Governor Abbott, in his State of the State Address, promised to promote legislation to protect Texas businesses from frivolous lawsuits, provided the business is following CDC and State Health Department guidelines to protect customers and employees as much as possible. “This will be an emergency item this session.”
The Governor identified this issue as one of four “emergency items” for the session. The Texas Legislature cannot begin to debate a bill in the House or Senate for the first 60-days of each session unless the issue is declared an emergency by the Governor. This designation allows bills on this topic to begin to move toward passage now with no delay.
“…there’s far more to do to help business owners and their employees. They have gone above and beyond throughout the pandemic to open and to operate safely. And yet, those same businesses now face the crosshairs of lawsuits. Texas businesses that have operated in good faith shouldn’t have their livelihoods destroyed by frivolous lawsuits.”
“I am asking the Legislature to quickly get a bill to my desk that provides civil liability protections for individuals, businesses, and healthcare providers that operated safely during the pandemic.”
Republicans in Congress have pushed for federal legislation to accomplish the same goal. It appears that effort is now stalled indefinitely. Enacting this legislation on the state level is another demonstration of the business-friendly climate we have in Texas.
The other emergency items were the expansion of broadband coverage throughout the state, reforming bail processes and preventing cities from defunding their police.
To view the Chamber’s legislative agenda for the 87th Texas legislature, CLICK HERE.
CLICK HERE to watch Governor Greg Abbott’s complete State of the State Address.