The Texas legislative session convened in January and has been meeting weekly to vet the budget for the next biennium and the 6,776 bills filed. NFIB has been hard at work discussing this legislation with lawmakers and the impact it would have on you, your business, and your employees.

At the beginning of session, NFIB shared the NFIB Texas Legislative Agenda with all 181 members of the Texas Legislature and Governor Greg Abbott. This agenda is comprised of the priorities you identified in our NFIB Texas member ballot.

We’re happy to report that those priorities are making their way through the process and the “bad” bills are not. Here is a snapshot of small business priority legislation:

? SB 6, protections from pandemic liability litigation. Heard in the Senate committee. NFIB PRIORITY.

? SB 14, preempting cities from regulating private employment practices. Voted out of Senate committee. NFIB PRIORITY.

? HB 1195, making sure that small business owners who took federal PPP loan won’t be taxed on their gross receipts in TX. Voted out of the full Texas House of Representatives. NFIB PRIORITY.

? HB 19, protections from commercial vehicle litigation. Voted out of House committee. NFIB PRIORITY.

There are at least two months left in this year’s regular session, and there is much more work to be done to make sure nothing will interfere with your ability to operate your business in this state.

Please keep an eye out for NFIB Texas action alerts to encourage your legislators to support Texas’s job creators.

2021 legislative session by the numbers

Days remaining: at least 60
House bills filed: 4,606
Senate bills filed: 2,170
Bills proposing new health insurance mandates: 25
Bills proposing a higher state minimum wage: 18
Bills proposing mandatory paid leave: 5
Bills proposing mandatory scheduling requirements: 2