So, the session will finally get going. It’s been going, but it will now really get going. The jigsaw puzzle that is naming the House committees is always a thing, and it is even more of a thing when you have a new Speaker and 52 (count ‘em) House members vote against the winner. The Speaker and his team addressed that unique situation in an interesting way, reaching across the divide by giving important positions (read: chairs) to some of those who voted against him, employing veteran legislators in key areas, and doling out workhorse committee spots to some of his more vocal opponents.

The Speaker also seems to have established a potentially effective floor leadership group that will make itself felt as the session progresses. For those of us who appreciate stability and predictability these actions have been well-received. Having an idea about what to expect is always a good thing. It does not mean you always get what you want, but maybe we will get what we need (paraphrasing Mick a bit).

With the naming of committees, bill referrals, and hearings in the House will soon begin. We can also expect the bill filing pace to pick up, even though we are already at around 4,600 bills filed (House and Senate) as of Friday November 21. When talking to staff, rumor is there are probably still around 7,000 bills yet to be filed. Filing deadline is Friday March 14, so there is plenty of time for many more important pieces of legislation to drop. I do remember when 3,500 bills were considered a “busy” session. Oh, for days long past . . .

The Senate is going full blast working to pass the Lt. Governor’s priority bills, several of which have already been heard in committee and passed on the Senate floor, including the Education Savings Acct (Vouchers) an increase in the Homestead exemption ($140K) and bail reform. It is probably safe to say that the House version of these bills will look somewhat to completely different, so stay tuned. As an aside, the Senate has always organized itself at the beginning of the session, more quickly than the House, so this pace is not completely unheard of.

Of particular interest to those of us working around the Licensing and Administrative Procedures committee is the new membership. A new Chairman (former Speaker Dade Phelan) and eight new members, including former member Charlie Geren who was off the committee last session and freshman John McQueeney from Fort Worth. A side note, not many freshmen get on LAP. Representative McQueeney is in the Chicken Express business. The total membership of the committee was also increased from 11 to 13 members.

The number of alcohol related bills is greatly reduced from previous sessions (at this point). Very few, of what most would consider, controversial alcohol bills have been filed. We are still waiting on the expected legislation resulting from the TABC wine study that was the focus of much of the wine industry during this past interim. I do expect that to change now that we know the membership of the House LAP committee.

An issue that seems of universal interest this session is water. This is not a new problem, certainly our grape growers in the High Plains understand the increasing scarcity and expense of water. The Ogallala aquifer, from which much of the water utilized on the High Plains for all agriculture is pumped, is slow to recharge and continuous and expanded use over the last 100 years have lowered the water table to the point that, in some cases, the water can be too expensive to withdraw.

We have already seen how lack of water impacts the local agriculture economy. I can remember when citrus was a massively important crop in South Texas. The so called “winter garden” of Texas. Citrus plays a much smaller role in the south Texas economy then it once did. Water scarcity is part of the reason. Another example was the closing of our last sugar cane processing plant in South Texas. Unable to acquire the necessary irrigation water meant that sugar cane was no longer a viable crop. Our farmers stop growing the crop and the need for the processing plant goes away.

The need to address our lack of water and the ever-increasing population needing that water seems to have finally bubbled to the surface and become of importance to more than just a hand full of legislators—a long time coming.

The whole “voucher” question may be resolved this session. Even though the Senate has passed a pretty straightforward Education Savings Account (ESA) bill, expect the House version to be a bit more nuanced and connected to significantly increased public education funding. Hashing out those differences will not be straightforward or easy, expect that discussion to continue throughout the remainder of the session.

I encourage everyone to take advantage of the upcoming TWGGA conference in San Marcos on March 3 and 4 and the TWGGA day at the Capitol on March 13. Both of these events are important to the industry and the overall success and long-term viability of the Texas wine industry, I look forward to seeing you at both events.

—TWGGA Legislative Advocate Kyle Frazier