Leman provides update, Q&A for city council

District 13 State Representative Ben Leman provided the Navasota city council with a wrap-up of the 86th Legislative session Monday night and responded to some issues that hit close to home.

The rural lens

Calling it a “great session for Texas,” Leman said, “We made some major achievements that benefit our citizens, in particular our school districts, and on property tax relief for citizens.”

Leman called House Bills 1, 2 and 3 “a priority for the first time, a unified priority, between the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House.”

He continued, “Previously, they had not been on the same page and were not working well toward finding some middle ground.”

Leman’s goals as a new member included passing legislation that was important to District 13, being a voice for rural Texas and getting proposed legislation viewed through a rural lens.

He described some of the “carve-outs” as consideration for rural Texas’ typically smaller budgets such as leaving the rollback rate at 8% for up to $500,000 in property tax revenue instead of 3.5%.

With the passage of HB 3, the state will increase funding of schools from 38% to 45%, and eventually to 50%.

Sponsored bills

Leman sponsored 20 bills during his freshman year, six related to high speed rail, and he credited the hard work of his staff with the ability to get 10 bills passed.

Some bills passed that directly impact Grimes County include the addition of another judge on the Juvenile Board, revising the competitive bidding process for road and bridge materials and the Valedictorian Bill.

According to Leman, Richards ISD and one other District 13 high school have had less than 10 students in the graduating class. HB 2226 provides automatic admission to colleges and universities to valedictorians who graduate in a school with less than 10 students. Previously, only valedictorians in schools with more than 10 students received automatic admission.

One well-received bill is the “anti-spoofing” bill that will allow the attorney general to more effectively prosecute telemarketers who call from fake phone numbers.

Another bill on the justice side is HB 1996, requiring written acknowledgement by illegal aliens convicted of a crime and entering into the plea bargain phase, that they have received the admonition that they can be deported as a result of the crime.

Local control issues

Councilmen took the opportunity to question Leman about his vote on several bills that they felt had a negative impact on local control and existing ordinances. Of special interest was HB 2439 that removed the city’s ability to regulate building materials. Earlier this month, Navasota joined other cities in passing a resolution asking Governor Abbott to veto the bill.

According to Leman, while not an issue in District 13, the bill was brought forward because some cities were allowing only masonry products for the whole city. He said that citywide requirements like metal roofs, full brick exterior, price homes out of a certain part of the market. He added that areas designated as historical districts are exempt from the bill.

Councilman Geoff Horn said, “The concern is that this bill is really a knee jerk reaction and allows anybody to use any building material in our town. We have a certain character and we don’t want profile metal buildings. This bill allows that.”

Mayor Bert Miller said, “Basically, it allows a pole barn to be put next to a Victorian home.”

Leman said the other concern was that if applied citywide, what area of the community will have the high-end homes and what area will have low end homes and questioned its impact on accessibility.

Miller responded, “There could have been some cities going overboard but again you’re applying a blanket to everybody and that’s what I really don’t like.”

Horn also inquired about SB 852 regarding building permits.

He said, “We can’t use the cost of construction to determine the cost of permits. We have to cover the cost of inspecting a 1,000-square foot house the same as we would a 30,000-square foot house.”

Councilman Josh Fultz inquired what citizens could see in terms of tax relief.

Leman said, “The average is 8 cents per $100 valuation for the first year. The second year is 12 cents. Subsequent years it will continue to go down. It will differ for each school district but that is the average.”

Addressing a number of bills such as a telecommunication bill that gives away right of way, City Manager Brad Stafford said “So many bills preempt city ordinances…It is concerning that it is a continuous process that our state legislature over the past three sessions has pursued, especially since the Lt. Gov has been in place. That’s his favorite thing. It’s curious to me as why. When the current legislature talks about local control and small government, it’s not small government whenever the main law comes from the state down to the citizen. It’s local control whenever the citizen can walk-in and say I want to see it happen and talk three council members into voting for it.”

Leman proposed that he and his staff meet with the city staff and city’s legal counsel to address their concerns in the next legislative session.