Bill Number and Author - At the top of the bill on the right, appears the bill number. Bills are filed in the Senate (SB) or the House (HB) so these initials are part of the bill number. On the left side appears the word “By.” Then the name of the bill author or sponsor appears. You will need to write this information on the client response form.

Organization of Texas Law - A bill is written with the intent of amending and/or adding to Texas Law. Therefore you will read a reference to the statutes this bill intends to alter, e.g. Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes, Insurance Code, or Government Code. These Statues or Codes are subdivided into Chapters, Subchapters, Articles and Sections.

New, Old and Deleted Language - New proposed language is underlined. Old language that will not be changed appears in normal text. Old language to be deleted is contained in brackets and dashes strike through the wording contained in the brackets. There is one exception. If everything in the bill is new language, then the text will not be underlined.

PARTS OF A BILL

The Caption - The first lines of a bill are written in small letters and begin with the words “relating to.” This is referred to as the caption. It is a broad summary of the subject of the bill. The caption is important because the bill contents must be germane to the caption. Therefore, no amendments can be added to bills that do not relate to the caption. The bill caption should also be written on the client response form.

SECTIONS  - The SECTION of a bill is written in capital letters. If you see the word “Section” or the abbreviation “Sec.” and it only has the first letter capitalized, it refers to a Section of Texas Law. For instance, the first SECTION of a bill will always refer to the part of Texas Law it intends to change. Usually enough old language is included in the bill that you will not need to refer to the original law. However, if you do need to reference the original Act, call Lynda Woolbert (512) 750-3747 and she will supply the information you need. 

Definitions - Read definitions carefully. They appear early in the bill and are entitled “DEFINITIONS.” It is essential that you evaluate whether this bill will apply to or include APNs or not. You can only determine this by a careful reading of the definitions and noting the terminology throughout the bill. If the definition of “practitioner,” for instance does not include APNs, you must decide if APNs should be included in all or part of the bill.

Instructional SECTION(S) - The next to the last SECTION or SECTIONS of a bill deserve special attention. This is referred to as the “instructional section.” It is never underlined and usually does not have an immediate reference to a statute. The instructional section always identifies the effective date of the legislation and may contain additional instructional provisions. For instance, a current law may be repealed. If you do not read the instructional section, you may miss crucial information.