House approves state senators' bills on motor buses and telecommuters

House approves state senators' bills on motor buses and telecommuters

By Patrick Brendel Wednesday, 13 May 2009

The House passed bills by the area's state senators Tuesday that would permit Travis County buses to drive on the shoulder of the highway when traffic is slow, and that would allow state workers who telecommute to qualify for overtime compensation.

Senate Bill 434 by state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, establishes a pilot program in Bexar, Denton and Travis Counties where mass transit buses can drive up to 35 miles per hour on highway shoulders to bypass traffic congestion. The program is based on an initiative in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

SB 2298 by state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, amends Texas law so that state employees who work from home can qualify for the same overtime benefits that traditional workers do. The bill is meant to address problems that arose during recent natural disasters.

State representatives made some changes to SB 2298. If the Senate accepts those changes, it will be ready to go to the Governor. SB 434 was not amended in the House and is set to become law.

Wentworth also passed two bills out of the Senate on Tuesday.

SB 1630 updates public information laws so that public entities do not have to print out information that is available online in order to comply with a public information request. The entity can instead direct the requester to the information (and offer the requester free use of a public computer). SB 2141 relates to lawsuits against architects and engineers. House members now have an opportunity to consider the legislation.

Bills by state Reps. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, and Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, cleared the House Tuesday on their way to the Senate.

House Bill 4433 by Rodriguez removes a potential obstacle to the production of geothermal energy in Texas. During geothermal energy production, natural gas and oil can be produced incidentally. HB 4433 exempts that gas and oil from severance taxes.

HB 585 by Naishtat cleans up language in probate code, while his HB 1067 allows authorized entities -- such as registrars, health authorities, mental health centers and governments -- to share statistical data on suicides.