Category: News

14Aug

Texas Rep. Helen Giddings Denounces Hate, Calls for Moment of Silence in House Chamber

In the House chamber Monday, Texas Rep. Helen Giddings (D-DeSoto) called on the membership to stand with her as she denounced hatred, bigotry and terrorism in the wake of Saturday’s deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“Members, this past weekend, we witnessed a white supremacist hate group infiltrate the town of Charlottesville, Virginia, carrying torches on Friday night, on Saturday they filled the streets with venom, with bigotry and with violence,” Giddings said, before mentioning the three lives lost Saturday in the protest.

To continue reading this story go to NBC Dallas/Fort Worth.

13Aug

Texas House votes to extend life of maternal mortality task force

Legislation that would extend the life of a state task force studying Texas’ high maternal morbidity rates was tentatively approved by the Texas House late Sunday night.

Under Senate Bill 17, the state’s Task Force on Maternal Mortality and Morbidity would continue its work until 2023. The task force, launched by the Legislature in 2013, found that between 2011 and 2012, 189 Texas mothers died less than a year after their pregnancies ended, mostly from heart disease, drug overdoses and high blood pressure.

To continue reading this story go to the Texas Tribune.

01Aug

Amid divisive issues, Texas lawmakers find unity in fighting pregnancy-related deaths

State Rep. Shawn Thierry told her House colleagues that she feared she would die when she gave birth, feeling as though her heart would “beat right out of me,” as she asked them to approve legislation Monday to extend and expand the role of a maternal mortality task force.

“No woman who chooses to bear life in Texas should ever do so in exchange for her life,” said Thierry, D-Houston, who read the names of mothers who had died as she dedicated her bill to their memory.

The House voted unanimously for her bill and other legislation to keep the task force operating and to give it direction for additional research into stemming the number of Texas women whose deaths are related to pregnancy and childbirth. Among its provisions, Thierry’s bill would direct a look at the disproportionately high rate of deaths among women who, like her, are African-American.

To read the rest of this story, please visit the San Antonio Express-News.

29Jul

Gonzalez: Let’s talk bathrooms, Gov. Abbott (Op-ed)

For the last seven months, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott have obsessed over who uses which bathroom in Texas. While these political games have dragged on, thousands of Texas living in rural and colonia communities lack basic wastewater infrastructure and clean water in their own bathrooms.

This is embarrassing, shameful, and yet another example of misplaced priorities in Austin.

Statewide, approximately 500,000 Texans live in colonias, residential areas that lack basic living necessities, like potable water and sewer systems, electricity, paved roads, or safe and sanitary housing.

To continue reading this story, please visit the El Paso Times.

21Jul

Abbott and His Armed Militia

Did Gov. Greg Abbott hire an armed paramilitary group to run security on a recent campaign stop?

That’s what Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, is trying to find out through two open records requests. The stop in question was held on July 15 in McAllen. When he stopped into the border town for lunch, the Rio Grande Guardian reported that the “Texas State Militia and McAllen Police Department were outside of the restaurant observing the protest.”

To continue reading the story go to the Austin Chronicle.

20Jul

Giddings: Why is emergency special session ignoring Texas’ student debt crisis? (Op-ed)

AUSTIN — Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott called a special legislative session, declaring, “If I’m going to ask taxpayers to foot the bill for a special session, I intend to make it count.” He proceeded to lay out 19 items for our consideration, including a new “bathroom bill” to regulate local school district policies, a “revenue cap” to regulate local municipalities, and new abortion reporting burdens to regulate local hospitals.

The governor can call us back to work for any time or any reason. He is fully empowered to set the agenda for debate. However, special sessions should be called when there is a pressing need facing Texas families. Because we are operating on the taxpayer’s dime, we should be focused on the urgent problems of our state.

To continue reading this story go to the Dallas Morning News.

19Jul

Howard: Amendment would make Texas shoulder more school funding (Op-ed)

Upon receiving their property tax notices, Texas homeowners seem ready to channel Peter Finch in the 1976 movie “Network” by throwing open their windows and yelling, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” But at whom should that ire be directed?

Some wolves in sheep’s clothing at the Texas Capitol are pointing their fingers at your locally elected officials and pursuing legislation to tightly restrict cities. But don’t be fooled; it’s the wolves themselves who have driven up your property taxes.

To continue reading this story go to the Austin American-Statesman.

18Jul

House Democrats, business groups push for repeal of ‘sanctuary cities’ ban

AUSTIN – Texas House Democrats on Tuesday vowed to use “every conceivable tool” at their disposal to fight discriminatory legislation during the special session, including the so-called bathroom bill and a ban on ‘sanctuary cities.’

Members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the Texas Legislative Black Caucus and other House Democrats wasted no time targeting the legislation.

To continue reading this story go to the El Paso Times.

17Jul

Texas Democrats lay out their own special session priorities

House and Senate Democrats on Monday unveiled their priorities for the upcoming special legislative session, including some measures that fall in line with the agenda Gov. Greg Abbott laid out in his call and some that depart entirely from it.

In a joint press conference, Democratic leaders in both chambers vowed to champion the issues “that matter to all Texans,” and to fight for legislation that will protect “our kids, our economy, our health and our communities.” Priorities for the Democrats include school finance reform and reducing maternal mortality — both of which are on Abbott’s list in some capacity. Several other issues, including criminal justice reform and equal pay, are not — and are unlikely to make it to the floor for a vote.

To continue reading this story go to the Texas Tribune.

15Jul

Special session is sign of state on wrong track: Moody (Op-ed)

Next time you spend hours in line at a Department of Public Safety office trying to get your license renewed, you’ll have something in common with the legislators and staffers coming back to Austin for a special session later this month.

Those lines and this session are both wasteful, senseless situations created by a betrayal of the principles that once drove government in this state.

To continue this story go to the El Paso Times.