Every Texan Talks - Legislative Podcast from Every Texan

We're baaaaccckkk.....The special session starts next week and the Governor's proclamation setting the agenda for session came out today. Marisa and Luis review the topics and talk about what to expect at the Capitol next week.

On Thursday, June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in public and private college admissions, reversing a policy that schools and universities have used to increase diversity for decades. Joined by analysts and experts from the Every Texan team, Marisa discusses the ruling's harmful implications on policy and people both in Texan and nationwide.

Host: Marisa Bono, Every Texan CEO

Guests:

• Kimberly Clarida, Every Texan Higher Education Policy Analyst
• Jonathan Malagon, Every Texan Director of Equity and Learning
• Jaime Puente, Every Texan Director of Economic Opportunity

Highlights:

• Marisa – "It undermines the integrity of our highest court when you’re overturning decades-long precedent in a way that’s not faithful to the Court’s historical interpretations."
• Kimberly – "If we’re going to address racial issues that have come about because of racism and race, we’re going to have to develop race-based policies to address them. Race-neutral policies won’t fix them."
• Jonathan – "This ruling really ignores the enduring impact and effects of systemic racism. Deeming race irrelevant in law vis a vis college admissions does not make it so in life. The Court is living in an illusion that racial inequality is only a problem of the past."
• Jaime – "The Court has brought back to the forefront this false idea that we can live in a colorblind society after hundreds of years of living in a society that is based on racial categorization; this artificial system of distributing power based on someone’s identity, whether it’s their ethnic identity or the color of their skin." 

All eyes are focused on impeachment this weekend, but we can't lose sight of the fact that the countdown to Sine Die can now be done in hours rather than days. Sunday is the last day for the House and Senate to adopt conference committee reports or adopt the other chamber’s amendments. Like the end of a school year, some members are starting to say their goodbyes to their deskmates and their bills that didn’t pass while others make last-minute changes to legislation through informal conference committees. From preemption to vouchers to food security to immigration and more, Luis and Marisa chat about where our priority bills stand as of May 26, including some rare bi-partisan wins and some major lost opportunities for all Texans. 

With less than 28 days left in the Texas legislative session, Luis and Marisa talk about which bills are moving, which ones are dead, and which ones are... living dead. From healthcare to education to immigration, find out where you can make a difference on the issues that affect all Texans.

With 41 days left in session, Marisa talks with Luis, Jaime, and Shannon Halbrook about the major takeaways from the House budget debate and what Texans can expect in the next couple of weeks at the Capitol before looking at the committee deadlines.

Guests: Luis Figueroa, Every Texan's Chief of Legislative Affairs, and Every Texan Senior Policy Analysts Jaime Puente and Shannon Halbrook

Host: Marisa Bono, Every Texan CEO

This Thursday is Budget Night, a big debate in classic lege fashion set right before the Easter weekend. The Legislature’s only constitutional obligation during session is to pass a balanced budget. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee signed off on sending its 2024-25 plan to the House floor, which spends about $303 billion over two years. Here to talk with Marisa about what to expect this week and what #txlege should be thinking about if it wants to invest in the true priorities of Texans is our Chief of Legislative Affairs Luis Figueroa, Director of Community Engagement and Advocacy Katie Martin Lightfoot, and Senior Fiscal Analyst Shannon Holbrooke.

On Thursday, tune into Budget Night here: https://house.texas.gov/video-audio/ Read more about the People's Budget here: https://everytexan.org/peoples-budget/

More about the campaign to increase pay for state workers: www.bit.ly/texanstogether

Despite no evidence of widespread election fraud, a "bad batch" of bills were heard in the Senate State Affairs and House Elections Committee that threaten to undermine and restrict the vote of all Texans if passed. Chief of Legislative Affairs explains how these bills are politially motivated solutions in search of a problem, and what we can do to push back against bills that make it harder to vote.

"Vouchers, riders, and tax cuts, Oh My!" Follow the yellow brick road with Chief of Legislative Affairs Luis Figueroa, Marisa, and special guest Rep. Diego Bernal as we recap all the major highlights from the Lege this week, from the tax plan that came out of the Senate to postpartum healthcare in the House to the DEI rider on the budget. Things are heating up at the Capitol, get up to date with this episode.

One of the bills we identified in our "Worst of the Worst" episode got set for hearings next week - learn about how to engage next week to fight back against this harmful preemption bill. Luis and Marisa also discuss bills that reflect good policy, good values, that we hope get a hearing this session. 

Picture it: Texas, 2023. We have the worst uninsured rate in the nation. Five million Texans don’t have access to affordable healthcare. Rural hospitals are closing. We need a system where everyone can get the care they need when they need it, and Medicaid expansion is the first step Texas leaders can take toward that future. It has broad bipartisan support and would bring billions of federal dollars back to Texas. Most importantly, it would bring relief to Texas families. Yet, Texas leaders refuse to give Medicaid expansion a hearing this session. 

How the heck did we get here? Anne Dunkelberg, our senior fellow on health care access, and Karla Martinez, our health care policy analyst, join Marisa to break it down. If you agree that every Texan – no matter race, income, gender, or zip code – deserves equitable access to health care, go to sickofitTX.org and join the fight to bring Medicaid expansion to Texas and give 1.4 million uninsured and underinsured Texans health care.  

We're hearing a lot of talk about protecting parents, but who's watching out for our students? One of the Governor’s top priorities is vouchers, or educational savings accounts, and he's hit the road to tout his plan. With the conversation gaining steam at the Capitol, this week Chandra and Jaime join Marisa to dig into how the plan to use taxpayer-funded vouchers to send children to private schools is a school funding trojan horse and a serious threat to our students and future workforce.

Guests: school funding expert and Every Texan Director of Policy & Advocacy Chandra Villanueva, Every Texan Senior Policy Analyst Jaime Puente 

Host: Marisa Bono, Every Texan CEO

Last week at the Capitol, the Governor and Lt. Governor laid out their priority legislative items and the Governor delivered an overview of his legislative priorities at the State of the State.  Committee hearings for non-appropriation bills begin next week. The priority bills by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker represent the biggest opportunities and threats this session. However, many other bills are filed for purely for messaging purposes and may never pass or even get a committee hearing.  In this episode, Marisa and Luis countdown the 5 "worst of the worst" bills – not because they are likely to pass,  but because their messaging falls far beyond Texas values of family, freedom, and neighborly love. 

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, Governor Abbott delivered his State of the State address to share his priorities for the 88th Legislative Session and outline his plans for Texas. As expected, his top focuses fail to prioritize our state's most valuable resource – people. This week, Marisa and Every Texan Senior Fiscal Analyst Dick Lavine discuss the real state of the state with leaders from some of Every Texan's strongest partners – Brianna Brown (Texas Organizing Project), Rochelle Garza (Texas Civil Rights Project), and Chloe Latham Sikes (IDRA). This extended episode breaks down what the Legislature must do this session to advance equity for every Texan – no exceptions.

Every bill that goes to the Governor's Texas has to pass through committee, both in the House and Senate. Committee members vote to send a bill to the full chamber BUT it's the committee chairs who decide which bills get hearings and which ones die on the vine. Many conservatives tried to pressure Speaker of the House Phelan away from giving committee chairmanships to Democrats and breaking the tradition of bipartisanship in the House. Did they prevail? Director of Legislative Affairs Luis Figueroa shares who made the cut and who's riding the bench this session. 

"Preemption" is a big buzzword at the Capitol this session. This week Marisa talks to Luis Figueroa, Every Texan's Chief of Legislative Affairs, to decode the term, explain how it will come into play in the coming months, and share why we should all be concerned when state government tries to prevent local government action.