Latest news with #DadePhelan
Gizmodo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
Texas House Passes Bill That Criminalizes Using Altered Media in Political Ads Without Disclosure
Political memes are one of the few things that make keeping up with this whole charade worth it. But now, legislators are fighting back. Recently, the Texas House passed a bill that would criminalize using altered media like memes without disclosure in political ads. Earlier this year, former House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) introduced HB 366, which requires political ads to disclose when they use content that 'did not occur in reality.' This altered media includes images, audio, video, and AI-generated content. Without a disclosure, the distributors could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. The law would not apply to everybody. Instead, it focuses on politicians, including candidates or current officeholders, entities or individuals that spend over $100 on political advertising, and anyone who publishes or distributes such content for compensation. Additionally, it doesn't apply to media that has only been superficially changed, like adjusting the brightness or contrast. Phelan's bill comes after he was the subject of targeted campaigns by the more conservative branches of his own party during his re-election run. The Club for Growth, a massive conservative PAC, sent out mailers with an edited picture of Phelan's head on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' body while hugging Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Currently, Texas has a law that prohibits using AI pictures within 30 days of an election. However, those mailers didn't fall into that period of time. 'This is the beginning of a new era in ethics where the voters need to know what is real and what is not,' Phelan said on the House floor, per the Texas Tribune. 'This AI technology gets better every single day. It gets more inexpensive every single day, and it's going to become the norm.' It may seem silly to require a disclosure for altered media, especially if it's AI slop. However, you can't trust everybody's ability to judge content. Last year, researchers showed that scammers are successfully using AI images on Facebook for audience growth. According to the report, Facebook users 'often suggested that they did not recognize the images were fake—congratulating, for example, an AI-generated child for an AI-generated painting.' Per the Tribune, Phalen said, 'This is nothing different than what we currently do with political advertisements. You have to put 'political ad paid for by' when you enter this political advertising arena. And all this does is tell you to add a disclosure that you are using altered media.' All things considered, it's not the worst bill to come out of Texas this year. However, it's still not hard to see how it can go wrong. For example, advocates expressed concerns that the bill leaves too much open to interpretation. In a tweeted statement, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote that the bill 'shift[s] the power to judge the accuracy of political messaging from voters to the government.' FIRE specifically honed in on the bill's language of media that 'did not occur in reality,' writing, 'The content doesn't have to be misleading – only different from what the government thinks really happened.' In addition, the organization expressed concerns over the $100 minimum as it could easily sweep up regular people who simply do something like pay to boost content on social media. 'It is quite a serious bill with First Amendment concerns,' Sam Hooper, counsel for the Institute of Justice, said in a video statement. 'Political satire, parody, memes, all of these have always been a part of how Americans criticize those in power. You shouldn't have to slap a disclaimer on it. You should be able to trust the recipients of information to judge by themselves what they want to accept, what they believe to be true.' In addition, representatives voiced concerns over the bill giving power to the Texas Ethics Commission to determine what the disclosure would look like. Per KVUE, Steve Toth (R) said, 'The TEC should not be an arbiter of truth in language, and we should stand against any time government wants to regulate speech.' The outlet also reported that Nate Schatzline (R) condemned the bill as 'anti-American', saying, 'To throw someone in jail is to silence political speech. This is insanity that we would propose such a harsh penalty for simply expressing our displeasure of an elected official.' Ultimately, HB 366 passed the state House with a 102-40 vote. Although it is heading to the Senate, it's not clear if the bill will pass there.
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Posting memes can get you jailed in Texas? All about the new HB 366 bill
A new bill has been passed in Texas by lawmakers aiming to mandate disclosures for political ads that use AI-altered images, audio, or video of candidates. With the passing of the HB 366 bill, it becomes a legal requirement for digitally altered media to be labeled such if it is used by any candidate or campaign group that spends any amount over $100 on political advertising. This bill, presented by Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), passed the House with a 102-40 vote. The main priority of the HB 366 bill is to counter misleading or deceptive media, amid the immense rise of artificial intelligence. According to the bill, the labeling of any AI-altered media is a must as otherwise it poses a threat to "election integrity". For example, the AI-aided ads must included disclaimers like, "did not occur in reality". According to the bill that passed with a majority, anyone found in violation of the law will tend to face Class A misdemeanor charges. This would include punishment including a year in jail and a hefty $4,000 fine. Meanwhile this legislation has been condemned within political circles, with state Representative Shelley Luther, saying, 'We're banning political memes and giving people up to a year in jail for failing to attach a disclosure to a cartoon.' Luther, who is a Republican, posted a video on X with her reactions while saying, "Democrats, of course, are rallying around this bill. What a joke." Meanwhile, Nate Schatzline, the State Representative of Texas House District 93 took to X to slam the bill. He said, 'Today, we fought against the anti-1st amendment bill (HB366), that will LOCK PEOPLE UP for one year for posting political memes or political speech.' "I want to be clear, this bill is UNCONSTITUTIONAL, & will almost certainly be struck down in the courts," he continued.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Speaker pulls constitutional amendments after reported Democratic threat
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Leading up to the anticipated Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) vote last Wednesday, the Texas Tribune said more than 50 House Democrats threatened to vote against every proposed constitutional amendment if Republicans didn't help them put the ESA legislation to a public vote. The vote to pass passed on party lines. On the Republican side, only former Speaker Dade Phelan, R – Beaumont, and Gary VanDeaver, R – New Boston, voted against the bill. Ahead of pivotal vote, Texas leaders share unfiltered thoughts on future of education On Tuesday, the House was scheduled to discuss — and likely vote on — House Joint Resolution 31. The relatively non-controversial constitutional amendment — which unanimously passed the House Ways & Means Committee — would allow the legislature to better define property tax exemptions for farmers. Instead of being brought for debate, Speaker Dustin Burrows postponed the vote. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote from both chambers of the Texas legislature before heading to the voters, meaning 51 Democratic House members can kill one without any Republican dissenting. 'Democratic members of the Texas House may be in the minority, but we will use the tools we have to protect the independence of the House and ensure the voices of the millions of Texans we represent are heard and respected in this chamber,' a representative with the House Democratic Caucus said in a statement. Pope Francis had a unique history with Texas. What will his successor do? However, just because the ESA vote passed without a public referendum, doesn't mean there isn't room for compromise according to a representative with the House Democratic Caucus. They say they're working with Burrows to find areas of cooperation; including bringing more Democratic bills to the House floor. To get the gavel, Burrows needed support from 49 Democrats and 36 Republicans to defeat Rep. David Cook, R – Mansfield, who was supported by the Texas Republican Party. He faced his first authority challenge two weeks ago, as a motion to remove him from the speaker's chair was overwhelmingly voted down. Now, it appears he faces a challenge from members of the party who helped put him at the dais. The House Democrats are open to a compromise where they would vote for constitutional amendments. But if no such deal is made, they could kill plenty of high-profile bills. Among them are a pair of high-profile bail reform bills which Gov. Greg Abbott declared an emergency item this session. Senate Joint Resolution 1 would require the denial of bail for undocumented residents charged with a felony, and Senate Joint Resolution 5 would allow the denial of bail for defendants accused of first-degree felony sexual offenses — defendants accused of violent offenses or defendants accused of continuous human trafficking. Will Sunday be the last 4/20 in Texas? While both bills passed with bipartisan support, it's unclear if they had enough Democratic votes in the Texas House — potential protests set aside. In response to the initial reporting by the Tribune, Abbott's press secretary Andrew Mahaleris posted on X, 'Texas Democrats are threatening to block property tax relief while allowing violent murderers on the street with low bail. All to serve their teachers union overlords who think they own your children.' We've reached out to the offices of Burrows and Abbott and are awaiting comment. We will update this if statements are received. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
$1 billion school choice program moves closer to Gov. Abbott's desk
AUSTIN - Texas Governor Greg Abbott has spent a lot of political capital to push for school choice and now legislation is closer than ever to reaching his desk. After a marathon session, the Texas House passed a bill to create a $1 billion Education Savings Account program. It is the first time that school choice legislation has passed the House, after stalling in previous sessions. The program will allow public funds to be used for private schools. The bill was approved 86-63. Every Democrat and two Republicans, Dade Phelan and Gary VanDeaver, voted no. On Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that he will ask the chairman in the Senate to concur with the House version of the bill, meaning there likely won't be any committee to work out the differences between the chambers. Dig deeper Proponents of school choice say the legislation gives options to parents. Senate Bill 2 sets aside $1 billion for savings accounts that allow eligible students to pay costs associated with private schools. Under the bill, each approved student would get more than $10,000 per student. President Donald Trump expressed his support for the program before it went to the House floor on Wednesday. The president called the program "forward-thinking." The goal from Republicans is to prioritize low-income and special needs students. The threshold for low income in the House's version of the bill is a household bringing in about $162,000. "I think the only way that this could end up hurting Republicans is if it somehow creates chaos in the public school system, or if there ends up being bitterness about who gets to take advantage of these programs if the demand greatly exceeds the supply," said SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson. Several other states have similar programs in place, but Texas' will be the largest in the country. The other side Democrats say the Education Savings Accounts will not help low-income students, with some calling it "welfare for the wealthy." In the past, Democrats have teamed up with rural Republicans to block the legislation. Rural Republicans have argued that school choice programs do not make sense in areas with few private schooling options. What they're saying "This bill is everything that is wrong with politics. It is the interests of big money prevailing over everyday Texans," said State Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin). Critics say the school choice bill undermined state support for public schools. A separate bill was passed to provide $7.7 billion in funding to public schools in Texas. Wilson says passing the bills at the same time was intentional. "They want to be able to say that school choice is not the enemy of public education. That we can both invest appropriate resources into public education, as we just did. They'll say by putting 8 billion additional dollars there and also provide families with these private school options," he explained. You can watch Texas: The Issue Is on Sunday nights. You can also listen to extended interviews and topics on the Texas: The Issue Is podcast. The Source Information in this article comes from the Texas Legislature, comments by Texas lawmakers, SMU political scientist Matthew Wilson and past FOX coverage.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How did each representative vote on education savings accounts?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas House of Representatives gave final approval to Senate Bill 2 Thursday, the legislation that could create a universal education savings account program in Texas. The program would allow families to use taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition. The final vote was 86-61. All but two Republicans voted for the bill. Two others — Rep. Dade Phelan and Rep. Gary VanDeaver — joined all Democrats who were present to vote against. Three Democrats were absent from the vote. 'The consequences were dire': Republican lawmaker alludes to political pressure over school choice vote Use our interactive map and list below to see how each representative voted. The bill now goes back to the Texas Senate to determine whether state senators will accept an amendment to the bill that was approved by the House. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
