Texas Catholic Voice March 31, 2025

Advocacy Day is almost here! We are thrilled to be welcoming Catholics across Texas to the Capitol tomorrow to visit their legislators and attend a rally to support the bishops’ public policy agenda. The day’s events will also include 1,200 Catholic school students participating in mock hearings on the topic of raising the age of criminal responsibility from 17 to 18. We are excited to hear their thoughtful arguments on an issue that directly affects their age group.

We invite anyone in the area on Tuesday to join us at 11:30 on the south steps of the Capitol for the rally. The bishops will be welcoming attendees from their dioceses and speaking on specific legislation. Several legislators are expected to join them on stage.

Everyone is also welcome to attend Mass on Monday night at 5:30 pm at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The newly installed archbishop of Galveston-Houston, Joe Vásquez, will be the celebrant and his brother bishops will be concelebrating. A rosary will precede Mass at 5:00 pm.

If you cannot make it to Austin, please pray for our efforts and safe travels for all participants.

Below are some of the bills we’ll be discussing with our legislators on Tuesday. You can find the full schedule and more information on our website.

Education

HB 2 (Rep. Brad Buckley) 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.

SB 2 and HB 3 (Sen. Brandon Creighton and Rep. Brad Buckley) establishes 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.

Social Concerns

The following bills are some of the Housing Affordability Package items:
HB 3172 & SB 854 “Yes in God’s Backyard Bills” (Rep. Gary Gates and Sen. Mayes Middleton) 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.

HB 5187 & SB 2477 (Rep. Jared Patterson and Sen. Paul Bettencourt) 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.

Life & Family

SB 571 (Sen. Paul Bettencourt) 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.

“The Life of the Mother” bill HB 44 & SB 31 (Rep. Charlie Geren and Sen. Bryan Hughes) clarifies the civil liability statues to ensure medical professionals are not hesitant to provide appropriate care for mothers with pregnancy complications. The TCCB supports this bill, so women receive the necessary care when facing life-threatening pregnancy compilations.

Restorative Justice

“Second Look” HB 200 (Rep. Brad Buckley) 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.

Immigration

HB 371 and HB 4707 (Reps. Ben Bumgarner and Andy Hopper) 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 this bill which would remove access to education from children in Texas.

Creation

HB 1499 & SB 718 (Rep. Cody Harris and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst) creates 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.

Religious Liberty

HB 2816 & SB 618 (Rep. Tom Oliverson and Sen. Kevin Sparks) allows medical professionals to decline to participate in a healthcare service for reasons of conscience. The TCCB supports this bill for the protection of health care professionals' conscience.

Bills in Committee March 31-April 4

House Public Health, Monday, 8 a.m. 
HB 2283 by Rep. Phil Cortez replaces epinephrine "auto-injectors" with epinephrine "delivery devices" in the Education Code and other areas of statute to include both auto-injectors and nasal sprays. The TCCB supports this bill to include in statutory definition the delivery of epinephrine through a nasal spray.

Senate State Affairs, Monday, 9 a.m. 
SB 1316 by Sen. Molly Cook prohibits advertisements for e-cigarettes within 1000 feet of a church or school. The TCCB supports this bill to limit exposure to e-cigarette advertising.

House Human Services, Tuesday, 8 a.m.
HB 2789 by Rep. James Frank exempts "single source continuum contractors" from needing a child-placing agency license to fulfill their responsibilities. The TCCB supports this bill to balance operational efficiency with the safety and welfare of children within the Texas child-care system.
Senate Criminal Justice, Tuesday, 8 a.m.
SB 1437 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt closes loopholes in the do not hire registry for juvenile justice to include non-certified employees. The TCCB supports this bill to improve protection for vulnerable children.

Senate Education K-16, Tuesday, 9 a.m.
SB 2252 by Sen. Creighton requires an assessment be administered to Kindergarten students to diagnose foundational literacy skills and requires early interventions for at-risk students. The TCCB supports this bill to improve literacy.

House Criminal Jurisprudence, Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.
HB 1686 by Rep. Lacey Hull prohibits public dissemination of property related to evidence (including visual images) from victim forensic medical examinations. The TCCB supports this bill because it protects the privacy of victims of sex trafficking.

House Licensing and Regulation, Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.
HB 589 by Rep. Senfronia Thompson requires the Dept of Licensing and Regulation to establish an anti-trafficking unit that will identify businesses operating within industries affected by human trafficking and coordinate with the OAG to combat trafficking. The TCCB supports this bill to combat human trafficking.

House Insurance, Wednesday, 8 a.m.
HB 778 by Rep. Jeff Leach requires a health benefit plan that provides coverage for gender transition procedures or treatment to also provide coverage for the treatment of any resulting adverse effects, including treatment for the reversal of any gender transition procedure. The TCCB supports this bill to provide health care coverage for gender transition reversal.

HB 3320 by Rep. Tom Oliverson allows the creation of insurance pools for 2 or more religious nonprofits or churches. They must form an indemnity agreement, be solvent, agree to the assumption of pool obligations, and create a temporary 9-person board. Certificate of the pool's authority authorizes the pool to provide coverage to churches, nonprofit religious organizations and religious denominations on a self-insured basis for damage to or loss of a structure or buildings and rates for pool coverage must be actuarily justified. Members of the pool would be jointly and severally liable. The TCCB supports this bill because it promotes religious liberty by offering religious groups access to insurance coverage options.

House State Affairs, Wednesday, 8 a.m.
HB 1805 by Rep. Tom Oliverson creates a religious liberty commission with members appointed by the Governor to advance religious freedom rights and create a religious library. The TCCB supports this bill to promote and preserve religious freedom.

House Subcommittee on Disease, Women’s Health, Thursday, 8 a.m.
HB 514 by Rep. Suleman Lalani requires HHSC to develop and implement a public outreach campaign to increase the number of maternal health care professionals to improve access to maternal health care in rural areas and other areas with shortages of maternal health care professionals. The TCCB supports this bill to improve access to maternal health care in underserved areas.

House Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice, Thursday, 8 a.m.
HB 3276 by Rep. Candy Noble closes loopholes in the do not hire registry for juvenile justice to include non-certified employees. The TCCB supports this bill to improve protection for vulnerable children.

House Land & Resource Management, Thursday, 8 a.m.
HB 3919 by Rep. Gary Gates sets 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 bill to increase homeownership opportunities, lower housing costs and reduce homelessness.

House Transportation, Thursday, 8 a.m.
HB 791 by Rep. Phil Cortez requires DPS to issue a specialty license plate for Central Catholic High School that includes "With Loyal Hearts" on the bottom of the plate and the school's logo on the left side. The TCCB supports this bill to issue Central Catholic HS specialty license plates.

House Criminal Jurisprudence, Thursday, 10:30 a.m.
HB 353 by Rep. Jared Patterson creates an offense of criminal trespass for remaining on school or day care property after being asked to leave by administrators. The TCCB supports this bill to improve the safety of schools and day care centers.

HB 1902 by Rep. David Cook creates a criminal offense called "jugging" which is targeting a person withdrawing money from an ATM, bank, credit union or CSO and then follows that person with the intent to commit theft. The TCCB supports this bill to protect Texans from the often-violent crime of jugging.