TCCB priorities included in special session agenda for Texas Legislature

Gov. Abbott’s agenda addresses 20 items, including pro-life issues and parental choice

AUSTIN -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s issues to be addressed in the one-month special session include many of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops’ priorities, especially pro-life legislation and parental choice for special needs students. The Governor mandated the special session’s first priority to address the sunset of the Texas Medical Board, after which he will add 19 topics to the agenda. There are seven issues that are priorities for the TCCB:

• Prohibit state and local governments from establishing contracts with abortion providers.
• Reform insurance coverage to prohibit coverage of abortion.
• Improve abortion complication reporting requirements to ensure that data is accurate.
• Extend the maternal mortality task force.
• Establish a school finance commission to study how to reform the system.
• Establish school choice for special needs students.
• Strengthen patient protections relating to do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders.

“We are happy Gov. Abbott prioritized pro-life bills, including DNR reform, which will truly help advance a culture of life in our state,” commented Jennifer Carr Allmon, executive director of the TCCB. “In addition, by prioritizing both school finance and parental choice, the Legislature has the opportunity to reform our state’s education system in a way that benefits all Texas children.”

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops is the association of the Roman Catholic bishops of Texas. Through the TCCB, the bishops provide a moral and social public policy voice that includes monitoring all legislation pertaining to Catholic moral and social teaching; accredit the state's Catholic schools; and maintain records that reflect the work and the history of the Catholic Church in Texas.

--30--