Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill last week that allows agencies to develop remote work policies under state supervision.
House Bill 5196 came in response to an executive action from the governor earlier this year. In March, he ordered all state agencies to abandon telework policies, arguing the state "must ensure taxpayer dollars are being utilized efficiently."
State employees who'd been dependent on remote work argued the order would upend their lives, and agencies struggled to find office space and parking for returning employees after scaling down during the pandemic.
Maggie DiSanza with the Texas State Employees Union said the governor's signature wasn't altogether shocking. TSEU lobbied in favor of HB 5196, pointing to the state's own study that found productivity didn't dip amid an increase in remote work, and it helped reduce turnover at state agencies after years of attrition. Ultimately, that study helped marshal the bipartisan support to get the bill over the finish line, DiSanza said.
"We know that state employees are just as — if not more —productive when they're working from home," she said. "So, I think we just kind of saw the backlash from that. And luckily it was a legislative session, and there was time to do something about it."
KUT News reached out to Gov. Abbott's office for a comment on the bill's passage, but did not hear back.
The law goes into effect Sept. 1.
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