Representative Dustin Burrows Votes To Strengthen Statewide Disaster Response & Recovery

With support from State Representative Dustin R. Burrows (HD83) the Texas House of Representatives today passed a series of bills to rebuild communities, strengthen infrastructure, mitigate flooding and ensure the State of Texas is better prepared to respond to future natural disasters.

“Today’s legislation fulfills a majority of the recommendations made by the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas and addresses the critical issues coastal Texans have faced in the months since Hurricane Harvey made landfall,” said Representative Burrows.

The emergency response package includes:

House Bill 5 – Addressing Debris Removal and Management
One of the most difficult challenges the state and local jurisdictions faced during the recovery after Hurricane Harvey was debris removal. House Bill 5 directs the Texas Department of Emergency management (TDEM) to create a catastrophic debris management plan for local use as well as improving contracting for debris removal. Establishing a debris management plan allows local communities to deliver quicker responses. Additionally, this simplifies the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursing process.

House Bill 6 – Specialized Assistance for Individuals and Communities
Recovery efforts were identified as the weakest phase of the emergency management cycle in Texas. House Bill 6 would task TDEM with developing a Disaster Recovery Task Force to provide specialized assistance to support those with financial issues as well as federal assistance programs. The Task Force would also focus on recovery and resiliency planning to streamline and expedite recovery at the local level. The Task Force would operate from the beginning of a disaster through the long-term recovery period which would provide significant support for smaller communities. The mission of the Task Force is to strengthen recovery functions while utilizing resources of institutions of higher education, state agencies and organized volunteer groups.

House Bill 13 – Flood Infrastructure Fund
After a major flooding event like Hurricane Harvey, federal funds are appropriated to the state for mitigation projects. However, many counties and cities aren’t able to provide the 35% of local matching funds, which is why House Bill 13 creates the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF). FIF is a statewide cooperative effort for regional flood planning, mitigation and infrastructure projects to make Texas “future-proof”.

House Joint Resolution 4
Proposes a constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the Flood Infrastructure Fund to assist in the financing of drainage, flood mitigation and flood control projects.

Ten additional bills were passed to directly address the recommendations made by the Commission to Rebuild Texas, including, HB 2305, HB 2310, HB 2315, HB 2320, HB 2325, HB 2330, HB 2335, HB 2340, HB 2345 and HB 2708.

Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick And Speaker Bonnen Release Joint Statement

Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen today released the following joint statement:

“Texans are fed up with skyrocketing property taxes. At the beginning of the legislative session, the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker laid out an agenda for property tax relief through the passage of Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2 to limit property tax growth. In addition to that effort, today we are introducing a sales tax proposal to buy down property tax rates for all Texas homeowners and businesses, once Senate Bill 2 or House Bill 2 is agreed to and passed by both Chambers. If the one-cent increase in the sales tax passes, it will result in billions of dollars in revenue to help drive down property taxes in the short and long term.”

Rep. Dustin Burrows Introduces Legislation Related to Wayfair Decision and Third Party Sellers

Legislation will help level the playing field between Texas small businesses and national (remote) sellers

Today, Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) filed House Bill 1525 which would ease the administrative burden on small to medium-sized remote sellers that are using the national providers’ platforms by requiring the providers to collect sales tax. This would accelerate collection of taxes that are currently due under Texas law on sales of taxable items by remote sellers. This administrative change could potentially mean an additional $300 million in state and local sales tax revenue for Texas in the first full fiscal year of collections. Currently, national marketplace providers have no responsibilities related to the taxes due on sales made by third party sellers on these platforms.

In the Senate, House Bill 1525 is a companion bill of Senate Bill 890, filed by Senator Jane Nelson (R- Flower Mound).

Rep. Burrows said, “The legislation defines marketplace providers as those that own or operate a marketplace and process sales or payments for third-party sellers. Marketplace providers such as Etsy Inc., eBay, and Amazon would have all the rights and duties of a seller for sales made through the marketplace, including collection and audit responsibilities.”

Senator Nelson said, “This legislation is needed to ensure that we fairly implement the Supreme Court decision regarding online sales tax without placing an undue burden on remote sellers.”

The local tax due would be assessed on the taxable item’s destination in Texas. The proposed bills are part of a broader Texas legislative response to the June 2018 U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, which allowed states to require remote sellers, meaning those without any physical presence in a state, to collect sales tax.

“This bill is good news for Texas small businesses and retailers who comply with sales tax regulation,” said Burrows. “This bill helps level the playing field by allowing the state to require remote sellers to collect and remit taxes in much the same way it requires countless businesses large and small who have a physical presence here in Texas to act as responsible partners with the state by collecting and remitting these taxes.”

Rep. Dustin Burrows Introduces Legislation to Protect First Responders from Illegal Denials of Workers’ Compensation Insurance Claims

Today, Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) and four joint authors filed House Bill 1521 which would penalize insurers that illegally deny Texas first responders access to medical treatment for line-of- duty injuries covered under state workers’ compensation laws.

This proposed legislation would amend Section 415.021 of the Labor Code to add sanctions, administrative penalties, and other remedies, including attorney’s fees, for administrative violations by self- or collectively insured municipalities obligated to cover eligible workers’ compensation claims. The amount of the administrative penalty shall not be less than two times the total amount of benefits payable in connection with the first responder employee’s claim.

Rep. Burrows said, “The current workers compensation system for firefighters and police officers in Texas is plagued by delays and abuse. Private insurers have largely been replaced by cities that are either self-insured or in a risk pool. This has resulted in widespread denials and delays by the cities when it comes to nearly any on duty related injury or illness.”

Joint authors of HB 1521 are Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso), Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Rep. Oscar Longoria (D-La Joya), Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas).

Rep. Moody said, “Our first responders are provided workers compensation coverage in the case of an injury or illness that has occurred because of their duty. The system is doing a bad job at providing this now and HB 1521 would go a long way to push the reform needed. Abusing fire fighters and police officers by putting them through a process of denial and bureaucracy is not what was originally intended.”

Rep. Meyer said, “We must ensure that Texas first responders have access to fair and uniform workers compensation benefits consistent with the rest of the insurance industry.”

Rep. Longoria said, “The workers’ compensation system has failed too many Texas first responders, including my constituent, Homer Salinas, a Mission firefighter and cancer survivor. Homer won four rounds of workers’ comp proceedings to get his cancer treatment covered, yet he was sued by the City of Mission to reverse prior decisions in Homer’s favor. House Bill 1521 is an important step toward ensuring that our hero first responders are not denied the medical treatment they have earned through their service under Texas law. Mr. Salinas should be focused on his health and protecting his community – not fighting for benefits he’s earned.”

Rep. Leach said, “First responders are critical to the safety and security of our Texas communities. We must treat them fairly when the hazards they encounter every day in the line of duty result in injury or illness. HB 1521 clarifies current state law and holds municipalities acting as workers compensation providers to the same standard as all other insurers in the State of Texas.”

The proposed legislation is supported by the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters (TSAFF), which includes more than 18,000 professional firefighter members in 182 Texas communities.

Studies show firefighters are at increased risk for cancers and other illnesses caused by on-the-job exposure to hazardous materials. For example, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has cited the higher risks of kidney cancer that firefighters face. Chapter 607 of the Texas Government Code, Texas’ “presumptive” law, covers related medical care, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. The statute provides that Texas firefighters are entitled to receive the medical treatment they have earned as they risked their own lives protecting others.