The House Committee on Defense & Veterans' Affairs

88th Legislature

August 21, 2024

10:00 a.m.

La Villita Room, #1.116, Durango bldg.

UTSA Downtown Campus

501 W. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.

San Antonio, Texas 78207

Pursuant to a notice posted on August 12, 2024, the House Committee on Defense & Veterans' Affairs met in a public hearing and was called to order by the chair, Representative Wilson, at 10:11 a.m.

The initial quorum call was answered as follows: Representatives Wilson; Lopez, Ray; Bumgarner; Dorazio; Frank; Garcia; and Morales Shaw.

A quorum was present.

The Chair and members made opening remarks.

The Committee heard invited testimony on the following interim charges and topics:

Defense Research & Partnerships: Review the role and contributions of the University of Texas San Antonio to the defense of the state and nation through defense research, especially with regard to security infrastructure, talent recruitment, and development of partnerships with the federal government.

Testimony taken/registration recorded.  (See attached witness list.)

Recruitment and Retention: Investigate current strategies for attracting new members to include JROTC/ROTC expansion and retaining existing personnel. Assess current retention rates and identify factors leading to personnel turnover.

Testimony taken/registration recorded.  (See attached witness list.)

Professional License Portability for Military and Spouses: Evaluate compliance statewide with the Section 19 of the Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-333, 50 U.S.C. §4025a), concerning the portability of professional licenses of service members and spouses and make recommendations to ensure that service members and their spouses may, under appropriate circumstances, continue to practice under a license issued by another jurisdiction.

Testimony taken/registration recorded.  (See attached witness list.)

Monitoring: Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 88th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation: 

SB 422, relating to the authority of certain military service members to engage in a business or occupation in this state; 

Testimony taken/registration recorded.  (See attached witness list.)

Strength of Texas Military Bases: Review the federal criteria for considering and recommending base closure or realignment and evaluate the strength of Texas Military Bases under the scoring system utilized by the U.S. Department of Defense. Make recommendations to mitigate the risk of realignments or closures of military installations in Texas.

Testimony taken/registration recorded.  (See attached witness list.)

At 5:34 p.m., on the motion of the chair and without objection, the meeting was adjourned subject to the call of the chair.

________________________________________________

Rep. Wilson, Chair

________________________________________________

Andrew Harkey, Clerk