Rep. Donna Howard

Maddy summaryHB 1160 increases criminal penalties for assaults against specific public service workers, upgrading certain offenses from misdemeanors to felonies. It directly affects utility employees, emergency personnel, security officers, process servers, hospital staff, and pregnant individuals when assaults occur during work duties or as retaliation for performing those duties. Key provisions include making it a felony to assault a utility employee while they are performing services, harass a security officer during duty, or assault a pregnant person to force an abortion. The bill applies when the actor knows the victim is performing a protected duty.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires Texas licensing authorities to issue provisional occupational licenses for six months to applicants with criminal convictions who are otherwise qualified for the license, unless they have specific serious convictions listed in the Occupations Code. The provisional license begins upon the applicant's release from incarceration if they were imprisoned. It applies to most occupational licensing fields (like healthcare or trades) but excludes applicants convicted of offenses under Section 53.021(a). The bill provides a pathway for certain applicants to obtain licenses without full revocation of eligibility.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the Texas Employees Retirement System to make a one-time supplemental payment in January 2026 to eligible retirees and beneficiaries. The payment equals the lesser of $2,000 or the retiree’s regular December 2025 annuity amount, added to their existing monthly benefit. It excludes certain disability retirees, elected officials’ families, and other specific categories listed in the bill. The payment is in addition to regular benefits and subject to standard tax withholdings.

Maddy summaryHB 1773 allows certain Texas school districts to appoint a nonvoting student trustee to their board of trustees. This position enables students to attend board meetings, participate in discussions, and provide student perspectives, but the student trustee cannot vote or count toward meeting quorums. The bill applies only to school districts not covered by existing rules (Section 11.0511 of the Education Code). It takes effect September 1, 2025, and creates a formal mechanism for student input without altering voting authority.

Maddy summaryHB 5508 establishes the Texas Film Academy to develop workforce training programs for the state's film, television, and digital media industries. The academy, attached to the Texas Workforce Commission, will partner with colleges and industry leaders to create specialized education programs addressing skilled labor shortages. It requires a 9-member board appointed by the governor, including education representatives and industry leaders, to oversee operations. The bill aims to boost job creation and position Texas as a top destination for film and media productions by aligning workforce training with industry needs.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows Texas public universities to disregard undergraduate applicants' academic records older than 10 years when evaluating admission, but requires them to retain the most recent 5 years of grades and credits. Colleges must publicly post their specific policies on this practice and cannot selectively ignore only parts of the 10-year window - they must disregard all records from that period if they choose to apply the policy. The law applies to admissions for the 2025 fall semester and affects how institutions count credits toward degree requirements for students using this "academic fresh start" option. It also ties state funding for relevant credits to this policy starting in 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 1531 expands the definition of "facility" under Texas' workplace violence prevention law to include specific healthcare settings. It directly affects home health agencies (with ≥2 RNs), hospitals, nursing facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, emergency care facilities, and mental hospitals by requiring them to comply with Chapter 331 of the Health and Safety Code. The bill adds these facilities to the list of entities subject to workplace violence prevention requirements, such as safety plans and training. Agencies added by this bill must comply with these rules by September 1, 2026. The law takes effect September 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHJR 203 proposes a constitutional amendment to create the Texas Health Care Workforce Education Fund, which would provide dedicated funding to eligible Texas state universities for training health care workers. The fund would be financed through legislative appropriations, gifts, grants, and investment earnings, with distributions limited to 7% of the fund’s average value annually to preserve long-term purchasing power. Eligible universities would use these funds to address workforce shortages in health care fields, with allocations determined by a formula established by the legislature. This amendment requires voter approval after legislative passage and does not change current funding mechanisms for higher education.

Maddy summaryHB 4762 establishes the Higher Education Research Security Council to strengthen security at Texas's top research universities. The Council, composed of security officers from these institutions, will develop security policies, create an accreditation program for secure research, and provide annual training on background checks and security tools. It must meet quarterly and submit annual reports to state officials, directly affecting Texas's tier one research institutions (as defined by the Carnegie Classification) and their security personnel.

Maddy summaryHB 1699 requires healthcare providers to wait at least three business days before sending certain sensitive medical test results electronically to patients or their representatives. It specifically applies to cancer-related pathology/radiology reports and genetic test results. The bill mandates that such results must be disclosed via secure electronic means (like patient portals) only after they're finalized, giving providers time to review results before sharing. This affects patients receiving these test results and healthcare systems managing electronic health records. The law takes effect September 1, 2025.