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Texas Legislative Update

October 2021


Theresa Q. Tran, MD, MBA, FACEP
Chair, Government Relations Committee

October following a regular legislative session in Texas is typically a low-key month in the lawmaking cycle. However, the impact of the continuing pandemic has made 2021 anything but ordinary. With the Texas Legislature currently in its third 30-day special session since the 87th regular session adjourned, lawmakers have now been working almost continuously for 10 months. A summary of the legislature’s efforts and TCEP’s engagement during the special sessions is below:

FIRST AND SECOND SPECIAL SESSION (JUNE -AUGUST 2021)

  • The legislature convened for the 1st and 2nd special session during the summer after Democrats broke ranks and left the state.
  • The governor added to the agenda – and the legislature passed – numerous items including contentious issues like election reform, teaching of critical race theory, border security and restoring the funding for the legislature that the Governor had vetoed during the regular session.
  • The legislature passed bills restricting abortion, SB 4, and SB 8, which are being challenged in the court system.

THIRD SPECIAL SESSION (SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021)

  • Governor Abbott has primarily tasked legislators with allocating federal ARPA dollars and completing the redistricting process.
  • State legislators are charged with redrawing state and congressional legislative district boundaries following the completion of the US census. If they cannot pass the redistricting maps in this special session, Governor Abbott will call a fourth special session.
  • The timing of the 2022 primary and general elections are dependent on when these maps are signed into law. It is also worth noting that state Democrats will likely file lawsuit(s) to challenge any maps the Republican-controlled legislature produces.
  • Governor Abbott has enacted an executive order prohibiting vaccine mandates for all public entities and private businesses. This has created significant confusion with federal mandates, and businesses are currently engaging to try to reconcile the requirements while protecting employees and the public from the continuing pandemic. TCEP is working with the house of medicine to address concerns related to this executive order.

Meanwhile, TCEP is paying close attention to events that will determine EMPACT’s (TCEP’s political action committee) support during the 2022 election cycle. If the legislature can successfully adopt new electoral maps, candidates for office will have until December 13 to officially file their paperwork to run. The primary election is scheduled for March 1, 2022, and the general election will be held on November 8, 2022. As of this writing, two state Senators and fourteen House members have announced that they will not be seeking re-election. As mentioned before, the redistricting process will significantly impact the current makeup of the Texas legislative and congressional delegations.

Finally, we have been closely monitoring actions regarding federal balance billing laws. After Congress passed the No Surprises Act (NSA) to create a federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) for out-of-network bills, the US Departments of HHS, Treasury, Labor and Office of Personnel Management released an interim final rule (IFR) to implement the NSA on September 30th, 2021. This IFR has the potential to be extremely detrimental to healthcare providers for several reasons, and physician and specialty groups at the national level are organizing grassroots and legal efforts to make sure the law is not punitive to patients or intrusive to the delivery of care. TCEP will engage and support ACEP as necessary as these rules are finalized.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our legislative work on your behalf. While there are many moving parts and many unknowns, please know that we and our outstanding lobbyists stand ready to promote the professional interests of our members and the health and safety of our patients. Please reach out to me or Ms. Beth Brooks ([email protected]) if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.