AGC-TBB Capitol Roundup

May 2, 2023

With less than one month remaining in the Texas legislative session, AGC-Texas Building Branch priorities continue to move forward.

Sen. Brandon Creighton

Making Owners responsible for Owner-caused delays on public projects

HB 2265 by Rep. Jeff Leach passed House committee on a 9-0 vote and is scheduled for a House floor vote on Thursday, May 4. Senator Bryan Hughes is carrying the bill in the Senate. The bill would place risks for Owner-caused delays on Owners, not on Contractors.

Rep. Dustin Burrows

Removing the certificate of merit requirement for 3^rd party claims on design-build projects

HB 2007 by Rep. Mando Martinez passed the House 146-0 and has been set for hearing in the Senate, where it’s being carried by Senator Tan Parker. The bill would remove the insurance dilemma created by having to get “certificates of merit” against members of the same design-build team for 3^rd party claims on public projects.

Sen. Judith Zaffirini

School background checks for construction workers on K-12 projects

HB 4123 by Rep. Ryan Guillen passed House committee on a 7-0 vote and is waiting to be scheduled for a House floor vote. Senator Judith Zaffirini is carrying the bill in the Senate. The bill would fix the issue where contractors can no longer access the criminal background database (as required by state law) due to the results of an FBI audit disallowing that access.

State pre-emption of local anti-contractor ordinances

HB 2127 by Rep. Dustin Burrows passed the Texas House 92-55 and has been heard in the Senate, where it’s being carried by Senator Brandon Creighton. Also, SB 130 by Senator Donna Campbell passed the Texas Senate 19-12 and is waiting to be heard in the House, where it’s being carried by Rep. Cody Vasut. Both bills would prohibit cities and counties from regulating contractors’ scheduling, employment leave and benefits, hiring practices, etc.—and end the statewide patchwork of conflicting local regulations.

Significant funding for workforce/vocational training

Hundreds of millions of dollars for community colleges and Texas State Technical College are moving through the Legislature to train the workforce our industry needs. SJR 81 by Senator Brian Birdwell passed the Senate 30-0 and is waiting to be heard in the House, where it’s being carried by Rep. Terry Wilson. HB 8 by Rep. Gary Van Deaver passed the House 145-1 and has been heard in the Senate, where it’s being carried by Senator Creighton.

Rep. Ryan Guillen

THANK YOU to all the AGC Texas building chapters and their members for sending timely calls and emails into legislators and their staff to communicate our industry’s positions on these issues—and dozens of other issues important to commercial construction.