|
Deanna Frisk, Advocacy Director
Brandon Spenrath, Editor
www.lwvtexas.org
Texas House
About Us
Texas
Senate
Welcome to the 2007
Legislative Newsletter.
You can go to this website to see who is on what
committee and find out about bills, etc.
www.capitol.state.tx.us
Good news for those of you who are following Committee Hearings. Monday,
May 7th
was the last day for a House Committee to report HB and HJR's. May
19th
is the last day for House Committees to report SB and SJR's. Committee
Hearings have to be completed before these dates.
Because of this, the Legislative Newsletter has been shortened.
Not only do we need to be keeping an eye on key legislation moving through
the legislative process, but we also need to ensure that funding is included
in the final budget bill to support these bills.
Each session, 5 members of the House Appropriations Committee and 5 members
of the Senate Finance committee are named to serve on the Budget Conference
Committee. These 10 legislators have a critical role in determining
the final budget for the state for the next biennium.
House Budget Conferees
Include:
Representative Warren Chisum (Chair, Appropriations Committee) (Pampa)
Representative Ryan Guillen (Vice Chair, Appropriations Committee) (Rio
Grande City)
Representative Sylvester Turner (Houston)
Representative Dan Gattis (Georgetown)
Representative Lois Kolkhorst (Brenham)
Senate Budget Conferees
Include:
Senator Steve Ogden (Chair, Finance Committee) (Bryan)
Senator Judith Zaffirini (Vice Chair, Senate Finance Committee) (Laredo)
Senator Robert Duncan (Lubbock)
Senator John Whitmire (Houston)
Senator Tommy Williams (The Woodlands)
The LWV-TX Board decided at the last board meeting
to put all action alerts and position statements on the web page at
www.lwvtexas.org
Next
articles are due May 14th.
Published May 18th and every week in May.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
-
TRANSPORTATION
-
JUVENILE JUSTICE-ACTION
ALERT
-
REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE/WOMEN'S HEALTH
-
WATER RESOURCES
-
NUCLEAR WASTE
-
LAND USE & FUNDING FOR TEXAS PARKS
-
IMMIGRATION
-
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
-
AIR QUALITY
-
RECORDED VOTES
-
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
-
ELECTION
LAWS
-
CHILDREN'S
HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP)-ACTION ALERT
-
CHILD
CARE
-
ENERGY ISSUES
-
REDISTRICTING
JUVENILE JUSTICE
- Jayne Krawietz
ACTION ALERT: HB 2807
(Madden), was passed Monday night. This is the companion bill to
SB103, and they are comprehensive reform bills for the Texas Youth
Commission. This house version did specifically exclude misdemeanor
offenders from the TYC facilities. Although judges had wanted discretion to
sentence misdemeanants to TYC, this bill did not allow it. Now the
important thing is for these bills to be fully funded. The state must also
not cut funds from county and city governments who will now be responsible
for these misdemeanor offenders. Please call
your representatives to ask for full funding of HB 2807.
Talk of tax cuts is gaining momentum at a time when
these vital state services are in need of increased funding to prevent the
mistreatment of juvenile offenders. These facilities are also underserved
by mental health services. These bills address the important issues, but
will not be effective unless fully funded.
CHILDREN'S
HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP)
- Julia Marsden
ACTION ALERT
ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP) AND CHILDREN’S MEDICAID
SB 266 (ZAFFIRINI) SUPPORT that would, among
other things, increase Medicaid coverage from 6 to 12 months was due to be
heard in Senate Health and Human Services today, but was pulled off the
agenda at the last moment.
The Substitute CSSB 266(OPPOSE) would lay out a
CHIP Compromise and a compromise on 12-month coverage in children’s Medicaid
and would provide “fixes” to the eligibility system in both.
HB 109 has still not been set for hearing and
this is the bill that the CHIP Coalition and LWV-TX strongly support.
A recent report from the Health and Human Services
Commission (HHSC) announced that 17,078 fewer children will be covered by
CHIP in May than in April. This is the second largest number of children
ever to be disenrolled in one month, second only to immediately after state
budget cuts in 2003.
SHOULD WE BE WORRIED ABOUT RUNNING OUT OF TIME?
YES!!! KEEP UP THE PRESSURE TO SET A HEARING ON HB109. LET THE LT. GOVERNOR
AND ALL THE SENATE KNOW THAT NOT PASSING A STRONG CHIP RESTORATION BILL IS
NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Edie Jones (Tarrant Co.)
New
Information:
HB 1892 (Smith)
SUPPORT Moratorium Bill On trans Texas Corridor (includes many other toll
roads). Bill passed and has gone to the Governor’s desk. Deadline is May 14
for signature, veto, or becoming law without the Governor’s signature.
Highways 1604 and 281 are included in this moratorium. Some North Texas
roads which had been approved were not in the moratorium. TXDOT and Texas
Transportation disagree with the interpretation of the moratorium for North
Texas roads. More planning needs to be accomplished.
Jayne Krawietz (Midland)
HB 427 (Madden)
SUPPORT This bill allows a
District Attorney or County Attorney in counties with
Texas Youth Commission (TYC)
facilities to request a special prosecution unit to prosecute crimes
committed on TYC property. One of the reasons given for the inaction at the
Pyote State School was that no one claimed jurisdiction. The bill has
been voted out of committee.
HB 3309 (Bolton) SUPPORT
This bill allows
advocacy groups to provide information and support for sexual assault
victims living in TYC facilities. Voted out of committee and has been sent to the House Local/Consent
calendar.
Julie Lowenberg (Dallas)
New
Information:
UPDATES ON HOUSE
BILLS:
HB 21 (Corte) OPPOSE has been voted favorably from the House State Affairs Committee and
sent to Calendars. What you can do: If your representative is on the
Calendars Committee, contact her or him with the message to keep HB 21
and any other anti-choice measures that come to the Calendars Committee from
a vote on the House floor.
§
Rationale: The public is tired
of the abortion debate and the targeting of women who are making difficult
decisions. They are satisfied with the current law that includes consent for
minors, a 24-hour waiting period, “informed consent” and a ban on late-term
procedures. Any further restrictions are unnecessary.
§
Specifically regarding HB 21,
this measure does nothing new to inform women about abortion or their
options. Requiring women to take the “Women’s Right to Know” booklet doesn’t
mean they will read it, and requiring doctors to give information over the
phone rather than through a recording does not change what they would say to
a patient. It is standard care in the medical community for patient
education to be communicated through video or audio recordings.
HB 175 (Chisum),
the so-called “trigger bill” - OPPOSE - is apparently dead. Though it
was passed out of the State Affairs Committee, a fiscal note has been
attached to it indicating that outlawing all abortions (if Roe is
overturned) would cost the state more than $400 million in health care costs
over the next three years. The cost of ending abortions in Texas would come
from an estimated 63,000 more births, of which 67% are likely to be
supported by Medicaid, according to the Legislative Budget Board.
HB 1098 (Bonnen)
– OPPOSE - has passed both Houses and been sent to the Governor’s
office where he has the option to sign, veto, or let it become law unsigned
after 10 days. In addition to pre-empting the Governor’s executive order
mandating the Human Papiloma Vaccine (HPV) for school admission, the bill
would prohibit the health commissioner from mandating the vaccine in the
future (as is allowed with any other vaccines). It also postpones a
legislative revisit on this issue until 2011.
HB 1131 (Zedler)
– OPPOSE – A substitute version was voted favorably out of the
State Affairs Committee and is now in the Calendars Committee.
Unfortunately, the substitute version incorporates the
invasive and burdensome reporting requirements
in regard to abortion care and judicial bypass that were in the original
version of SB 785 (see below) and its companion, HB 1750
(which was never heard in Committee). The bill would require all physicians
who provide medical care under certain circumstances to report personal
information about an abortion and the patient to the Texas Department of
State Health Services. In addition, it would require the public reporting of
judicial bypass information by county in an apparent attempt to intimidate
elected judges who rule in favor of the minor. What you can do:
Contact Calendars Committee members with the message to keep HB 1131
and any other anti-choice measures that come to the Committee from a vote on
the House floor. (See HB 21 rationale, above.)
HB 1379 (Deshotel)
– SUPPORT – has passed both Houses and been sent to the Governor’s
office.
HB 1842 (Strama),
the Prevention First measure – SUPPORT
– has passed out of the Calendars Committee and is set for House floor
debate on May 8. This is great news! What you can do: Contact
your representative and ask her/him to support HB 1842 that would
help prevent unintended pregnancies by expanding access to preventive health
care services (including family planning services) and accurate sexuality
education.
UPDATES ON SENATE
BILLS:
SB 110 (Van de Putte) – SUPPORT
- The amended version that passed the Senate has been sent to the House and
referred to the Public Health Committee there.
SB 785 (Shapiro) – OPPOSE
– A modified version has been passed by the Senate and sent to the House.
Though some of its worst provisions were modified before Senate passage, the
bill still mandates unnecessary and intrusive reporting on abortions by
physicians, patients and judges. (And many of the most objectionable
provisions have been resurrected in the substitute version of HB 1131
as noted above.)
SB 920 (Patrick) – OPPOSE
– has passed the full Senate and sent to the House State Affairs Committee.
Although the requirement that a woman seeking an abortion view the
ultrasound image of the fetus has been removed, the bill still mandates a
woman to “review” the image with the doctor. This begs the question: How can
one review an image without viewing it? The clear intent of this bill is to
discourage women from choosing an abortion. (Ultrasounds are already a
routine part of abortion care, and patients who want to see the image can do
so.)
Julia Marsden (Austin Area)
GOOD NEWS! MAJOR
WATER LEGISLATION IS MOVING FORWARD!
HB 3 (Puente) SUPPORT
was passed out of Senate Natural
Resources by a vote of 11-0
On April 30 and the
Committee report was printed and distributed. The bill has not as yet been
placed on the Senate Intent Calendar. HB3 is a stand alone bill that
addresses environmental flows. Although state law recognizes the importance
of maintaining the health of the state’s rivers and estuaries, it does not
address environmental flows. The bill would create a basin-by-basin process
for developing recommendations to meet instream needs, would require TCEQ to
adopt recommendations in the form of environmental flow standards, and would
create the Environmental Flows Advisory Group to oversee the process.
HB 4 (Puente)
SUPPORT, passed by the House, was
sent to the Senate, and referred to Senate Natural Resources on May 7.
HB4, a water conservation bill that represents the consensus
recommendations of the state’s Water Conservation Implementation Task force
established by the legislature in 2003, would establish a statewide water
conservation public awareness program to educate Texas residents about water
conservation; would set forth legislative policy regarding the value of
land stewardship for conservation purposes; and create a Water Conservation
Advisory Council to monitor the development and implementation of water
conservation strategies. The bill would also require the submission of
water conservation plans by retail public water utilities that provide
potable water service to 3,300 or more connections and directs that the
Texas Water Development Board’s water assistance fund can be used for grants
for water conservation.
SB3 (Averitt) OPPOSE
was reported favorably by House
Natural Resources on a vote of 7-2 on May 2. CSSB 3 is a heavily
amended version of the original SB3. Opposition and amendments
focused on the designation of unique reservoir sites. Eliminated were
Fastrill, Little River, and Marvin Nichols. Although SB3 was
originally an omnibus bill that addressed environmental flows along with
water conservation it became a reservoir designation bill. Another big
issue in the bill would be protections and/or benefits for landowners whose
land would be part of the reservoir designation.
CSSB1342 (Hegar)
OPPOSE known as the Edwards
Aquifer legislation would establish a stakeholder process to obtain a
consensus to ensure that flows of the Comal Springs and the San Marcos
Springs would be protected during droughts and to encourage conservation and
the development of new supplies of water to meet the increasing demands of
the region’s rapidly growing population.
Why would
LWV-TX oppose this bill? The bill would raise the cap on pumping from the
Aquifer by a 100,000 acre feet in the face of a statement in the author’s
statement of intent that, “there is no scientific evidence available on
which the authority can base decisions regarding caps for groundwater
withdrawal permits, or interruptions of regular permit withdrawals to
protect the spring flows at the Comal and San Marcos Springs and downstream
surface water rights during low aquifer conditions.” It would be much more
reasonable and scientifically sound to assess the impact before the
current cap is raised.
Melanie Barnes (Lubbock)
LWV-TX lobbies on nuclear waste issues based
on LWVUS positions.
SB 1604 SUPPORT
is relating to responsibilities of certain
state agencies concerning radioactive substances; imposing fees and
surcharges; providing administrative and civil penalties.
Currently, the Texas Department of State
Health Services (DSHS) regulates the recovery of uranium and disposal of
byproduct material as well as the commercial storage and processing of
radioactive waste. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
regulates the disposal of radioactive substances except for byproduct
material and oil and gas naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM)
waste.
SB 1604
consolidates storage, processing, and disposal activities related to uranium
mining and radioactive waste under TCEQ. Most of the language of the bill is
addressing the changes necessary in the Texas Administrative Code to achieve
this objective. Some specifics include:
a)
SB1604
would authorize a separate commercial storage and processing license to be
issued for a site also licensed for disposal. Additionally, the bill
requires an applicant, before a license is issued or renewed by TCEQ, to
demonstrate to TCEQ that the applicant is financially qualified to conduct
the licensed activity, including any required decontamination,
decommissioning, reclamation, and disposal, by posting security acceptable
to TCEQ.
b)
For NEW sites SB 1604 requires TCEQ in adopting rules for the
issuance of licenses under its jurisdiction for new sites for processing or
disposal of radioactive substances from other persons, to adopt criteria for
the designation of certain unsuitable sites. In addition TCEQ is required to
consult with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), the State Soil and
Water Conservation Board, the Bureau of Economic Geology, and other
appropriate state agencies in developing proposed rules and to consider site
suitability, geological, hydrological, and meteorological factors, and
natural hazards, and the demonstration of financial qualifications.
c)
For uranium mining SB 1604 authorizes TCEQ to issue a permit
that authorizes the construction and operation of two or more similar
injection wells within a specified area for mining of uranium. Provides that
an application for a new permit, a major amendment of such a permit, or a
renewal of such a permit for mining of uranium is subject to the public
notice requirements and opportunity for contested case hearing.
LWV-TX has been
working to achieve these goals during the last two legislative sessions. As
of April 18th SB 1604 has been engrossed by the Senate and received from the
Senate by the House. SB 1604 passed the Senate with 29 ayes and 1 nay.
Deanna Fisk (Comal Area)
Priorities are to give
counties more authority over land use to help solve water problems and to
support more funding for state parks.
HB 6 (Hilderbran) SUPPORT
Will credit to Parks & Wildlife all revenue,
less allowable costs, received from the following sources.
Referred to: House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee.
Hearing on 2-20. The League signed in as Supporting.
The bill was left pending without objection.
3/22
Sent to House Calendars committee as substituted.
Amends Section 11.035(b) of the Parks and
Wildlife Code by requiring the department to credit the state parks account
with an amount equal to 74 percent of the credits made to the department
under Section 151.801 of the Tax Code, instead of $1,125,000 per month and
40 percent of the credits. Amends Section 11.043(b) of the Parks and
Wildlife Code, by including an allocation to the large municipality
recreation and parks account which will prevent competition between large
and small communities for funding. This substitute adds counties with a
population of 500,000 or more to the recipients of monies from the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department and other grants. It also replaces the word
"city" with "municipality" in the definition of a political subdivision.
Finally, this committee substitute makes minor changes so that the language
is congruent with the rest of the bill.
SB 252 SUPPORT
Companion Bill. Referred to
Senate Finance Committee
- grants or operation
of concessions in state parks or fishing piers
- publications on
state parks, state historic sites, or state scientific areas
- fines or penalties
received from violations of regulations
- fees and revenue
collected associated with state park lands
New
Information:
HB 12 (Hilderbran)
SUPPORT Rep. Hilderbran, Chairman
of the committee, has moved this bill out of House
Culture, Recreation and Tourism. It is the bill that transfers all
historical sights from Parks & Wildlife Dept. to the Texas Historical
Commission along with giving Parks Dept. more money. The League has no
position on who should take care of historical sights but we are hoping
Parks Dept. gets the increase in funding they need.
HB 12 has been passed in the House and received in
the Senate.
We hoped HB 6
would be the bill for this but it isn’t moving.
SB 353 (Ellis)
The proceeds from the collection
of the taxes imposed by this chapter on the sale, storage, or use of
sporting goods shall be credited to the Parks and Wildlife Department and
deposited as specified in the Parks and Wildlife Code. Referred to
Senate Finance Committee on 2-21.
HB 318 (Miller)
Identical
HJR 71 (Hilderbran) SUPPORT Proposing
a constitutional amendment relating to the dedication of the revenue
received from the sporting goods tax.
On 2/06/2007-
Referred to House Culture, Recreation and
Tourism Committee The League signed in as Supporting at the hearing.
New Information: 4-17 voted favorably from
committee.
SJR 16 (Ellis)
SUPPORT Proposes a
constitutional amendment relating to the dedication of the revenue received
from the sporting goods tax. Referred to Senate Finance on 2-21.
HB 3447 (Rose) SUPPORT Would regulate land development in a county wholly or partly located in a priority groundwater
management area (PGMA) designated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, that contains territory from seven
or more counties. The commissioners court of a county may regulate, by order, the subdivision to use a water or wastewater
system, have a minimum fire suppression system, require improvements to all streets and roads, require a minimum amount of
open space or impose a limit on amount of impervious cover for recharge and runoff purposes, impose impact fees, prescribe
the density or number of residential units that can be built per acre of land, requiring buffer zones or adopting other measures
to minimize conflicts between incompatible land uses or adopt any other regulation necessary to regulate or manage land
development. Referred to House County Affairs. Hearing 4-18, League sent testimony and signed in.
New Information: HB 3447
passed favorably from Committee.
Linda Hanratty (Tarrant Co.)
HRC 11 (Solomon)
SUPPORT would direct the Office of
the Attorney General of Texas to pursue all available remedies, including
but not limited to initiating a lawsuit or joining other states in a suit
against the United States Attorney General, to demand the enforcement of all
existing federal immigration laws by the federal government and to recover
any money owed Texas by the federal government for costs incurred by the
state in dealing with illegal immigration. The League supports economic
assistance to those areas of the state disproportionately impacted by
immigration. This funding should come primarily from federal, state, and
private sources. Referred to the House State Affairs Committee.
04/30/2007- Voted favorably from House State
Affairs; 5/1/2007 - Sent to House Calendars
committee.
HB 904 (Zedler) OPPOSE
would prohibit the construction or operation
by a local governmental entity of a day labor center used to facility
the employment of aliens not lawfully present in the United States. The
League believes the state should support job training and placement for
immigrants. The day labor centers serve a job placement purpose. The
bill was filed on January 26, 2007, and referred to the House State
Affairs Committee on February 8, 2007.
04/30/2007- Voted favorably from
House State Affairs as substituted; 05/02/2007- Sent to House Calendars
committee; 5/8/2007 - Set on House floor calendar for 05/09/2007 as
substituted.
Maxine Barkan (Austin Area)
New
Information:
SB 64 (Zaffirini and
Strama) SUPPORT was heard in the
Elections Committee April 25, 2007. The bill would require general-purpose
committees to file additional reports from the ninth day before an election
until the second day before an election if the contributions exceed $1,000.
A substitute was offered to increase the ceiling to $5,000. The substitute
was passed 5-0 and referred to the House Calendars Committee. This
legislation would prevent large contributions close to an election and that
would not be reported until after an election. The League agreed to the
substitute and signed in favor of the bill.
HB 158 (Naishtat)
SUPPORT was heard in committee on
March 14, 2007. The League signed in favor of the bill at the hearing. The
bill has several co-sponsors who had similar bills to offer. They have been
combined into one, CSHB 158 after making sure the language of the
bill would accomplish the goal. To review, last year the Texas Ethics
Commission, in an Advisory Opinion which the League with several other
organizations requested, stated that a state official did not have to report
the value of a gift of cash or a check. This was in response to two checks
last summer totaling $100,000 that were reported to the Ethics Commission as
checks with no identifying information. In the Advisory Opinion, the
Commission said they were not required to request this information. The
Commission’s advice was to ask the legislature to pass legislation that
would be specific. CSHB 158 would require an individual to report the
fair market value of a gift when filing a financial statement with the
Ethics Commission. No fiscal note is required. If passed, the financial
reporting would be required after January 1, 2008. CSHB 158 was
scheduled for debate in the House on April 11, 2007 and was passed to
engrossment and sent to the Senate.
Laura Blackburn (Houston)
Only two of the House
bills we have been following had been heard by the House Committee on
Environmental Regulation by May 7.
HB 1252 (Bonnen)
SUPPORT requires that not only
should a pre-construction permit be reviewed every ten years, it must also
be reviewed during a permit amendment. HB 1252 was reported
favorably out of the Environmental Regulation Committee on April 12.
New information:
On May 3 it was replaced in the House on second reading by its
companion bill, SB 1673 (Averitt.) HB 1252 was then “laid on the
table.” SB 1673 was passed on third reading in the House on May 4
and passed to engrossment. The Senate had passed SB 1673 on April
12. This will be a valuable addition to achieving clean air in Texas.
HB 2475 (Hochberg)
SUPPORT had a similar fate. This
is the House version of the “toxic hotspots” bill and, while it never had a
hearing in the House Environmental Regulation Committee, companion bills
SB 1855 (Gallegos) SUPPORT and SB 1906 (Ellis) SUPPORT still have a
chance of passing.
SB 12 (Averitt)
SUPPORT updates the Texas
Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) and the Low-Income Vehicle Repair Assistance
Program (LIRAP.) SB 12 passed the Senate on March 21 and a hearing
was held in the House Committee on Environmental Regulation on April 10.
New information:
A committee substitute was offered on May 2 and it was voted
favorably out of the Environmental Regulation Committee.
SB 93 (Gallegos)
SUPPORT Provides for fence-line
monitoring and sets up a procedure for setting ambient air standards for
highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOCs). This bill was referred
to the Natural Resources Committee on January 23, and no further action has
been taken.
SB 124 (Ellis)
SUPPORT requires Texas to adopt
the California standards for cars and light trucks. The bill was
left pending in the Senate Natural Resources Committee after the hearing on
April 10, and no further action has been taken.
SB 529 (Watson)
SUPPORT is the commonly-known
“clean school bus” bill. It passed the Senate on April 11 and was referred
to the House Environmental Regulation Committee on April 12. No further
action has been taken.
SB 1855 (Gallegos)
SUPPORT establishes the “toxic
hotspots” pilot program and sets ambient air standards for priority toxic
air contaminants: benzene, 1, 3 butadiene, diesel particulate matter,
ethylene dichloride and nickel. SB 1855 was heard in the Natural
Resources Committee on April 17 and is still pending.
SB 1906 (Ellis)
SUPPORT is similar to SB 1855
by Gallegos relating to toxic hotspots. It was referred to the Senate
Natural Resources Committee on March 22.
SB 1924 (Gallegos) SUPPORT
establishes an Air Pollutant Watch List for various geographic areas of the
state. It was heard by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources on April
17, and passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee on April 19.
New information:
On
May 3 SB 1924
was set on the Senate
Intent Calendar for May 4. It was then removed from the Senate Intent
Calendar on May 4.
Linda Camin (Dallas)
New
Information:
Significant progress has
occurred in achieving a constitutional amendment to require the Texas
Legislature to routinely record their votes and make the results readily
available to the public. For the first time, the House passed such a bill:
HJR 19 (Branch)! Last week, the Senate Committee on Administration
voted out a committee substitute of HJR 19 (Carona) and the Senate
unanimously passed it! That is the good news; the bad news is that the House
and Senate versions differ: the Senate version requires recorded votes
through out the legislative process and House version requires them on final
passage only. Both versions are now required to go to a Conference Committee
of representatives from both chambers. As of press time for this issue of
the LNL, the members of the Conference Committee have not yet been named. We
will let you know when the appointments are made.
Meanwhile, special
recognition to Karen Rankin, our Capitol Corp representative on Recorded
Votes, who has been delivering sunshine and snickerdoodles faithfully to the
legislators and their staffs. Thanks also to all of you who have been
communicating with your representatives. Senator Ken Brimer, Chairman of the
Committee on Administration, merits an expression of appreciation for his
scheduling of the Committee hearing and vote on HJR 19 (Carona) and
all the members of the Senate should be thanked for voting for it.
Stay tuned – more to
come.
Gloria Suarez-Sasser (San Marcos Area)
New
Information:
HRJ 23 (Naishtat) Support Calls for a moratorium on the execution of persons
convicted of capital offenses. The bill would grant the governor the power
to issue an order to prohibit the Department of Criminal Justice from
performing executions on or after the effective date and until the order is
revoked. This bill was filed in November 13, 2006 and was referred to the
House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on February 6, 2007. The bill was
scheduled for a hearing on April 24, 2007 and was left pending. On April
27, 2007, the bill was voted favorably from the committee and on May 1,
2007 was referred to the House Calendar Committee.
Barbara Weinstein (Dallas)
HB 218 (Brown) OPPOSE Relating to requiring a
voter to present proof of identification. We
are waiting for a vote on HB 218 that has passed the House. The bill
has been on the Senate Intent Calendar every day since May 1 and on the
Business Calendar every day since May 1. It can be pulled for a vote at
anytime.
We will let you know the
vote when it happens.
Julia Marsden (Austin Area)
Texas has
the nation’s highest rate of uninsured children, with one in five kids
lacking coverage. The Cure – Cut the number of uninsured Texas kids in
half by enrolling every eligible child in CHIP and Medicaid.
LWV-TX is
a member of the CHIP Coalition and the Insure Texas Kids Campaign.
As a member we will be working to help bring about The Cure. The
Coalition will work to:
-
Implement 12 months continuous eligibility
for CHIP and Children’s Medicaid
-
Eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks to
encourage personal responsibility and help low income families achieve
self-sufficiency:
a.
Fix problems with the Integrated Eligibility System to prevent
eligible kids from losing CHIP and Medicaid coverage
b.
Eliminate the CHIP asset test
c.
Eliminate the CHIP 90 day waiting period for uninsured children
d.
Deduct childcare and child support expenses when calculating income
for CHIP
e. Provide adequate
reimbursement for Medicaid and CHIP providers
f. Invest in outreach and
education to ensure that all eligible children get the care that they need.
HB 109
by (Turner and Davis)
joined forces to submit a committee substitute for the 30 CHIP bills that
were heard in the Human Services committee. CSHB 109
passed 8-1 and achieves much of the CHIP Coalition Agenda.
·
Children would renew coverage
annually instead of every six months. Income eligibility would allow
child-care expenses to be deducted when calculating income. The current
90 day waiting period for uninsured children would be eliminated, and Texas
CHIP’s original crowd-out policy would be reinstated.
·
The asset test was modified:
Families would now be limited to $10,000 in assets (up from $5,000), and the
vehicle allowance was increased from $15,000 to $18,000 for the first
vehicle and $4,650 to $7,500 for the second vehicle.
Although the coalition
had wanted the asset test to be eliminated and sought additional income
deductions, we are pleased to see the bi-partisan support for the bill. The
House voted overwhelmingly to pass CSHB. Thanks for all your help with the
action alert.
Last week the Texas
house overwhelmingly passed HB 109 (Turner, Davis, J, Dukes, England and
Pena) SUPPORT which was engrossed on 4-4 and received in the
Senate 4/10. Additionally the bill has a long list of coauthors.
HB 109
would:
- Return to a 12 month
continuous eligibility period;
- Allow for the
deduction of child care expenses from a family’s income when determining
eligibility;
- Eliminate the 90-day
waiting period before coverage begins;
- Increase the assets
limit to $10,000 (up from $5,000) and the vehicle allowance to $18,000 (up
from $15,000);
- Increase outreach
efforts so that more children who are eligible for CHIP coverage are
enrolled. It is estimated that this number is 100,000.
The CHIP program is not
for slackers. CHIP insures the children of working parents who earn too
little to afford private health insurance but make too much to be eligible
for Medicaid. To quote the Austin American Statesman, “this
is the best deal in town”. For every dollar CHIP spends in Texas, the
federal government pays 72 cents and the state pays 28 cents.
The battle now moves to
the Senate where it faces a real uphill battle! Lt. Governor Dewhurst
opposes allowing children to enroll for 12 months. (The CHIP Coalition has
included the re-enrollment form in material given to legislators and
believes that this is a complicated process, not the easy two-page form
described by some.)
In addition to this
hurdle the State is faced with the settlement costs of Frew v. Hawkins, a 14
year old dispute over the state’s obligations to children on Medicaid.
Legislators want to complete the agreement before the end of the session on
May 28 because it is estimated that this will cost the state over $700
million over the next two years. It is not known how this will affect the
House budget and the money that will be needed to restore CHIP to pre-2003
levels.
SB 266 (Zaffirini)
SUPPORT would extend the 12-month
coverage for children’s Medicaid. To date this is the only bill that would
accomplish this and needs strong support.
HB 740 (Naishtat)
SUPPORT and HB 1051 (Naishtat)/SB 693 (Uresti) SUPPORT
would fix the broken eligibility system and problems with the private
contractor. Policy changes will not address these problems. HB 740
would amend the Health and Safety Code and would require the Health and
Human Services commission to develop eligibility screening and enrollment
procedures that would automatically enroll eligible children in the
children’s Medicaid program, using a consolidated application and address
what should be a seamless process for moving from one program to the other.
HB 1051 addresses performance standards for processing time, eligibility
determination for CHIP and Medicaid and training and staffing of those
processing applications.
Marlene Lobberecht (Houston Area)
HB 332 (Rep. Chisum,
Rep. Swinford) OPPOSE Child
Care Legislation: Exemptions from childcare licensing requirements.
This bill describes characteristics of organizations and entities that
childcare licensing exemptions DO NOT apply to. Examples include any state
operated facility, an agency foster home, a youth camp, and a facility
operated in or connected with a shopping center, business, religious
organization or establishment where children are cared for during short
periods when parents are engaged in other activities.
New Information:
Voted favorably from
House Public Health
as substituted 04/26/2007 and sent to House Calendars committee 05/01/2007.
HB 406 (Rep. Hartnet)
OPPOSE Relates to license
requirements for preschool and after-school programs operated by public or
private schools. This bill, similar to HB 332, describes
characteristics of organizations and entities that childcare licensing
exemptions DO NOT apply to. Examples include any state operated facility, an
agency foster home, a youth camp, and a facility operated in or connected
with a shopping center, business, religious organization or establishment
where children are cared for during short periods when parents are engaged
in other activities. New Information:
Voted favorably from
House Human Services
as substituted 05/03/2007.
HB 482 (Rep.Villarreal)
SUPPORT Would allow children to
remain in public pre-kindergarten after they have been adopted from foster
care. New Information:
The House passed HB 482 and it is awaiting a
hearing in the Senate. Referred
to
Senate Education
4/03/2007.
SB 50 (Zaffirini) SUPPORT
Early Childhood Professional
Development Partnership. The initiative will support the professional
development of early care and education professionals by establishing a
training partnership and career path within the profession, expand annual
training required of caregivers from qualified trainers and accountability
within licensed child care programs. This addresses the number one and two
child care program priorities of the LWV-TX. SB 50 is also the
number three priority of the Texas Early Care and Education Coalition (TECEC).
Update: SB 50 voted favorably from the Senate Education Committee as
substituted. LWV-TX testimony supporting Early Care & Education provided to
Senate Education Committee and voted favorably out of Committee.
New Information: Received in the House
April 24; sent to the House Education Committee April 27 and hearing set for
05/08/2007.
Susan Barrick (Lubbock)
HB 1214 (Christian et
al.) SUPPORT Texas' 79th
Legislature set 500 MW of “non-wind” renewable generation as a target fort
the year 2015 to encourage renewable energy technology based on biomass,
geothermal, solar, hydropower and other novel sources. Implementation of
this goal has lagged because legislation did not state if the 500 MW
non-wind goal was mandatory or voluntary. This bill would clear up the
intent of the Legislature that 500 MW of non-wind renewable generation
installed by 2015 is mandatory. New information:
Referred to Senate Business & Finance committee on 4/17.
HB 1415
(Leibowitz) SUPPORT Recommended for Local
& Consent calendar. This bill would
amend the Utilities Code to require the Public Utility Commission by rule to
ensure that credits for electricity produced by a public school building's
solar panels correspond to the value of the electricity at the time of day
it is provided by the school to the electric transmission grid and
distribution center.
SB 1612 (Van de
Putte) COMPANION
SB 658 SUPPORT
Would set up a program to accredit buildings as energy efficient, with
standards updated bi-annually and an energy efficiency scorecard system to
enable home-buyers to compare houses and qualify for energy-efficient
mortgages under the National Housing Act. This program may also help
communities qualify for emissions reduction credits if they adopt codes to
meet or exceed energy-efficient building or energy performance standards.
Passed out of the Senate onto the House on 4/19.
New Information: Referred to the House Government Reform
committee, 4/24.
CSSB 663 (Hegar) SUPPORT Producer incentives for fuel ethanol and
biodiesel plants established in 2003 to use definitions and guidelines that
exclude second and third generation biofuels. This bill would add a
definition for "renewable diesel" to encourage production of renewable
diesel fuel through the producer incentive program.
New information: Passed by Senate,
sent to House Ways and Means, left pending in committee, 4/25.
CSHB 1000 (Burnam)
SUPPORT This bill would give sales
tax exemptions on Energy Star appliances (as designated by the EPA and Dept.
of Energy) for home and personal use two weekends each year in order to
bring about energy conservation and mitigate the need for new electric
generation capacity in Texas. New information:
Passed out of the House and referred to the Senate Finance committee
4/17.
CSHB 1415 (Leibowitz,
Strama, Anchia) SUPPORT This bill
would amend the Utilities Code to require the Public Utility Commission by
rule to ensure that credits for electricity produced by a public school
building's solar panels correspond to the value of the electricity at the
time of day it is provided by the school to the electric transmission grid
and distribution center. New information:
The House committee report was sent to the Local & Consent Calendar
on 4/30.
CSHB 2713 (Bonnen &
Hancock) SUPPORT This bill was
filed March 6. It would establish an interim special committee on electric
energy generation capacity and the environmental impact of electrical
generation. It would be composed of chairs of the House Environmental
Regulation, Energy Resources and Regulated Industries committees, chairs of
Senate Natural Resources and Business and Commerce committees, four
additional house members appointed by the speaker and 5 additional members
of the senate appointed by the Lt. Governor. This committee would inventory
existing electrical generation facilities and study demand for generation
capacity and availability of infrastructure technology to plan for and meet
demand for the next 25 years. New information:
Referred to Senate Natural Resources committee, 5/1.
CSHB 3693 (Straus)
SUPPORT Electric utilities in
Texas are required to achieve energy efficiency and conservation. This bill
would reduce electrical consumption and demand and thereby protect ERCOT's
reserve generating margin and prevent crises during peak load demand times.
CSHB 3693 would improve and expand existing energy efficiency measures,
allow better management of customer demand, update building energy codes,
and require state agencies to utilize equipment and appliances that are more
energy efficient. The resulting reductions in electricity use should
prevent short-term peak demand shortfalls and help avoid costly new power
plants and transmission lines. New information:
Placed on General State Calendar 5/4.
Nancy Wilson (Richardson)
Maxine
Barkan for Nancy Wilson
New
Information:
A
League-supported Redistricting bill has never made it this far in the
process, as we recall, but it is still a long way from the finish. At this
point, we are holding our collective breaths waiting for the outcome of last
week’s hearing in the House Redistricting Committee where all the
redistricting bills are ‘pending in committee’.
There is a
rumor circulating that it is the intent of Joe Crabb, chairman of the House
Redistricting Committee, to take a pass this session, and to have a special
committee work on Redistricting in the interim. The League is opposed to
‘kicking the issue down the road’ and stressed the importance of acting NOW.
SB 1068
(Wentworth) SUPPORT
has essentially the same provisions that were in the previous
session’s proposal. The bill would establish The Texas Redistricting
Commission in the Government Code, Chapter 307. It would provide for the
legislative authority to adopt redistricting plans for the election of
members of the congressional House of Representatives. The initial
commission would consist of nine members: two appointed by the majority of
the Texas House of Representatives from the political party with the most
members, two with the second highest members of a political party, two from
the Senate from the political party with the most members, two from the
political party with the second highest number of members, and one appointed
by five members of the commission who would be chair and non voting. Further
provisions account for representation from a non-metropolitan statistical
area, thus giving rural and semi-rural areas a voice. Eligibility
requirements for serving on the commission are also outlined to make sure
that it is as non political as possible. The League testified at the Senate
hearing, and SB 1068 passed with a 20:10 vote. The bill is now in
the House Redistricting Committee, along with several other bills the League
has been following.
On May 2, the House Redistricting Committee had all the Redistricting bills
on the agenda. HB 3777(Rose) SUPPORT is the identical bill, but it
appeared on the agenda as SB 1068. Sponsors were limited to two oral
presentations. No written testimony was accepted. Rose invited the League
to be one of the two presenters for SB 1068. The early morning
committee meeting was recessed for a House session before the League’s
testimony. Chairman Joe Crabb agreed to accept the League’s planned oral
testimony in written form since Maxine Barkan had been present and ready to
present at the specified time. The committee hearing resumed later that
evening and all redistricting bills are now ‘pending in committee’.
#####
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