Advocacy groups including Workers Defense Action Fund, the ACLU of Texas, and MOVE Texas gathered in a virtual town hall Thursday to make noise for the POWER Act, a bill that would provide between $1,000 to $2,500 to Texans affected by the February snowstorm. ...
Policy
back to archiveCould these two Senate bills weaken Democratic voters in Texas?
Texas chief justices, attorneys and legislators spoke out against Senate Bill 11 and SB 1529 last week in a Texas Senate Committee on Jurisprudence hearing for its lack of minority inclusion. According to Senate documents, these two bills will change the...
Voter suppression bill makes its way out of House committee
House Bill 6, one of two leading voter suppression bills being pushed by Texas Republicans, made its way out of committee Thursday morning. It follows 21 hours of testimony by critics in opposition to the legislation, as well as a vocal campaign by Texas-based...
House Speaker Phelan lays out healthcare priorities — without Medicaid expansion
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) held a press conference Wednesday with fellow House members highlighting a bundle of bipartisan legislative proposals that make up a priority healthcare package dubbed, “Healthy Families, Healthy Texas.” The...
Would a Marshall Plan for Central America work?
Whenever there’s a spike in border crossings, like what’s been seen in recent months, progressives often bring up the idea of a Marshall Plan for Central America. Migrants are fleeing the Northern Triangle (Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala) because of violence and...
Marijuana bills are scheduled for a big week in the Texas House
In the first major movement this session for marijuana legislation, Texas state House lawmakers are holding public hearings this week for a dozen marijuana-related bills. The Public Health Committee is hearing a bill for medical cannabis research on Wednesday and the...
Why are Texas Republicans obsessed with poll watchers?
On Thursday, the Texas House Elections Committee held its second hearing over House Bill 6, one of two “election integrity” bills being prioritized by Texas Republicans this session. If passed, HB 6 would prohibit election officials from distributing mail ballot...
“We feel abandoned”: How landlord negligence forced Austin renters into squalid living conditions following February’s winter storm.
On Tuesday, February 16, Eduardo Canul lay in bed in his Northeast Austin apartment huddling for warmth. Like millions of Texans, the father of three had been without electricity for nearly 48 hours since Winter Storm Uri first struck, unleashing frigid temperatures...
No ruling in Texas yet on DACA
When it comes to DACA, the wait continues. At a status hearing on Tuesday, US District Judge Andrew Hanen did not rule on the legality of the Obama-era program (known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), but he did indicate he could issue a later ruling in...