Several news sources have reported that the House and Senate have come to a budget agreement that will allow the House to finally take-up the fiscal matters bill (SB 1811) today. A part of the ongoing drama includes the 200+ amendments to SB 1811 that have been pre-filed, many of which are controversial and difficult votes for members. We have reviewed all of these amendments and there are several that we support or oppose.  A component of the deal that cleared the way for today’s debate was a request that House members strip their amendments off the bill so that it can move forward.  At this point, it’s unclear if all House members will comply with that request so we have posted our positions on the pre-filed amendments below in the event that any of them are actually debated.

Supported Amendments:

• Page 203, by Hardcastle, Appropriates funding for the umbilical cord blood bank.
• Page 261, by Farias, Asks the comptroller to conduct a study of the number of taxpayers eligible to claim the federal earned income tax credit who do not claim the credit.
• Page 280-284, by Guillen, Develop and implement a training program for corrections medication aides that uses a curriculum specific to administering medication in a correctional settings. Also, when monitoring quality of care delivered by health care providers, it requires the department to ensure that the quality of care provided by a licensed facility and a non-licensed facility that is substantially similar.
• Page 317, by Madden, Makes over-the-counter medication available for purchase by inmates and prohibits the departments from denying an inmate access to over the-counter medication as a result of the inmate's inability to pay.
• Page 412-413, by Otto, Allows Texas Enterprise funds to be used for the Texas Homeless Housing and Services program (HHSP).
• Page 501-502, by Christian, Prohibits tax funded abortion at hospital districts. In the event of medical emergencies, physicians must certify the nature of the medical emergency and submit the specific medical condition to the Department of State Health Services. Also prohibits hospital districts from contributing to organizations, agencies, or entities that provide for or refer for abortion or abortion-related services.
• Page 513, by Crownover, Prohibits smoking in public places and allows owners, operators, and managers of establishments, facilities, or outdoor areas to declare the entire area as a nonsmoking place.
• Page 765, by King, Phil, Authorizes a study by the Supreme Court of the amount of public funds used to pay guardian ad litem attorneys to represent minors seeking judicial bypass from parental consent for abortion.

Opposed Amendments:

• Page 285-287, by Taylor, Requires verification of immigration status for certain benefits programs, including CHIP and nutrition assistance. It also allows for verification of the applicant's sponsorship information after the applicant is determined eligible and begins to receive benefits and allows for the commission to seek reimbursement from the sponsor.
• Page 348-353, by Kleinschmidt, Expands gambling by creating an instant-ticket lottery game
• Page 479-481, by Berman, Requires state to conduct business in English only.
• Page 498-499, by Taylor, Allows hospitals that provide health care services to a sponsored immigrant to costs to seek reimbursement from the sponsor.
• Page 671, by Elkins, Allows "leaseback" lending, which is an unfair lending practice.