Focus Report, Volume 83, Number 1, December 19, 2012 Page: 4
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Page 4 House Research Organization
registering and licensing roofers, placing more restrictions
in state building codes, and limiting the ability of local
jurisdictions to deviate from the state building codes.
Alcohol regulation. Lawmakers could explore
proposals to change the state's three-tier system for
manufacturing, distributing, and selling alcohol to allow
small producers of specialty beer and distilled spirits to
operate outside the system. Proposals could be made
to expand the way small brewers, brew pubs, and craft
distillers are allowed to make their products available to
consumers.
Occupational licensing. The 83rd Legislature
may consider proposals to reduce certain occupational
licensing requirements or to streamline the process for
obtaining licenses. Under some proposals, licensing
would be limited to occupations that affect the health and
safety of consumers. Lawmakers could examine reducing
some felony violations of licensing requirements to lesser
penalties or revising them to civil penalties.
Legal status of workers. Proposals may emerge
to require all employers to use the federal E-Verify system
to determine if potential employees are allowed by law to
work in the United States. Some would require only public
employers, such as the state and political subdivisions, to
use the system, while others would include contractors and
subcontractors doing business with public employers.
Gambling. The Texas Lottery Commission will
undergo Sunset review during the 2013 session. Legislators
may consider recommendations to expand the size of the
three-member commission and to require full commission
approval of major contracts.
Lawmakers may consider authorizing casino gaming
in Texas as a way to raise new state revenue. Setting an
election on whether to authorize casinos could be debated,
as well as details on casino proposals, including who would
be allowed to operate them, where they could be built, and
how they would be taxed. Lawmakers also may consider
allowing casino gaming, such as slot machines, at existing
pari-mutuel racetracks, bingo halls, and facilities operated
by Texas' Native American tribes.
Legislators might discuss the legalization, prohibition,
or state taxation of online gaming. In addition, laws
governing electronic gaming machines, also known as"eight liners," may be examined, and proposals could
emerge to legalize them, to regulate them more strictly, or
to outlaw them.
Social media. Lawmakers may consider proposals
to prevent employers from requiring employees to
grant access to their personal social media sites, such as
Facebook, as a condition of employment.
Criminal justice and public safety
The structure of the state's criminal justice agencies
will be a topic of discussion for the 83rd Legislature as the
recently established juvenile justice agency is examined
and agencies that handle adult offenders undergo Sunset
review. The projected size of offender populations could
drive budget and policy decisions about how many
facilities the state should operate and how health care
should be provided for offenders. Lawmakers may consider
new criminal offenses and changes to Texas' criminal
procedures, especially investigation techniques and
discovery for trials.
Adult prison, probation, and parole. The Texas
Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), the Board of
Pardons and Paroles, the Correctional Managed Health
Care Committee, and the Windham School District,
which operates education programs in Texas correctional
facilities, will undergo Sunset review in 2013.
Offender populations. In September 2011, TDCJ
closed the Central Prison Unit in Sugar Land, which
housed about 1,060 offenders. Closing more units may be
discussed, taking into account the LBB's projection of the
size of the offender population. At the end of November
2012, TDCJ was holding 151,988 offenders with the
operating capacity to hold about 3,600 more individuals.
Prison health care. Lawmakers may address the
provision of health care for the state's offender population.
The 82nd Legislature reduced funding for health and
psychiatric care for adult offenders by $75 million,
or 8 percent, for the current biennium and transferred
responsibility for contracting with providers to TDCJ from
the Correctional Managed Care Committee.
The Legislature could consider whether to continue
contracting with the University of Texas Medical Branch
at Galveston and the Texas Tech University Health SciencePage 4
House Research Organization
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Research Organization. Focus Report, Volume 83, Number 1, December 19, 2012, periodical, December 19, 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth578581/m1/4/: accessed June 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.