A Message from Legislative and Policy Director Luis Figueroa

Last Thursday, Speaker Phelan released the House committee assignments, and of the 34 standing committees, 14 chairs and 21 vice chairs are Black, Hispanic, or Asian-American. This is in stark contrast to the Senate, where for the first time in at least 25 years, not a single person of color is a chair of one of the 17 committees. Latinx, Black, and Asian populations are growing in total population in Texas and in the share of the electorate, but this is not translating to political power in the Texas Senate. The erasure of people of color from the chairs is on top of the recent Senate rules change that will prevent Democratic members — mostly elected in minority opportunity districts — from blocking a bill from coming to the floor under the newly created 5/9ths rule.

But the straw that breaks the camel’s back is that the same Senate is also currently not allowing any virtual testimony options outside of the redistricting committee hearings. The current rules for testimony will likely result in only paid corporate lobbyists participating in the legislative process in the Senate, while everyday Texans are asked to risk their health or be frozen out. Hearing the lived experiences of everyday Texans is a critical element to making sound public policy, and without public virtual testimony, the laws made this session will lack legitimacy in the eyes of many Texans. As Dean Sen. Whitmire points out, virtual testimony is technologically feasible and currently being executed in the Senate Redistricting Committee efficiently and without complaint.

To summarize, Latinx and Black Senators will not chair any Senate committees. Senators representing communities of color will not be able to stop any legislation regardless of discriminatory impact, and community members not willing to risk their lives by entering the Capitol to testify on important legislation and policy will be left voiceless. Despite this illegitimacy, Every Texan will be working to give voice to these communities through written testimony, public campaigns, and virtual testimony in the Texas House whenever we can.

What We're Following

Here are the top stories we’re following this week:

1. Governor Abbott released the 2022-23 budget proposal, which includes recommendations about how the Legislature should use federal funds to fill in learning gaps in public schools.
2. Speaker Dade Phelan announced House committee assignments, signaling notable changes in committees overseeing public education and budget writing.
3. Economic forecasting experts show that Medicaid expansion would boost the Texas economy while expanding access to health care for millions of Texans.
4. State Senator Eckhardt (SB 310) joins Senator Johnson (SB 127) and Representative Hinojosa (HB 878) in filing bills that would end the “high-cost gas” tax break for certain natural gas wells, ending this long-outmoded giveaway.
5. Republican Representative Lyle Larson joins the call for Medicaid Expansion, pointing to red states that have expanded Medicaid as templates for Texas to use in building a custom-fit expansion plan.

Happening This Week

Thursday, February 11 | 12:00 PM CT
A Conversation with Mike Morath, Texas Education Commissioner

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath heads the Texas Education Agency, which oversees public education from Pre-K through high school. With the COVID-19 pandemic creating learning gaps and raising concerns around school funding, Morath will play a critical role in addressing student needs in the Texas Legislature. We at Every Texan will be tuning in for this Texas Tribune discussion on the state of public education in Texas and hearing for how the Agency plans to put students first.
Register for this discussion >>

Notable Media Coverage

Texas lawmakers and education advocates who believe the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the deficiencies of the attendance-based system are pushing for a shift to an alternative funding formula based on student enrollment. Maintaining the attendance-based formula during a crisis that has caused artificial declines in attendance could cause schools to make cuts. "Public schools are required to provide an education for every student enrolled, but an attendance-based formula funding model underfunds that mandate,” said Every Texan Economic Opportunity Program Director Chandra Kring Villanueva.
Read more via The Dallas Morning News >>

We're Hiring!

Are you a strategic, creative, communications superstar? Are you passionate about social justice, driven by equity and skilled in management? Every Texan seeks a Director of Communications to serve as chief steward of the organization's brand.
Apply today and help advance social justice through strategic communications >>

Take Action

Texas should have expanded Medicaid years ago — but now it’s absolutely urgent. Texans can no longer afford to lead the nation in the uninsured rates and implementing Medicaid expansion is the single most powerful public policy tool Texas lawmakers could use to protect the health and financial security of millions of Texans.
Contact your state representatives and tell them that this legislative session Texas must finally expand Medicaid >>

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