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 MoreThe 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 MoreMichael 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 MoreJennifer 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 MoreJennifer 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 MoreMichael 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 MoreMichael 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 MoreJennifer 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 MoreMichael 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 MoreMichael 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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