Texas Catholic Voice May 5, 2025

Exactly four weeks until Sine Die! By now, bills are dying every day simply due to the process and timing. According to House deadlines, House bills must arrive in Calendars by May 12 in order to be set on the final House calendar for passing House bills, which will be May 15. However, even if a bill is set on that final calendar, the House has not finished the final house calendar in decades. While there are fewer bills moving, vigilance is essential during this time of session. The Senate deadlines are not constitutional so they have more flexibility in pushing last minute bills – so dead House bills can find resurrection in the Senate during this Easter season.

Eyes of Father Margil

TCCB archivist, Selena Aleman, testified for the first time at the legislature on HB 4103, which would establish the Eyes of Fr. Margil State Historic Site and Trail in Nacogdoches. The Venerable Father Antonio Margil de Jesús, a Franciscan missionary, helped establish the East Texas missions to convert the local indigenous people, including the Tejas and Caddo. During a difficult drought, Father Margil prayed for rain and the next morning led a group to a sight of rocks while praying. He tapped the rocks with his staff and water flowed forward from two rocks resembling eyes. Although the East Texas missions Father Margil built of local timber no longer stand, the sight of his miracle, now a spring, remains as a pilgrimage site at a Nacogdoches city park.

After hostilities between the Spanish and French forced Father Margil to leave the area in 1719, he briefly resided at San Antonio de Valero, now known as the Alamo. While at Mission Valero, Father Margil established Mission San José, which is today part of the UNESCO World Heritage site in San Antonio.

Bishop Gregory Kelly of Tyler has reopened Father Margil’s cause for canonization with the support of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Nacogdoches and their pastor, Father George Elliot. Father Margil joins other ongoing canonization causes from Texas, including Oblate Father Pierre Kéralum, who ministered in the Brownsville Diocese, Venerable Sister Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, also known as the “Lady in Blue,” who ministered in the San Angelo Diocese, and Sister Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy, foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Spirit and Mary Immaculate, in the San Antonio Archdiocese.

Texas Dream Act Repeal

Testimony ran late into the night on HB 232 which would repeal the Texas Dream Act passed in 2001. Shannon Jaquette testified against the repeal of the Dream Act on behalf of the TCCB. As in the Senate hearing, the testimony from undocumented Texans who were able to access a college education because of the benefit of in-state tuition rates was compelling. HB 232 would squander the talent and potential of Texas residents in whom the state has already invested in its K-12 public schools.

Update on Earned Wage Access

HB 2043, the House earned wage access bill, died on the House floor last Tuesday on a point of order.  However, the bill can still be resurrected, and we are continuing our opposition to this new lending product because the consumer protections are weak. We developed a one-pager in collaboration with the Archdiocese of the Military of the USA due to the harmful impact on military families. The most likely move by bill supporters is to try to quickly get a hearing set on the Senate version of the bill, SB 938. Unfortunately, there continues to be a great deal of misinformation about this bill, so we have joined with several other organizations opposing the bill to correct the facts with this handout.

 Pope Francis Senate Resolution

The Senate honored Pope Francis with a lovely Senate floor resolution (SR 463) authored by all the Catholic Senators. Senator Bettencourt and several others spoke about the late Holy Father. You can watch the video here.

Prayers for Papal Conclave

The conclave begins on Wednesday, May 7. We pray that the cardinal electors will be guided by the Holy Spirit in choosing the next Vicar of Christ.

Bills in committee, May 5 – 10

House Public Health Committee, Monday, 8 a.m.

SB 1388 by Senator Lois Kolkhorst amends the Thriving Texas Families Program by requiring HHSC to ensure that service providers are not associated with abortion service providers and do not provide, refer, advocate for, or promote abortion services. It excludes from TTF funding government entities, hospitals, and providers who primarily function as medical, behavioral health, or mental health providers. The TCCB supports this bill to reinforce the Thriving Texas Families Program as a pro-life, pro-woman, pro-family initiative.

House Subcommittee of Family & Fiduciary, Monday, 2 p.m.

HB 1980 by Rep. Hillary Hickland presumes it reasonable and in the best interest of the child for a court to order retroactive child support beginning at the earliest possible date of the child's conception. The TCCB supports this bill to provide support to mothers.

House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Tuesday, 8 a.m. 

SB 1120 by Senator Chuy Hinojosa would provide certain rights to victims or to the surviving family member of the deceased victim. The TCCB supports this bill because it provides crime victims with rights to support their needs.

House Public Education Committee, Tuesday, 8 a.m.

HB 1655 by Rep. Nate Schlatzline prohibits school employees from assisting a student with social transitioning to an alternative gender identity. The TCCB supports this bill as it respects the rights of parents as the primary decision makers regarding their children.

SB 207 by Senator Angela Paxton includes appointments with mental health professionals in the list of reasons for an excused absence from school. The TCCB supports this bill as it recognizes the importance of mental health and its inclusion in health care.

House Natural Resources Committee, Wednesday, 8 a.m.

SB 1302 by Senator Lois Kolkhorst prohibits dischargers of waste that has been denied a permit or had a permit suspended to discharge waste into water or adjacent to waters from receiving a permit for five years after the denial or suspension. The TCCB supports this bill to prevent contamination of Texas water sources.

SB 1663 by Senator Judith Zaffirini enhances notification to people within one mile of the contamination site when water contamination occurs. The TCCB supports this bill to improve notice of water safety.

Senate Health and Human Services, Wednesday, 8 a.m.

HB 37 by Rep. Mihaela Plesa creates a grant program for perinatal palliative care services after a perinatal death or stillbirth. The TCCB supports this bill to provide families with greater support after a loss.

House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, Thursday, 8 a.m.

SB 990 by Senator Paul Bettencourt repeals the section of the Code of Criminal Procedure that states that a person who is found guilty murder of an individual between 10-15 years of age may not be sentenced to death and the state may not seek the death penalty in such cases. The TCCB opposes this bill as an expansion of the death penalty.