Senator Garcia passed her first bill, Senate Bill 1896, out of the Senate on April 29th. Senate Bill 1896 adds certain local judges to the list of officials that can protect their confidential information from being displayed on public county appraisal records. The Senator prioritized SB 1896 because as a former judge it was important to her to protect judges from being retaliated against for the decisions they make in their official capacity. Municipal and probate judges make decisions every day that put themselves and their families at risk and this legislation will at least protect them from having their confidential information publicly released on county appraisal records.
Senator Garcia quickly followed this up by passing Senate Bill 1892, which will improve State services for military veterans by better promoting coordination between state agencies. Senate Bill 1892 will strengthen the Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services (TCCVS) which coordinates the activities of state agencies that assist veterans. Senator Garcia believes we should honor our Veterans contributions by ensuring that our laws are addressing the specific needs of our 1.7 million Texas veterans and their families.
Budget
Last week, members from both the Senate and House have been negotiating a compromise on the two different versions of the state budget. Senator Garcia voted against the Senate version of the budget because it did not include adequate funding for education and Medicaid expansion, She has voiced concern to both sides regarding working Texans who demand a better education for our children and health insurance for our most vulnerable Texans. On a positive note, she did join her Senate colleagues in supporting a measure that would use the Rainy Day Fund to increase funding for education by nearly $1 billion dollars. They also approved Rainy Day Funds for water and transportation infrastructure.
Payday Lending Reform
Two weeks ago, the Senate passed a strong bill, S.B. 1247, which reforms the payday and auto title lending industry and stops companies from taking advantage of the poor, who borrow from these companies. Typically, a borrower of a payday loan pays extremely high interest rates, often exceeding 5 times the amount borrowed. In 2012, payday and auto title borrowers paid more than $661 million in refinance fees. S.B. 1247, in its original form, will save consumers somewhere between $132-$221 million dollars per year. With the stronger floor amendments that were added, the bill will save borrowers significantly more. One of the amendments that passed will establish limits that already exist for other lenders in the state. This will bring the interest rates down from the current 5 to 10 times the amount borrowed, to around only 1 and a half to 3
times. The bill also limits the number of times a loan can be refinanced (or rollovers) stopping more fees. Senator Garcia was pleased to support this strong consumer protection bill.