Legislative testimony
Oppose HB 4, uphold the rights and dignity of every person, foster the common good
The following testimony was delivered on Nov. 9 before the House State Affairs Committee by Justin Estep, senior director of Immigration and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities of Central Texas. As a church of immigrants, the Catholic Church has a long history of involvement in the immigration issue. Our experience in working with immigrants throughout the…
Read MoreHB 4 not solution for immigration reform
The following testimony was delivered on Oct. 19 before the House State Affairs Committee by Justin Estep, senior director of Immigration and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities of Central Texas. The Catholic Church has a long history of involvement in the immigration issue. Our experience in working with immigrants throughout the years compels us to speak…
Read MoreAs amended, HB 21 improves school finance and offers choice for special needs students
Michael Barba The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops support HB 21 as amended by the Senate. The Principle of Parental Choice. We strongly support parental choice and we applaud Rep. Simmons for authoring this bill, both because it: 1. recognizes that parents are the primary educators of a child, and 2. provides opportunities for special needs…
Read MoreHB 2008: requires payday lenders to comply with federal military lending regs
Jennifer Allmon Executive Director The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops support HB 2008. This bill requires that payday and auto-title lenders comply with the federal military lending act. The TCCB supports this bill to prevent predatory loans to active duty military. The Texas Catholic Bishops first became concerned about the harmful effects of payday and…
Read MoreHB 1134: uniform statewide payday lending regulations
Jennifer Allmon Executive Director The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops support HB 1134. We would like to thank Representative Craddick for filing this important bill to provide uniform statewide regulation for payday and auto-title lenders. Frustrated with the lack of meaningful regulation by the state, cities throughout Texas have taken steps to pass a unified ordinance…
Read MoreHB 1335: Parental choice helps children in foster care and with special needs, too
Michael Barba Associate Director of Public Policy My name is Michael Barba and I am testifying on HB 1335 on behalf of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops. The Principle of Parental Choice. We strongly support parental choice and we applaud Rep. Simmons for authoring this bill, both because it: recognizes that parents are the…
Read MoreHB 3347: Support before- and after-school care
Michael Barba Associate Director of Public Policy The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops supports HB 3347. Analysis and Recommendation. Under HB 3347, the board of trustees of a school district can establish before-school and after-school programs for students in Elementary or Middle school. The programs would be maintained through public-private partnerships, and HB 3347 effectively makes…
Read MoreHB 3081: Undermines attempts to regulate predatory payday and auto title lending
Jennifer Allmon Executive Director The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops oppose HB 3081. HB 3081 seeks to prohibit local cities from establishing payday and auto-title lending regulations. On its surface, this bill violates the Catholic principal of subsidiarity, which notes that governmental decisions are best made by those closest to those impacted by the decisions –…
Read MoreSB 2178: Should not include payday and auto title lending in its scope
Michael Barba The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops opposes SB 2178. Bill Analysis. SB 2178 establishes that a suit may be filed by a state-licensed business in district court against a municipal regulation if: the municipal regulation is more burdensome than the state regulation, or the municipal regulation would result in an adverse economic impact…
Read MoreSB 1530: seeks to prohibit local cities from establishing payday and auto-title lending regulations
Michael Barba Associate Director of Public Policy I am testifying in opposition to SB 1530 on behalf of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops. SB 1530 seeks to prohibit local cities from establishing payday and auto-title lending regulations. On its surface, this bill violates the Catholic principal of subsidiarity, which notes that governmental decisions are…
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