is skillful in attaching the key elements of a short bill onto a compatible bill that is moving through the process and to final passage.

> Read and print the full summary here. [Read more…]

First Summary of Bills in the 2017 Texas Legislature Affecting Nonprofit Organizations

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Bill filing deadline has passed on the “60th day” of session:

A first snapshot of the variety of issues before the 2017 Texas Legislature is now available.  The 60th day has passed, which is the last day for senators and representatives to file bills.  There are now more than 7,000 bills and resolutions on file, depending on how you count them.  A bill may have a duplicate or companion bill filed in the other chamber, but there remain millions of lines of legislative text to manage before adjournment on May 29. [Read more…]

Observing Texas lobbying and campaign regulations

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State associations and activist nonprofit organizations must be familiar with the Texas regulatory environment governing lobbying, campaign or election activities during this lively election year and the coming 85th Texas legislative session in January 2017.

Avoiding violations of these laws and regulations was the subject of a presentation on August 26 at the State Bar of Texas 14th Annual Governance of Nonprofit Organizations course. Read the presentation summary here. [Read more…]

Texas Legislature’s “interim committee” work picks up in 2016 — stay informed

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Much of the preparation and work for the 2017 legislative session will be initiated during the 2016 interim period by House and Senate committees through “charges” issued by the speaker and lieutenant governor. Stakeholders, advocacy groups and interested persons should monitor these committee agendas and be alert to background research, policy discussions, consensus-building and committee public hearings. These activities can result in important bill drafts that emerge full-blown early in the 2017 session, often with considerable member support. At that point, it may be too late to influence or oppose a bill or policy shift that has accrued broad support. [Read more…]

Seminar commentary on 2015 Texas legislation affecting nonprofits

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Three months after adjournment of the 2015 Texas Legislature, reflecting on issues and trends raised during the session is in order. My presentation on August 13 at the annual State Bar of Texas Governance Nonprofit Organizations seminar is available here, and it highlights these items of interest:

  • The overall regulatory environment for nonprofit entities in Texas remains “light” in comparison to other states where there are extensive annual registration or licensing requirements with fees, regulation of solicitations from the public, mandatory public disclosure of organizational finances and other state government compliance regimes.
  • There were no significant changes to the Texas Nonprofit Corporation Law in Chapter 22 of the Texas Business Organizations Code, which is the primary body of law relating to nonprofit governance and disclosure issues.
  • The legislature showed continuing interest in granting legal immunity or limiting the liability of volunteers, first responders, volunteers supervising local amateur athletic events, and licensed professionals who volunteer during a disaster response.

[Read more…]