The 88th legislative session ends May 29, and the pace is already picking up.
Bills are going before committees in both the House and Senate before some are voted on by the entire chamber. Lawmakers have proposed thousands of bills related to K-12 and higher education, border security, taxes and other issues.
Throughout this legislative process, members of the public have various opportunities to provide comments on the bills they care about. And you鈥檝e heard it repeated often: Contact your representative; make your voice heard. But how exactly does one do that when the Texas Legislature is in session?
Megan Menchaca, who covers higher education for the Austin American-Statesman, said . The first step is to find out when the bill is going to be heard in a committee hearing, she said.
This information is available at the . Click on the 鈥渃ommittee meetings鈥� under either the House or the Senate 鈥� depending on where your bill of interest is 鈥� to find details about when it will be discussed, and if they鈥檙e taking public testimony.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e interested in following a specific bill, you can create an account on the website to get email alerts for bills, progress or when a specific committee meeting is happening. So you鈥檒l be aware of when you鈥檒l need to attend,鈥� Menchaca said. 鈥淥nce you know when a committee is meeting, you鈥檒l want to head to the Capitol on that day and register to testify at one of the touchscreen kiosks in the Capitol extension.鈥�
If the bill you want to speak on is in the Senate, you may also have to fill out a paper witness card, but that鈥檚 a simple online process that can be done the same day, Menchaca said.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l typically get 2 to 3 minutes to testify at a committee hearing. It should say on the agenda how long people have and depends on which committee is meeting,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, after your testimony, lawmakers have the option to ask additional questions, which means you may have additional time to speak.鈥�
For those who can鈥檛 make it to Austin to testify, there is often a virtual option.
鈥淎t certain committee hearings, Texas residents can submit electronic comments on the bills listed on the meeting agenda. If that鈥檚 something you鈥檙e interested in, you can check the meeting agenda for a link to submit comments virtually,鈥� Menchaca said. 鈥淵ou can also voice your opinions by calling a lawmaker鈥檚 office at any time to register your support or opposition to a bill.鈥�
Menchaca also said that if you are unable to make a specific committee hearing but can make it to Austin, you can schedule an appointment with your representative or another lawmaker to discuss the bill and share your thoughts.
And while it is hard to predict exactly how individual testimony will impact the legislative process, it does help give lawmakers new information.
鈥泪迟 is a fact that state lawmakers just can鈥檛 be experts on every single issue that comes up before them in the dozens of committee meetings they鈥檒l attend. And they may not have considered how a bill will impact you or your community unless you speak up,鈥� Menchaca said. 鈥淓xperts on the lawmaking process told me it鈥檚 particularly valuable for legislators not just to hear whether someone agrees or disagrees with the bill and why, but to hear a personal anecdote or story that illustrates how that bill would affect them and why they care about whether it should become law or not.鈥�
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