Dedicated Funding for Coastal Erosion Projects – A Case Study

Prior to the 86th Texas legislative session (2019) Texas law did not provide a dedicated mechanism to assure continued funding of certain measures to combat coastal erosion. Legislation was filed on behalf of the General Land Office seeking to address this issue by providing for the dedication of two percent of the revenue derived from the hotel occupancy tax levied in certain coastal counties to the coastal erosion response account to benefit those coastal counties.

The Challenge

Initially the legislation looked as if it would pass easily. The bill was passed unanimously out of its Senate committee and was placed on the local calendar – to fast-track the bill out of the Senate and over to the House. However, that is when the wheels fell off of the bill. A Senator decided to change his vote to “no,” effectively removing the bill from the local “fast-track” calendar and forcing the bill to the Senate intent calendar, a less predictable path for success.

At this point, and halfway through session, Brannan’s client called and said the legislation was their new number one priority for the legislative session.

Brannan Firm Delivered Results

Brannan first met with representatives from the General Land Office to learn more about why the bill was stalled and moving backwards in the legislature. He then met with the bill author and formulated a strategy to move the bill. By working his relationships in the Lieutenant Governor’s office as well as key Senate offices, Brannan was able to get the bill called for a vote and passed out of the Senate 25-6, and through the House Ways & Means and Calendars committee, and placed on the House floor for a vote on the last day of eligibility for House bills to be voted on. However, the bill did not make it due to time running out in the legislative session.

Brannan did not stop, and the next morning, the last day for the Senate to hear House bills during the session, Brannan was meeting with Senate offices to add the legislation as an amendment on a House bill. Brannan was successful in getting the dedicated funding legislation added on to a Hurricane Harvey recovery bill, which was agreed-to in the House and passed with literally just hours left in the legislative session. Governor Abbott signed the legislation into law on June 14th, 2019, and it went into effect on September 1st, 2019.