Every Texan Talks - Legislative Podcast from Every Texan
By Every Texan
Learn more about our work and read our policy roadmap here: everytexan.org/our-work/current-projects/texas-legislature/
Every Texan Talks - Legislative Podcast from Every TexanOct 05, 2023
S2E5 Every Texan talks Fourth Special Session
S2E4: Every Texan talks third Special Session Week 3
S2E3: Every Texan talks third Special Session Week One
S2E2: Every Texan Talks Special Session
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.
S2E1: Every Texan Talks Medicaid Unwinding
Texas is re-checking eligibility for all 5.9 million Texans with Medicaid through May 2024 following a 3-year nationwide pause on disenrollments during the pandemic (sometimes called Medicaid “unwinding”). This is an enormous undertaking, unprecedented in scale for Texas Medicaid’s eligibility and enrollment system.
Millions of Texans, mostly children in low-income families and postpartum mothers, risk losing their health insurance. Over half a million Texans were removed from Medicaid health coverage in June alone, according to new data released by Texas HHSC.
Joined by analysts from the Every Texan team, Marisa discusses the unwinding's harmful impact on Texans already struggling to make ends meet and get the care they need.
Host: Marisa Bono, Every Texan CEO
Guests:
- Luis Figueroa, Every Texan Chief of Legislative Affairs
- Karla Martinez, Every Texan Policy Analyst
- Stacey Pogue, Every Texan Senior Policy Analyst
Go deeper:
- Read: First Data Shows Alarming Impact of Medicaid Unwinding in Texas
- Read: ‘Should Texas’ Health Insurance Marketplace be state-run or federally-run?’ is not the right question
- Watch: Every Texan Community Conversations: The Unwinding
S1E26: Every Texan Talks SCOTUS Affirmative Action Ruling
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."
S1E25: Every Texan Talks End of Session....or is it?
The 88th Legislative Session ended...and the first Special Session began the next morning! Luis and Marisa chat about developments in the final days of session, including what happened with HB5, how the tax break negotiations between the Senate and the House broke down, and more.
They also explain what a Special Session is, and what Texans can expect in coming days (spoiler alert: it's mostly about tax cuts). For a good explainer on tax compression and the impact of tax cuts on Texas families, check out "Who Doesn't Pay Taxes" by Dick Lavine and "Property Tax Compression: Growing the State Share Without Improving School Funding" by Chandra Villanueva.
Every Texan Talks About Stuff Other Than Impeachment
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.
S1E23: Every Texan Talks 20 Days Left
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.
S1E22: Every Texan Talks Paid Leave for State Workers
No matter what we look like, where we come from, or what we do for a living, we can all agree that working people should have the pay and benefits they need to work in dignity to support their families. 74% of Texas workers do not have access to any form of paid medical leave and 64% do not have access to unpaid family medical leave. This reality leaves both families and employers vulnerable during times when employees may need to care for a newborn baby or recently adopted child. But for some reason, elected state leaders want to give more corporate tax breaks to wealthy companies and take away the power of local government to support workers. This session, Texans of all backgrounds are fighting back with proactive bills to ensure freedom and fairness for all Texans.
Guest: Amanda Posson, Every Texan Senior Policy Analyst
Host: Marisa Bono, Every Texan CEO
Resources:
S1E21: Every Texan Talks HB5 Corporate Welfare, we mean, Corporate Tax Abatement Program
For twenty years, Texas had a program – known as Chapter 313 – that let wealthy corporations avoid paying what they owed to support our schools. These companies got to keep $31 billion that would have otherwise gone to help our children. The program, which was never shown to work, finally expired last year, but House Speaker Phelan is trying to bring it back this session through HB 5. The bill would exclude renewable energy projects from the program, be more expensive than Chapter 313, create fewer jobs, entirely lack wage and benefit requirements, weaken transparency/accountability provisions and, most importantly, lack a sunset date that would force periodic review of the new program by future Legislatures. Senior Policy Analyst explains why the bill is like Ch. 313, only worse. More analysis here, take action this week to fight back!
S1E20: Every Texan Talks Budget Night Recap and Lege Update
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
S1E19: Every Texan Talks State Healthcare Exchanges
Texas has used the federally-administered HealthCare.Gov insurance marketplace for the last 10 years. A few bills have been filed in the 2023 Texas Legislative Session that would replace HealthCare.Gov and create a state-based Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace.
Successfully running a marketplace takes an ongoing commitment to both coverage as a value and making public programs work. HealthCare.Gov has record enrollment, with 2.4 million Texans accessing quality, affordable insurance through the marketplace, and it has achieved the highest enrollment growth rate among states for three years running. Which leads us to the question – if it ain't broke, why fix it?
Guests: Luis Figueroa, Every Texan's Chief of Legislative Affairs, and Every Texan Senior Policy Analyst Stacey Pogue
Host: Marisa Bono, Every Texan CEO
Resources:
- Check out Stacey's recent white paper: ‘Should Texas’ Health Insurance Marketplace be state-run or federally-run?’ is not the right question and ACA Health Insurance fact sheet on the thriving Texas health insurance marketplace.
- For even more information on this issue and what you can do, visit Cover Texas Now.
S1E18: Every Texan Talks Budget Night
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
S1E17: Every Texan Talks Voting Bills
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.
S1E16: Every Texan Talks Lege Updates
"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.
S1E15: Every Texan Talks Food Security
In the midst of record-high grocery store prices and inflation, over 4 million Texans experience food insecurity, which is difficulty meeting basic food needs. Food insecurity has a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities. This week, we learn more about the face of hunger in Texas, how the end of the public health emergency has created a quiet crisis in Texas, and how some key bills this legislative session could help lessen the blow.
Guests: Every Texan Director of Health & Food Justice Rachel Cooper and Every Texan Food Policy Analyst Curtis Hills
Host: Marisa Bono, Every Texan CEO
Resources:
- Hey, college students! You may be eligible for SNAP food benefits. Check your eligibility and learn how to apply here.
- Read Rachel's testimony to the House Human Services Committee Supporting HB 1287, a bill that will reduce hunger in Texas by updating the state’s outdated vehicle asset test limits.
- HB 2836 will reduce barriers to SNAP benefits by extending eligibility from 6 to 12 months. Check out this one-pager to learn more.
S1E14: Every Texan Talks Tax Cuts
The property tax cut debate is in full swing at the Texas Legislature, and our Director of Policy and Advocacy Chandra Villanueva and Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst Dick Lavine tell tales from the front lines on the latest developments. There are two proposals, one in the House and one in the Senate - do these proposals but Texans first? Do they offer real relief for working Texans? Are we making true investments are just one time expenditures? The team breaks it down in this episode - we highly reccomend listening to the School Funding 101 podcast episode and using these resources on Compression and Recapture to compliment this episode.
S1E13: Every Texan Talks Preemption Call to Action & Top 5 Bills that Deserve a Hearing
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.
S1E12: Every Texan Talks Medicaid Expansion
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.
E11: Every Texan Talks School Vouchers
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
S1E10: Every Texan Talks Worst of the Worst
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.
S1E9: Every Texan Talks State of the State
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.
S1E8: Every Texan Talks Worker Power
S1E7: Every Texan Talks House Committee Assignments
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.
S1E6: Every Texan Talks Immigration 101
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is using its first hearing of the year to focus on how the Biden administration has handled record-high numbers at the southern border and other immigration issues.
Meanwhile, here in Texas, our state spends millions of dollars every week on Operation Lone Star, a border security initiative launched by Gov. Abbott in 2021 to respond to what he claimed were rising border crossings, which he blames on President Biden’s immigration policies.
Border security and immigration continue to be big issues in Texas and at the Capitol. This episode sets a baseline for understanding our immigration system, thanks to the help of Texas board-certified attorney and immigration expert Andres Perez.
Read Every Texan's legislative testimony on Operation Lone Star here.
S1E5: Every Texan Talks Preemption 101
"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.
S1E4: Every Texan Talks Budget Proposals
State budget expert Eva De Luna Castro, Every Texan Director of Policy and Advocacy Chandra Villanueva, and Every Texan Director of Economic Opportunity Jaime Puente weigh in with Marisa on new preliminary state budget bills from the House and Senate for the 2024-25 biennium, with each proposing to shell out a historic $130 billion in general revenue. Do the proposed budgets help benefit every Texan and shore up our future workforce, or merely maintain the status quo?
Learn more about how to get involved with the campaign to better fund public services here.
S1E3 Every Texan Talks School Funding 101
With a historic budget "surplus" and the voucher debate well underway, school funding will be a hot topic at the #txlege. This week, Marisa talks to Chandra Villanueva, Texas school funding expert and Every Texan's director of policy advocacy, who explains the basics of school funding in Texas and what to watch this legislative session.
Learn more about how teachers are doing in Texas here.
Learn more about enrollment versus attendance-based funding here.
Learn more about recapture here.