Latest news with #D-Austin
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Democrats kill Texas bill to punish cities that don't clear homeless encampments
A GOP-led bid to increase enforcement of Texas' 2021 camping ban died in the state House on Monday night after Democrats challenged the bill on a technicality. The measure, Senate Bill 241 by Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, would have required cities to establish channels for residents to report illegal homeless encampments. If a complaint were not addressed within 90 days, the state could send the Department of Public Safety to clear encampments, then charge the city for that enforcement by withholding sales tax revenues. Texas' attorney general, currently Republican Ken Paxton, would be responsible for notifying the DPS and the state comptroller about unresolved complaints. "The state has been the one footing the bill for the cities that have failed to address homeless camping in their jurisdiction," House sponsor Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, said. "Whether it's in my area, in Fort Worth, or in Dallas or here in Austin, everybody knows that these camping restrictions on homeless camping restrictions have not been enforced." Rep. Gina Hinajosa, D-Austin, argued the state is contributing to Austin's homelessness problem by sending formerly incarcerated people into the city when their sentences end. She pointed to a state-licensed halfway house in East Austin, the Austin Transitional Center, where she said the majority of the population has no connection to Travis County. "We are blamed for our homelessness problem in Austin when it is the state of Texas who is in large part creating the problem," Hinojosa said. State Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic Caucus chair, dealt the death blow to SB 241 late Monday night. He argued its caption, "relating to prohibitions on camping in a public place," violated a House rule that requires captions to "give reasonable notice of the subject of the proposed measure." Wu said he killed the bill because it would have done nothing to alleviate the homeless crisis, but instead punish people experiencing homeless and municipalities such as Austin, Dallas and Houston that are trying to find compassionate solutions to the ongoing crisis. "It is a genuinely evil bill," Wu told the Statesman. Capriglione postponed the bill to June 3, an acknowledgement that there is not enough time to fix the caption issue before the 2025 legislative session adjourns on June 2. Tuesday is the last day for the House to give initial approval to Senate bills. The bill had passed in a bipartisan 22-8 vote in the state Senate, with Democratic Sens. Royce West of Dallas, Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa of McAllen and Carol Alvarado of Houston joining Republicans to support the measure. Austin, the seat of state government, has struggled with how to address homeless encampments. Austin voters in 2021 reinstated the city's camping ban, which the city council had repealed in 2019. In 2021, the political action committee behind the city's homeless camping ban sued, accusing Austin of failing to fully enforce the ordinance. The Third Court of Appeals affirmed in February 2025 that the group, Save Austin Now, lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. Statesman staff writer John C. Moritz contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Democrats kill effort to increase enforcement of camping ban
San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Texas parents, school boards may have more control over school library books after House OKs bill
The Texas House gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would give Texas parents and school boards a bigger role over what books students can access in public school libraries. Senate Bill 13 would give school boards, not school librarians, the final say over what materials are allowed in their schools' libraries by creating a framework for them to remove books based on complaints they receive. The bill would allow school boards to oversee book approvals and removals, or delegate the responsibility to local school advisory councils if 20% of parents in a district sign a petition allowing their creation. Previously, SB 13 mandated the creation of those councils when it passed through the Senate in March, but the petition requirement was added in a House committee. SB 13, initially passed by the House 87-57, also includes definitions for what constitutes harmful material and indecent content, which led Democratic representatives to express concerns about overzealous bans on books. During the discussion on the House floor Monday, Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, pointed specifically to bill language requiring approved books to adhere to 'local community values,' which he said could lead small, vocal groups of people to limit students' book access. Talarico said titles often taught in public schools — like Catcher in the Rye, Lonesome Dove and the Bible — could end up banned under some of the bill's vague and subjective interpretations. 'If your answer to 'could Romeo and Juliet be banned,' if it is anything other than 'of course not,' then that is a serious problem,' Talarico said. Rep. Erin Zweiner, D-Driftwood, also worried the bill could lead to overly broad book bans. 'What is indecent for a 17 year old is not the same as what is indecent for a five year old,' she said. Rep. Brad Buckley, the bill's House sponsor, called community values the 'bedrock' of public policy, and the Salado Republican dismissed potential removal of classics as a 'red herring' argument. 'A speaker before me said we should cherish the value of books. Well, maybe so, but I would argue we should cherish and value our kids more, and Senate Bill 13 will do exactly that,' Buckley said. Representatives supportive of the bill said SB 13 would give parents better control over what materials their children can access.' About 16% of complaints about school library books last year were initiated by parents, according to a report from the American Libraries Association, while 72% came from elected officials, pressure groups and board members and administrators. Several amendments by Democratic representatives aiming to loosen the bill's language on profane content failed. An amendment by Rep. Brent Money, R-Greenville, which also failed, would have lowered the threshold to petition the creation of an advisory council to 50 signatures from parents, and would have required that the councils only be made up by people who signed the petition. The bill would also extend regulation introduced by a law passed in 2023 aimed at keeping 'sexually explicit' material out of school libraries. House Bill 900 was partially blocked from implementing a book rating system by a federal appeals court. Opponents of the bill have worried not only about restricting book access, but also about the administrative backlog that having to approve each new library book could create. School boards will have 90 days after complaints on each book are filed to reach a decision on whether to add, keep or remove material from school bookshelves. ___
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic Rep. Vikki Goodwin to run for Texas lieutenant governor
(The Texas Tribune) — State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, has filed paperwork to run for lieutenant governor in next year's midterm election, giving up a safe seat in the Texas House to seek one of the state's most powerful offices. Goodwin has long been expected to run for the seat, currently held by Republican Dan Patrick, who has said he will seek reelection next year. The four-term Austin Democrat told the Tribune in 2023 she was mulling a run, and since then she has openly signaled her plans to allies. She appointed a campaign treasurer for her lieutenant governor bid on Monday, the first formal step for a candidate to start raising money. Unseating Patrick will be a daunting task for any Democrat. The lieutenant governor is sitting on a war chest of more than $33 million, and he has many deep-pocketed conservative allies ready to ride to the rescue if he finds himself endangered. Texas Democrats have struggled to mount competitive statewide campaigns in recent years, including in 2022, when Patrick won reelection by 10 percentage points. But the party is hoping for more favorable conditions next year, driven by backlash to President Donald Trump and the prospect of Attorney General Ken Paxton — a Republican who has faced various legal scandals — leading the ballot if he is nominated for the U.S. Senate over incumbent John Cornyn. In 2018, the first midterm under Trump, Democrat Beto O'Rourke came within three percentage points of defeating Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Patrick won reelection by nearly five percentage points that year. Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994. Goodwin will have to make up significant ground financially, with just over $150,000 in her campaign account as of Dec. 31, the last date covered by public campaign finance reports. Goodwin, a 58-year-old real estate agent, has served in the Texas House since 2019, representing a district that covers parts of west and north Austin and the western side of Travis County, including parts of Bee Cave and Lakeway. She is seen as one of the more liberal members of the state House and currently serves on the chamber's Appropriations and Insurance committees. With Goodwin running for lieutenant governor, Travis County Democratic Party Chair Pooja Sethi is seeking to fill the open seat. Sethi announced she is stepping down as party chair in June, and she recently filed paperwork to run in Goodwin's district. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic Rep. Vikki Goodwin to run for lieutenant governor
State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, has filed paperwork to run for lieutenant governor in next year's midterm election, giving up a safe seat in the Texas House to seek one of the state's most powerful offices. Goodwin has long been expected to run for the seat, currently held by Republican Dan Patrick, who has said he will seek reelection next year. The four-term Austin Democrat told the Tribune in 2023 she was mulling a run, and since then she has openly signaled her plans to allies. She appointed a campaign treasurer for her lieutenant governor bid on Monday, the first formal step for a candidate to start raising money. Unseating Patrick will be a daunting task for any Democrat. The lieutenant governor is sitting on a war chest of more than $33 million, and he has many deep-pocketed conservative allies ready to ride to the rescue if he finds himself endangered. Texas Democrats have struggled to mount competitive statewide campaigns in recent years, including in 2022, when Patrick won reelection by 10 percentage points. But the party is hoping for more favorable conditions next year, driven by backlash to President Donald Trump and the prospect of Attorney General Ken Paxton — a Republican who has faced various legal scandals — leading the ballot if he is nominated for the U.S. Senate over incumbent John Cornyn. In 2018, the first midterm under Trump, Democrat Beto O'Rourke came within 3 percentage points of defeating Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Patrick won reelection by nearly 5 percentage points that year. Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994. Goodwin will have to make up significant ground financially, with just over $150,000 in her campaign account as of Dec. 31, the last date covered by public campaign finance reports. Goodwin, a 58-year-old real estate agent, has served in the Texas House since 2019, representing a district that covers parts of west and north Austin and the western side of Travis County, including parts of Bee Cave and Lakeway. She is seen as one of the more liberal members of the state House and currently serves on the chamber's Appropriations and Insurance committees. With Goodwin running for lieutenant governor, Travis County Democratic Party Chair Pooja Sethi is seeking to fill the open seat. Sethi announced she is stepping down as party chair in June, and she recently filed paperwork to run in Goodwin's district. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Senate will debate how to spend an additional $8 billion on school finance
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Senate Committee on Education K-16 will hold a hearing Thursday morning to discuss the future of public school financing, nearly a month after the House passed a bill to give public schools an almost $8 billion in additional funding. The bill being discussed on Thursday is a different version from the bill the Texas House passed on April 17, which is not a surprise. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, the chair of the education committee, told Nexstar earlier this month there are differences in how the House and Senate want to finance public schools. On Tuesday, his office released a one-pager with highlights of his committee substitute to House Bill 2. It details pay raises for teachers with at least three years of experience and an even bigger pay bump for teachers with more than 5 years of experience; provides payment to teacher candidates for in-classroom, pre-service training; and provides an additional $1.3 billion in special education funding, among other things. CSHB-2-One-Pager-5.12-EODDownload Although the two approaches vary, they both have a similar end-goal: additional funding for schools that falls between $7 and $8 billion. The differences in the bill come down to the different avenues and pathways lawmakers want to use to finance schools. The specific details of the bill will not come out until Thursday morning when it is laid out in committee. A huge difference can be seen with the basic allotment. The basic allotment is the base-level funding for each student in public schools across the state. It is very flexible for school districts and can be used for maintenance, teacher and staff salaries, transportation, etc. The House's version of the bill, authored by State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, provided a $440 increase in the basic allotment, which has not been raised since 2019. Texas House Democrats argued that number was far too low to help school districts catch up with the rise in inflation. Instead, they wanted a $1,400 increase. However, it appears the Senate's version of the bill only increases the basic allotment by $55 through golden penny yield reforms. Texas' Big Three — Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Speaker Dustin Burrows — all praised the proposal from Creighton at a news conference on Wednesday. Burrows said he is 'excited' about the bill, and Patrick said he has looked through the legislation and called it a 'masterpiece of school finance.' But the bill is facing criticism before it is even laid out in committee. State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, issued a statement saying, 'Governor Abbott and Texas Republicans are defunding our schools in broad daylight.' He argues the Senate's proposal removes funding for full-day pre-K, low-income students, and bilingual education programs. The low increase in the basic allotment has raised the alarm for Stephanie Stoebe, a 4th grade teacher in Round Rock ISD with 21 years of teaching experience. She wants to see an increase in the basic allotment and an increase in teacher compensation. 'About 80% of school districts are are operating with a deficit. So we desperately need to have a change to the basic allotment system so that we can function,' Stoebe said. Mary Lynn Pruneda, the director of education and workforce policy at Texas 2036, said the low increase in the basic allotment is not necessarily underfund a school, emphasizing that the school finance system is complex. 'There are 1,000 different ways that you can spend money in school finance. Just because you're not solely putting money into the basic allotment, doesn't mean that you're not doing other great things downstream in the formulas as well.' Pruneda said Creighton's approach of creating a designated allotment for teacher pay raises could free up some dollars in the basic allotment for school districts to use toward other costs. 'It's like if suddenly you got 10% more on your paycheck, you put that towards your mortgage, that means that you have more money to free up groceries,' Pruneda said as an example. The different versions of the bill is expected to be heavily debated in the hearing on Thursday morning. Public school advocates are already putting a call out to members to show up at the Capitol for the hearing. Ultimately, Pruneda explains it is not about the final price tag of the school finance bill, but how that money is going to be used to improve the education of Texas students. Stoebe, who has seen generations of students come through her classroom, echoes that same belief. 'If we want to have a great, civilized and responsible society, we need to make sure that we're educating them in the best way possible, and that can only come about by really ethical conversations about money,' Stoebe said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
