Parental Choice
After over a decade of advocating for parental choice bills Texas finally passed school choice! Advocacy Day participants helped support bills that required accreditation for participating private schools and contained robust religious liberty and child protections (HB 2, SB 2, HB 3, HB 3347, and SB 571). The Texas House passed SB 2, which establishes educational savings accounts for families, in the early morning hours of Holy Thursday, and the Senate later concurred. This bill will serve 90,000 Texas families and prioritizes children from low-income households and those with disabilities. Governor Abbott signed SB 2 into law on May 3rd.
Win: HB 2, Passed: This bill provides teacher pay raises, increased public school funding targeted towards teachers & students and incorporates the special education commission recommendations to greater serve special needs students. The TCCB supports this bill to increase funding and support for public school teachers and students.
Win: SB 2 (HB 3), Passed: These bills establish a universal education savings account that prioritizes access for the poor and students with disabilities while protecting the religious liberty of participants. The TCCB supports this bill to provide a parental choice program which prioritizes the poor and vulnerable and has strong accountability through accreditation requirements for private schools.
Win: SB 571 (HB 3347) Passed: This bill closes the loophole in the Do Not Hire Registry that allows contracts to evade placement on the registry. The TCCB supports this bill to expand child protection in schools.
Life & Family
Win: SB 31 (HB 44) “Life of the Mother” bills, Passed: These bills clarify the civil liability statutes to ensure medical professionals are not hesitant to provide appropriate care for mothers with pregnancy complications. The TCCB supports these bills, so women receive the necessary care when facing life-threatening pregnancy compilations.
Win: SB 1388 (HB 5285), Passed: This bill 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 The TCCB supports this bill to reinforce the Thriving Texas Families Program as a pro-life, pro-woman, pro-family initiative.
Restorative Justice
Progress: HB 200 “Second Look”: This bill requires inmates serving a sentence for a felony offense committed when they were younger than 18 become eligible for parole the earlier of the date the inmate's actual calendar time equals 20 years or the date the inmate would otherwise be eligible for parole. It also requires additional parole considerations for inmates who were younger than 18 years old at the time of the offense including the diminished culpability of juveniles, the hallmark features of youth, and the greater capacity of juveniles for change. The TCCB supports this bill to allow inmates a second look at long sentences for offenses committed in their youth. This bill moved through the House and was received in the Senate, but was not referred to a committee for a hearing.
Progress: HB 2234 (SB 1306), “Raising the Age”: These bills raise the age of criminal responsibility, from 17 to 18. Specifically, it amends definitions indicating that a child is now defined as being between 10 and 18 years of age. Additionally, individuals aged 18 to 20, who committed offenses before turning 18, may still fall under juvenile court jurisdiction for specific purposes. The TCCB supports this bill to improve the likelihood of rehabilitating juvenile offenders. This bill, moved through the House, was received in the Senate, but was not referred to a committee for a hearing.
Housing Affordability Package
Win: HB 24 (SB 844), Passed: These bills reduce minimum lot size requirements. The TCCB supports this legislation to reduce the requirements for lot size to increase homeownership opportunities, reduce housing costs, and reduce homelessness.
Win: SB 15 (HB 3919), Passed: These bills set forth specific size and density regulations for residential lots in Texas municipalities with populations exceeding 90,000 situated in counties above 300,000 residents. Municipalities are restricted from enforcing ordinances that require residential lots to exceed 1,400 square feet, have setbacks larger than five feet, or maintain a density lower than 31.1 units per acre. The TCCB supports this legislation to increase homeownership opportunities, lower housing costs, and reduce homelessness.
Win: SB 840 (HB 3404), Passed: These bills expand residential options in commercial zones. The TCCB supports this legislation to allow housing to be built in areas zoned for commercial use or office space, creating much-needed housing options, especially in areas with high demand.
Win: SB 2477 (HB 5187), Passed: These bills streamline the conversion of empty or underutilized commercial properties into residential or mixed-use development, including allowing residential in office zones without zoning changes. The TCCB supports this legislation to increase housing affordability.
Loss: HB 3172 (SB 854): These bills improve permitting processes for affordable housing for religious entities who build affordable housing on their property. The TCCB supports this legislation to more efficiently convert property owned by churches and other faith-based entities to affordable housing. The Senate bill died after being voted out of committee but was not set on the Senate floor. The House bill died in the House Committee on Land & Resource Management by not being called up for a vote after the hearing.
Other priority bills
Win: HB 371 (HB 4707): These bills prohibit undocumented immigrants from enrolling in Texas public K-12 schools unless the school board has an agreement for the US government to pay the state for the cost of educating the students. The TCCB opposes these bills, which would remove access to education from children in Texas. This bill was referred to the House Public Education Committee but was not set for a hearing.
Win: HB 1400 (SB 718): These bills create a new funding mechanism for groundwater districts to better analyze their quality and quantity. The TCCB supports this legislation to improve water quality in Texas. This bill was incorporated into the passed budget bill, SB 1, as a rider.
Progress: SB 619 (HB 319): This bill allows medical professionals to decline to participate in healthcare services for reasons of conscience. The TCCB supports this bill for the protection of health care professionals' conscience. This bill passed through the first chamber and was referred to the House Committee on Public Health, where it was not set for a hearing.
Loss: HB 2816: This bill would create conscience protection for healthcare workers and health care facilities by allowing them to decline participation in health care services for reasons of conscience. The TCCB supports this bill for the protection of health care professionals' conscience. This bill died in the House Public Health Committee.