Week of March 29, 2021 Focus Area: Oppose Voter Suppression Omnibus Elections Bill: SB 7 by Hughes We expect SB 7 on the Senate floor very soon — possibly as soon as Tuesday. Many of the provisions do absolutely nothing for security, but simply make it harder to cast...
Last week, committees accelerated to full speed. With the bill filing deadline in the rearview mirror, committees met in-person all day with long agendas, and posted even fuller agendas for this week. Now that bill filing has ended, the final numbers are clear. The...
Focus Area: Racial Justice—Police Reform & Voting Rights Support Police Reform HB 54 by Talarico HB 54 would prohibit law enforcement from contracting with television crews to create reality TV shows after filming such a show led to the death of a man in...
Texas’s 140 day legislative session consists of three overlapping “seasons.” Bill filing season spans the first sixty days. Committee hearing season dominates March and early April. Finally, the season of floor action becomes the focus of the final days. This week,...
Week of March 15, 2021 Top Priority: Voting Rights Support Ballot Tracking: HB 1382 by Bucy A top priority issue for Texas Impact, HB1382 would create an electronic tracking system so a voter would be able to track the status of their application to vote by mail, as...
One beautifully messy process of democracy that may fall victim to COVID 19 is the all night committee hearing. Legislative insiders—not to mention their families, friends, and pets—complain about these marathon events…but the hearings play a critical role in...
