At Senate Health and Human Services, Bills Get a Second Chance at Passage

by

As it turns out, there is life after death. A handful of health and human service bills that passed unanimously in the state Senate last session but died in the House got a second chance Tuesday.

At the first Senate Health and Human Services committee hearing, chaired by Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, senators didn’t raise any opposition to the bills, which covered a range of topics, from the transportation of mentally ill patients to how the Department of Family and Protective Services investigates alleged abuse or neglect of elderly or disabled adults.

Committee members unanimously voted to send 10 out of the 13 bills to the full Senate local and consent calendar. Nelson, who laid out seven of her own bills, held back three pieces of legislation because of their negative fiscal notes and told members to “beware” of bills that come with a price tag, a nod to the $27 billion shortfall lawmakers must grapple with this session.
The next meeting, which Nelson anticipates will happen in early March, will address issues discussed during the interim session. The committee will then take up bills not passed unanimously in the Senate last session and then finally new bills.

is an Observer reporter (and former intern) covering women's health, reproductive health and health care access across the Lone Star State. Before joining the Observer, she was a staff news writer at the San Antonio Current. She holds an MA in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and BA in journalism and Spanish from UT-Arlington, where she worked for three years on her college newspaper. After graduate school, she dipped her toe in public policy communications at the Center for Public Policy Priorities. When she's not at work, she's probably training for her next marathon. You can contact her at [email protected].

You May Also Like