The 80th Texas Legislature ended on May 28, with the Governor’s veto period ending June 17. All together, legislators filed more than 6,190 bills. Of that number, 1,480 passed, and the Governor vetoed 49.

Texas Impact focused heavily on children’s health and renewable energy this session, and we are pleased with the outcomes on our priority issues. This legislative wrap-up focuses on issues Texas Impact worked on or followed this session. Don’t see the issue you are looking for? Feel free to call or email us and we will track it down for you.

Now that the Legislature has gone home, the name of the game is implementation, and the ball is in your court! Almost all the bills in this legislative wrap-up will require implementation at the local level. From CHIP outreach to green power purchasing to voter registration drives, you can help ensure that the legislative successes of this session translate into positive outcomes for families and communities across Texas.

Texas Impact thanks everyone who participated in the 2007 legislative session, including lawmakers, their staffs, our colleague organizations, and YOU! Without strong citizen participation, the democratic process can’t exist. We look forward to working with you to build citizen leadership throughout the legislative interim.

HEALTH CARE

CHIP

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to restore some of the cuts made to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) four years ago that have led to massive enrollment drops in the program. Even with all the improvements the 80th Legislature made, CHIP enrollment is expected to be less than it was before the cuts of 2003, but the restorations this year will put the program back on track.

House Bill 109 by Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) made a number of improvements to CHIP, the most important being a return to 12-month eligibility. State budget experts project that implementation of HB 109 will add more than 100,000 kids to the CHIP rolls.

In addition to the legislative changes in HB 109, Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) included language in the Health and Human Services Commission’s budget directing the agency to remove significant administrative barriers—"red tape policies"—that have been making it difficult for families to enroll in CHIP.

How Faith Communities Can Help

1. Post fliers and otherwise make information available about CHIP to families in your congregation or that you serve through outreach programs like childcare or food pantries. Obtain CHIP outreach materials here
2. Work with the local contracted community-based organization (CBO) in your area that administers CHIP to help families apply. Find your local CBO here
3. Be the Legislature’s eyes and ears in your community: ask parents about their experiences in the program and poll your own health care providers to see if they accept CHIP or if they know which local providers do.

Medicaid Reform
The Legislature passed Senate Bill 10, the omnibus Medicaid reform bill by Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound). SB 10 focuses on prevention, individual choice, and increasing the percentage of Texans with health-care coverage. Highlights of SB 10 include:

• A Health Opportunity Pool to provide federal dollars to reimburse hospitals for uncompensated care and to local entities for implementing innovative measures to provide primary and preventive care.
• A pilot program to reward healthy behaviors, such as completing weight loss or smoking cessation programs.
• Premium assistance for employees who are Medicaid-eligible but choose to enroll in employer-sponsored health insurance.
• Program infrastructure improvements such as encouraging the development and use of electronic health information standards and electronic health records to improve patient care.
• Extended Medicaid coverage for foster children to age 23 if they are attending college.
• Tailored benefits packages for children with special health-care needs to better meet the complex needs of this population.

For more information on health care legislation in the 80th legislative session, visit http://www.hhs.state.tx.us/news/release/80Legislature.shtml

ENVIRONMENT

In general, the Legislature was willing to adopt strategies that do “more”: for example, incentive programs for advanced technology, new opportunities for consumers to purchase environmentally friendly products, and expansion of renewable power. Lawmakers were reluctant to take serious steps to do “less”: bills increasing regulation of pollutants or establishing stricter permitting standards did not pass.

Renewable Energy

Texas Impact helped to fix an arcane section of the Public Utility Code that would have prevented faith communities from exercising environmental stewardship through green power purchasing. House Bill 1090 by Rep. David Swinford (R-Dumas) secures the public’s right to clear Texas air through voluntary green power purchases. We are especially grateful to Rep. Mark Strama (D-Austin), Sen. Mike Jackson (R-La Porte), and Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) for working so hard on this issue.

Global Warming

Legislators considered more than 30 bills that would have studied, regulated, or otherwise considered global warming as an issue for Texas. Only one of these bills, HB 2713 by Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton), was sent to the Governor, who vetoed it on June 15.

Coal-Fired Power Plants

Despite widespread public support, lawmakers did not enact any legislation that would delay permitting of new coal-fired power plants in Texas or make power plant permitting standards more rigorous. HB 2713 by Rep. Bonnen, which would have established a long-term planning process to meet Texas’ future energy needs, was vetoed.

Just 16 days after the legislative session ended, leaders of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality voted two to one to approve a permit for TXU’s proposed Oak Grove power plant. The plant, to be sited in Robertson County, will burn Texas lignite coal and is expected to be one of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the nation. It is anticipated to be operational by the end of 2009.

Energy Efficiency

HB3693 by Rep. Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) contains comprehensive energy efficiency measures for residential and commercial energy consumers. The bill, which passed overwhelmingly in both chambers, includes a state sales tax holiday for purchases of energy-efficient appliances. Texas is only the 4th state in the nation to adopt an energy-efficiency tax holiday.

Energy Justice

Faith communities must be especially concerned that environmental stewardship not become a “boutique” ministry for the well-to-do, and that environmental regulations do not impose a disproportionate burden on low-income Texans. A number of bills this session addressed these concerns, with the most notable being substantial improvements to the Low Income Repair and Assistance Program (LIRAP), which provides state funds to help low and moderate-income vehicle owners repair their vehicles to meet vehicle emissions standards.

How Faith Communities Can Help

1. Congregations and their members can purchase Texas-generated renewable power through contract programs with local utilities or through “renewable energy credits” (RECs). Consider purchasing RECs through Texas Interfaith Power and Light, a project of Texas Impact. Visit www.txipl.org to find out more
2. Promote LIRAP in your own congregation or help spread the word in your local community. Make applications available to clients of your food pantry or other outreach ministry. For more information, visit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
3. Save money and save the planet: make your house of worship more energy efficient. Local utility companies have new capacity to offer efficiency programs, including energy audits for ratepayers. Get discounts on many common energy efficient lighting and other products at Texas Interfaith Power & Light’s new online store, “www.ShopIPL.org.”
4. Promote energy efficiency for low and moderate-income households in your community by distributing compact fluorescent light bulbs through your food pantry or other outreach ministry. Consider participating in a local low-income home repair program that provides weatherization or other energy-saving repairs. Visit the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to find out about low-income home weatherization programs in your area.

For more information on environmental legislation in the 80th legislative session, visit http://texas.sierraclub.org/press/newsreleases/20070601A.asp

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Reform

In 2006, the Texas Sunset Commission issued a report seriously questioning the effectiveness of Texas’ criminal justice system. The report suggested revamping aspects of the system, in particular focusing on encouraging community-based alternatives to incarceration and emphasizing appropriate treatment for offenders with substance abuse and mental health issues.

Lawmakers, led by House and Senate Criminal Justice Committee chairmen Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) and Rep. Jerry Madden (R-Richardson), responded by passing a number of reforms aimed at diverting offenders from prison into more effective and less costly programs. Some of the most significant reforms include:

· HB 530 by Madden expands the State’s already successful drug court program
· HB 431 by Madden provides access to “medically intensive supervision” for a range of critically ill or mentally ill offenders who cannot get the medical care they need to stay alive within the prison system
· HB 199 by Madden establishes systems allowing certain incarcerated pregnant women to stay with their newborn infant during the critical early months after birth
· HB 1678 by Madden expands options for judges administering people on community supervision to encourage success and address technical violations

These provisions are expected to decrease Texas’ need for new prison capacity in the future; however, lawmakers also appropriated funds for construction of three new prisons. The bond package for the new prisons will be included on the November 2007 ballot for the public’s approval.

For more information on criminal justice reform legislation in the 80th legislative session, visit http://www.criminaljusticecoalition.org/solutions_for_incarceration/update

Prison Chaplains

The state's 2007-08 budget will include a provision that adds 20 new prison chaplain positions at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice thanks to the hard work of Rep. Jim McReynolds (D-Lufkin) and Rep. Turner. Our colleagues at the Baptist Christian Life Commission have worked tirelessly on this issue and are to be congratulated on their success in addressing this great need.

Death Penalty

Legislators approved “Jessica’s Law” through passage of House Bill 8 by Rep. Debbie Riddle (D-Tomball), which expands the death penalty by creating a new capitol offense. Offenders who are convicted of sexually abusing a child more than once will be eligible to receive the death penalty if they meet certain other criteria. Jessica’s Law is unique because it allows for the imposition of the death penalty in instances where the offender has not killed anyone.

For more information on Jessica’s Law in Texas and nationally, visit http://standdown.typepad.com/weblog/jessicas_law/index.html

Although lawmakers did not finally pass death penalty moratorium legislation, HJR 23 by Rep. Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin) did pass the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.

How Faith Communities Can Help

1. Find out about “reentry” programs in your local area that help individuals reestablish themselves in the community after a period of incarceration. Visit http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/pgm&svcs/pgms&svcs-vlntrcoorcom.htm to find out about programs and opportunities.
2. Hold a forum or other educational program for your congregation or the larger community on death penalty issues. Texas continues to lead the nation in executions. Texas has carried out 16 of the nation's 24 executions in 2007, with 11 more scheduled before the end of the year. There have been 1,081 executions in America since 1977. Texas has carried out more than 36% of all the executions in America during this time period. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice maintains a list of scheduled executions here: http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/scheduledexecutions.htm

DEMOCRACY/VOTER RIGHTS

Lawmakers considered but did not approve significant changes that would have made it much more difficult for nonpartisan organizations to hold voter registration and “get out the vote” drives. HB 218 by Rep. Betty Brown (R-Terrell) would have required voters to present proof of identification in addition to their valid voter registration to be able to cast a vote, and HB 626 by Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) would have required presentation of a birth certificate or naturalization information to register to vote.

Legislators approved HB 770 by Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston), which would have required notification of ex-offenders when they become eligible to vote and sending them a voter registration card. The Governor vetoed HB 770, saying it was unfair to target special information about voting rights to just one population.

How Faith Communities Can Help

1. Hold and participate in nonpartisan voter registration and “get out the vote” drives. Congregations can be especially helpful by ensuring that shut-ins, the disabled, and voters without their own means of transportation are able to register and get to the polls.
2. Promote election-related deadlines and early voting locations in your congregation’s newsletter or bulletin. Answers to most common voter questions are here: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/index.shtml
3. Know the law regarding faith community involvement in nonpartisan election-cycle activities: visit http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=155030,00.html to download IRS materials on congregations and political activitiy including case studies and “dos and don’ts”.

RELIGION IN PUBLIC LIFE

Religious Expression

HB 3678 by Rep. Charlie Howard (R-Sugar Land) gives schools and students guidelines regarding violations of religious freedoms in public schools. It explicitly defines what is existing law allowing religious speech by students in schools and establishes a special time for "limited public forum" at the beginning or end of traditional school activities.

Bible Classes

HB 1287 by Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) establishes a framework for local school districts to offer elective courses on the Hebrew Testament, the Greek Testament, or combinations of the two. The bill includes a number of safeguards such as requiring that teachers offering the courses hold certain qualifications.

Faith and Community-Based Initiatives

Unfortunately, lawmakers did not complete work on HB289 by Rep. Dianne Delisi (R-Temple), which would have improved accountability and transparency for faith and community-based program receiving public funding. Texas Impact worked with several other organizations on HB 289, which received bipartisan support in the House but was a “victim of the clock” in the Senate. We will continue to work with other stakeholders on improving community-based volunteer programs during the interim.

How Faith Communities Can Help

Information about faith and community-based initiatives is available from several state agencies as well as OneStar, the organization that administers Texas’ Americorps program, at http://www.onestarfoundation.org/site/PageServer