The Texas House, in debating its rules for the legislative session, decided Thursday to wait for the Texas Legislative Council to study a proposal that would require posting most “committee substitutes” to bills 24 hours in advance of a committee hearing.
The idea put forth by Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, would give the public notice of a new version of a bill that is up for discussion in a committee hearing. That would benefit Texans who are traveling to Austin to testify on the bill, he said.
Sometimes committee substitutes are offered at the last minute and those in the audience or wishing to testify have not seen changes to the bill, known as the substitute.
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, explained that the non-partisan Legislative Council will examine during the session how that plan might be implemented.