Capital Highlights Senate bill would curb home insurance rates without approval

Lawmakers in the Texas Senate are considering a measure that would require home insurers to get approval from regulators before increasing rates more than 10%, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, would also create a three-member commission to oversee the Texas Department of Insurance. The veteran legislator and others have accused the agency of failing to prioritize consumers.

Homeowner insurance rates have skyrocketed in recent years, up an average 21% in 2023, double the average hikes of previous years. Insurers currently can file rate increases with the state and immediately put them in effect. TDI has not denied a single rate filing out of 22,000 submitted since 2017, according to a Hearst Newspapers analysis.

“That's a question mark I have regarding how aggressively TDI is overseeing rate changes,” Schwertner said.

In a recent hearing, insurers defended their rates, blaming the state’s extreme weather and saying the pres- ent system has enabled Texas to have a “highly competitive market,” according to Scot Kibbe, the vice president of state government relations at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

ABBOTT: TEXAS ON ‘CUSP’ OF APPROVING VOUCHER BILL Gov. Greg Abbott continues to push his top legislative priority, a universal school choice plan that allows public dollars to be spent for privateschool tuition, The Dallas Morning News reported.

“We’re going to get this across the finish line,” Abbott said during a Capitol news conference. “When we do, Texans will see that when it comes to education, it’s not one or the other. It’s not either public schools or school choice. We can do both.”

The Senate version of what is popularly known as a voucher plan passed in February. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, RLubbock, said last week that chamber’s proposal would likely be approved this week.

Critics point to a similar plan passed in Arizona, which has grown more than 10-fold since being implemented. They also point out private school options are limited in rural areas and for low-income families.

The state’s Legislative Budget Board projects costs for an education savings account program would increase from $1 billion in 2027 to about $4 billion in 2030, a project Abbott said was “based on nothing but fiction.”

SENATE PASSES $336 BILLION TWO-YEAR STATE BUDGET The Senate unanimously passed a $336 billion proposed budget last week to fund state government through 2027, the Austin AmericanStatesman reported. The funding supports a wide array of new investments in education and infrastructure, as well as property-tax relief.

State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said the budget will allow the Legislature to use some of the state’s $24 billion surplus to make one-time investments.

“At the same time, we were very careful to craft a budget that is fiscally conservative and sustainable in future years,” Huffman said.

The Senate’s budget, which will have to be reconciled with the pending House budget, does not include an increase in per-student funding for public schools. That allotment has not changed since 2019, despite pleas from educators who say local districts are suffering financially.

“Even though hundreds of school districts throughout Texas have been cutting back on programs because of inadequate state funding and inflationary pressures, the Senate budget, SB1, doesn’t even raise the basic school funding allotment,” said Texas State Teacher's Association President Ovidia Molina in a statement Tuesday.

‘VOLATILE’ HURRICANES EXPECTED IN 2025, FORECASTERS SAY As hurricane season approaches, meteorologists with AccuWeather are predicting 2025 could bring “volatile hurricanes” similar to those seen in 2017 and 2023, the Statesman reported. “AccuWeather is forecasting near to above the historical average number of named storms, hurricanes, major hurricanes, accumulated cyclone energy and direct impacts to the United States,” said AccuWeather’s Alex DaSilva.

Forecasters expect 13 to 18 named storms in the Atlantic, with three to five major hurricanes reaching Category 3 strength or higher. Texas is among states facing higher-than-average risk of direct hits from hurricanes, and storms could rapidly intensify before making landfall.

The state was hit by two hurricanes last year. In June, Hurricane Beryl turned into a Category 5 storm quickly, gaining 95 mph in less than two days before striking Matagorda Island.

FUNDING HAUL TRANSFORMS TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGES A bill passed in 2023 that took effect last year has proved a fi- nancial boon for the state’s community colleges, The Texas Tribune reported. HB8 sent a record $683 million to the state’s community colleges.

As a result, community colleges have introduced free tuition and are reshaping how they are run and who is attending school.

“HB 8, at its heart, was an attempt for the Legislature to say, ‘What's the most impactful way that we can ensure alignment between educational outcomes and business and industry needs?’” Ray Martinez III, the president of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, said. “That’s why this is so significant We have seen tremendous outcomes.”

As The Tribune reported, the five ways community colleges have been transformed because of the new funding formula are:

· Dual credit boosting enrollment, especially among low-income students.

· Free tuition expanded.

· Students hired as peer advisers, greatly increasing the number helping classmates register and stay on track to graduate.

· Increase in workforce training.

· Schools form alliances so credits transfer from a community college to a four-year institution.

UPDATE: MEASLES OUTBREAK REACHES 327 AS FUNDING REDUCED The Texas Depart- ment of State Health Services reports 400 cases of measles primarily in the South Plains and Panhandle regions as of Friday, with one fatality and 41 people hospitalized.

Politics continues to infuse the debate, as lawmakers consider several bills that would make it easier to opt out of getting vaccinated, the Texas Standard reported. Virtually all the cases of measles reported more reported in Texas in three months than in the entire nation last year were among unvaccinated people.

Meanwhile, federal funding for DSHS to fight measles has been cut by about half by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the Statesman reported. DOGE plans to cut $877 million of a $1.5 billion federal grant and $97 million from a $473 million grant, both from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grants were used to help state, city and county health departments fight infectious diseases.

“We’re evaluating the potential effects of the funding changes,” said Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations for DSHS.

Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress.com