Dear John,

The Texas Legislature has adjourned sine die, meaning without any further date. Over the next few weeks in this multi-part Sine Die edition of the Bucy Bulletin we will cover big items like the budget, the electric grid, and the state of voting rights, as well as discuss the good, bad, and ugly of the 87th Legislative Session, highlight some of our favorite moments, and provide an update on the status of our legislative agenda.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve you, House District 136, and the people of Texas. Please do not ever hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or comments or if there is anything my office can do for you.

All the best,

John H. Bucy III

State Representative

House District 136

Now that the legislature has adjourned and we’ve had a chance to look back on all that we accomplished, I wanted to share with you what I consider The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the 87th Legislative Session.

I'm proud to have sent 11 bills to the Governor's desk, five of which have passed into law. From the work we did on elections, to passing bills supporting economic development in our local communities, and to endeavoring to save lives in future times of emergency by creating a medically fragile registry and establishing procedures for wellness checks, my team and I had a successful session standing up for House District 136 and the people of Texas. With the veto period lasting until June 20, we will be watching the final outcome of these and other measures closely.

When we came to the Capitol to begin the legislative session in January 2021, we knew we had unprecedented challenges to tackle. A global pandemic, a nationwide crisis of gun violence, systemic racism and violence, and, by February 2021, the winter storms and power outages, are among the many issues state legislators needed to address. While we ultimately won hard-fought battles on some of these issues and moved in the wrong direction on others, I am proud of the work on behalf of our community.

The Good

During the legislative session, we often focus our attention on the more controversial legislation, and with good reason. However, I wanted to take this time to update you on the many victories earned this legislative session, some of which you may not yet be aware of. This session, the legislature expanded Medicaid benefits for certain groups with the passage of H.B. 133 and H.B. 2658 (amended to include H.B. 290 by my friend Chair Phil Cortez). I was proud to co-author both of those measures after highlighting them before session in an op-ed to the Hill Country News as critical for Texas. H.B. 133 extends Medicaid eligibility for post-partum women to 6 months in order to lower maternal mortality, while H.B. 2658 reduces red tape that previously kept eligible kids off of Medicaid. We also passed H.B. 5, which will bring broadband services to rural communities. As Vice Chair of the IT Caucus I was proud to co-author and champion this legislation. I believe that rural brand is rural electrification for the 21st century.

Just as important as the good legislation we passed, we also stopped many bad bills from becoming law. H.B. 20, a bail reform bill that would have kept people in jail, never made it to the Governor’s desk. Neither did S.B. 12 – a social media censorship bill – or S.B. 14, which would have undermined the ability of cities to provide reasonable employment protections like water breaks or paid sick leave. Finally, with the help of your hard work, we were able to protect Transgender kids and stop S.B. 29, a cruel, anti-LGBTQ bill that has no place in our state.

The Bad

Despite all the good we accomplished this legislative session, we also had our share of missed opportunities. None come to mind more so than the failure, once again, to expand Medicaid across the state. While I filed H.J.R 24 and H.B. 398 to allow the people to Texas to vote on Medicaid expansion, it never got a hearing. We constantly hear how there are millions of Texans without healthcare, or with healthcare they cannot afford to use, while leading the nation with a double-digit rate of uninsured children. We know that many Texans struggle with mental health issues, or with an opioid addiction, but don’t have the healthcare coverage to address this. We also see that rural communities rarely have access to quality hospitals. Meanwhile, there are federal funds available to us to fix these problems, but we’ve chosen not to accept them. It is unfortunate that we will continue to watch other states benefit from Medicaid expansion while our tax dollars contribute to the program.

I am also disappointed by our shortcomings in addressing the state’s energy grid and ensuring Texans’ safety in the face of environmental crises. While we made some progress requiring power companies to winterize facilities and creating a necessary statewide alert system, we failed to provide relief to Texans who lost so much in the February winter storms and power outages. We had the opportunity to prioritize the recovery and protection of all Texans in the wake of COVID-19 and the winter storms, but I believe we fell short of what was necessary.

The Ugly

Finally, no recap of the 87^th Legislative Session is complete without a run through of the bad policy that made it to the Governor’s desk. Texas took a huge step backward with the passage of S.B. 8, one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. This bill makes abortion illegal even before doctors say a pregnancy can be reasonably known. I am also ashamed to see the passage of H.B. 1927, which allows for the permitless carry of firearms in any location by anyone 21 years or older. This bill is especially disgraceful given the many requests we’ve received from Texans to act on gun violence.

After months of discussion about how best to address police reform and ensure public safety, we failed to pass H.B. 88, known as the George Floyd Act, by Chair Senfronia Thompson. This necessary bill would have banned chokeholds, provided for better disciplinary procedures and misconduct standards, and ended qualified immunity. Instead, this Legislature passed H.B. 3979, a bill that prohibits our school teachers from having an honest conversation about American history with our kids.

H.B. 1925, which does nothing to help our homeless neighbors but rather criminalizes their very existence, has also been sent to the Governor’s desk. This bill is one of many designed to punish local jurisdictions seeking to respond to their constituents’ preferences.

This session we filed 57 bills dealing with the winter storm, public education, and voting rights as well as constituent matters such as healthcare for medically fragile kids, taxes and affordability for seniors, and cannabis reform. We also worked with our local jurisdictions on bills to support jobs and economic development in House District 136.

We were proud to pass or amend into other legislation 11 bills that we have sent to the Governor's desk. Of them, so far, five are now law or will be effective on September 1st. You can read more about these bills below as well as explore the full list of legislation we filed this session.

H.B. 3711 - Medically Fragile Registry: Uses the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR) to create a medically fragile registry, including those with Alzheimer’s, dependent on oxygen, who receive dialysis, with debilitating chronic illnesses, or who have medical conditions that require 24-hour supervision from a skilled nurse, and establishes procedures for wellness checks in times of disaster. Amended into S.B. 968 by Chair Kolkhorst, which was sent to the Governor on June 1st.

H.B. 1935 - Kevin's Law: Would allow pharmacies to provide a refill for up to 30 days worth of insulin, insulin-related equipment or supplies, or glucose monitors on an emergency basis if they cannot get ahold of the prescribing physician. Sent to the Governor on May 31st.

H.B 1014 - Student ID Hotline: Requires public school ID cards to have the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Crisis Text Line printed on them, starting in 6th grade. Also allows institutes of higher education to include contact information for campus police departments or health clinics. Amended into S.B. 279 by Sen. Hinojosa, which was sent to the Governor on June 1st.

H.B. 1382 - Ballot By Mail Tracker: Requires the Secretary of State to create an online, state-wide tracker for applications and ballots by mail, similar to how you would track a package. Also includes provisions from H.B. 3527, which I also authored, related to timely data uploads by counties to the SOS to ensure the tracker's full functionality. Signed into law by the Governor on June 7th.

H.B. 1472 - CONCACAF Gold Cup: Adds the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Gold Cup to the list of events eligible for the Major Events Reimbursement Program. Part of the Gold Cup will be held at Q2 stadium in Austin this summer. Passed into law on May 15th and effective immediately.

H.B. 1851 - Leander HOT Revenue: Would permit the City of Leander to keep a larger portion of the Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue collected in the city for the purposes of local economic development and job creation. Amended into H.B. 4103 by Chair Burrows, which was sent to the Governor on June 1st.

H.B. 4638 - Leander Municipal Management District: Creates a Municipal Management District for the City of Leander to help facilitate infrastructure improvements and services to accommodate growth. Sent to the Governor on June 1st.

H.B. 1863 - Make-A-Wish License Plate: Would allow a speciality license plate to be created and purchased by Texas consumers where a portion of the fee would go to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sent to the Governor on May 31st.

H.B. 1936 - Special Forces License Plate: Would allow a speciality license plate to be created for and issued to members or veterans of the United States armed services who have earned Special Forces qualifications. Signed into law by the Governor on June 7th.

H.B. 2860 - Local Election Info Online: Requires local entities to post notices of election, including what is on the ballot and where the polling places are, as well as detailed election results, on their respective websites. Amended into S.B. 1116 by Sen. Bettencourt, which was signed into law by the Governor on June 8th.

H.B. 3527 - VBM and EDay Data Uploads: Built on legislation from last session to ensure timely upload of ballot by mail data by county early voting clerk's to the Secretary of State. Requires that counties must start uploads once any mail ballot has been received, Election Day rosters to be sent by the next day, and rosters of any ballots by mail from after Election Day but before the deadline to be uploaded no later than the 20th day after local canvass. Amended in full into H.B. 1382, our Ballot By Mail Tracking bill, which was signed into law by the Governor on June 7th.

After Dramatic Walkout, a New Fight Looms Over Voting Rights in Texas - The New York Times

As conservative bills pick up steam, Democrats plan to put up a fight before midnight deadline in Texas House - KXAN

Case of Crystal Mason, sentenced to 5 years in prison for voter fraud, looms over Texas Republican push to stiffen voting laws - Austin American-Statesman

Texas Was 'Not Prepared' To Care For Medically Vulnerable People During the Severe Weather, Lawmaker Says - KUT

State leaders push for post-storm reform bills - Community Impact

Texas to submit waiver application to extend Medicaid services - KXAN

The Inside Story: How House Democrats Tempered a GOP Bill That Makes It Harder to Vote - Texas Monthly

Texas lawmakers worry permitless carry will succeed in the Senate - CBS Austin

Texas Dems call for cancellation of STAAR test after TEA says it must be taken in person - CBS Austin

State Rep. John Bucy: ‘In a state that relies on big business, we need their voice’ on election legislation - KXAN

Texas lawmaker says state failed to help most vulnerable after neighbor dies without access to dialysis - KXAN

Texas state legislators file bills looking to expand voting by mail - KVUE 

Texas lawmakers look to overhaul state liquor laws - Tyler Morning Telegraph

Political advertising paid for by John Bucy Campaign, Hon. Heather Jefts, treasurer.