Latest news with #TexasStateHouse
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Stop Marvin Nichols Reservoir bill passes committee, but still needs another push
AUSTIN, Texas (KETK) – House Bill 2109, which aims to stop the Marvin Nichols Reservoir, has passed through committee but still needs to be heard on the Texas State House floor to be voted on. Selling East Texas Water: Reps file bill to stop Marvin Nichols Reservoir East Texas supporters of the bill are encouraging everyone to call members of the Texas State House Calendar Committee to put HB 2109 on the schedule to be heard. Organizers said it is a bipartisan issue that affects everyone. HB 2109 passed out of the Natural Resources Committee on April 23 but the Calendar Committee has decide when to allow it to be heard by May 15. 'Anytime you can keep it at the forefront of members minds it helps, because there's so many things coming at us from different directions,' State Rep. Cole Hefner said. The 57-year-old plan could flood up to 200,000 acres of land, leaving homes and schools to be moved. The possibility of the project coming to fruition has paralyzed hardworking East Texans like Casey Conway. East Texans push back against reservoir that threatens their homes 'I'm raising cattle and you always need a new hay barn or maybe you need to put in a new fence or whatever. You can't justify putting that money into the place when this is over your head everyday day. You don't know day to day, if that's the day you're going to lose it,' Conway said. The last day for House bills to be considered on the floor is May 16 at midnight, but Conway fears it will not be chosen. 'My fear is that they're playing too much politics and they'll let the clock run out,' Conway said. Hefner said there is not a lot of time left, but there is enough time for the bill to be pushed and heard on the floor. State Rep. Jay Dean hosts 'Let's Save Our Lakes' town hall 'Some days you'll have a bill that takes up a lot of time. Sometimes a bill might take up an hour, it may take 2 or 3 hours, but a lot of bills just take a few minutes,' Hefner said. Conway said this bill is a priority and affects his family and generations to come. 'Our kids can't even come back and live on the family land because we don't want them investing that kind of money into something that they could lose like that,' Conway said. If the bill passes the House, it'll have to be voted on in the Texas Senate for the final time by May 28 before the 89th session comes to an end on June 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Newsweek
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Has Texas Banned Political Memes? What We Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. On Wednesday the Texas State House passed HB 366, which would make it a legal requirement for digitally altered media to be labeled such if it is used by a candidate or campaign group that spends over $100 on political advertising. The legislation was angrily condemned by state Representative Shelley Luther, a Republican, who said, "We're banning political memes and giving people up to a year in jail for failing to attach a disclosure to a cartoon." Newsweek contacted Luther and state Representative Dade Phelan, the former Republican State House Speaker who introduced the legislation, for comment on Thursday via online inquiry form. Why It Matters There have been growing concerns in recent years about the impact of "deepfakes," synthetically generated content created with the aid of AI that can appear to show people saying or doing things they never actually said or did. Some have raised free speech concerns about efforts to regulate the use of digitally altered media in political campaigns, while others have warned that it could be misleading and cause the spread of misinformation. What To Know The Texas State House approved the measure by a 102-40 vote on Wednesday. The legislation was filed by Phelan, who survived a contentious Donald Trump-backed primary challenge in 2024 during which he said that his opponents were targeting voters with material containing factually incorrect statements. HB 366 carried widespread Democratic support, but some Republicans remained opposed. The proposed legislation, if passed by the state Senate and signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, would make it a Class A misdemeanor for an officeholder, candidate or political committee in Florida that spent over $100 on political advertising during a reporting period to promote digitally altered media without clearly being labeled. The Texas state flag flies in the wind at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at River Oaks Country Club on April 5, 2024, in Houston. The Texas state flag flies in the wind at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships at River Oaks Country Club on April 5, 2024, in Houston. Aaron M. Sprecher/GETTY Responsibility for deciding what this labeling should look like, including its size and color, should be determined by the Texas Ethics Commission according to the bill. A number of organizations including companies, TV or radio broadcasters, internet providers and commercial sign owners are granted exemption in the legislation. It was also amended so that it wouldn't apply to changes of "superficial quality" such as "the saturation, brightness, contrast, [or] color." If the bill becomes law, the penalty for violating HB 366 includes up to one year in prison, which Phelan said was needed as a fine alone might not deter rich organizations or individuals. What People Are Saying Speaking from the state House floor on Wednesday Phelan 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." State Representative Andy Hopper, a Republican, said: "It is not the role of government to sit there and be a nanny state police force to decide." In a post on X state Representative Shelley Luther, a Republican who was briefly imprisoned for refusing to close her business during the coronavirus pandemic, said: "Curious what the Texas House is doing today? "I'll tell you: We're banning political memes and giving people up to a year in jail for failing to attach a disclosure to a cartoon. Democrats, of course, are rallying around this bill. What a joke." Conservative activist Carlos Turcios wrote: "The Texas House passed a bill to CRIMINALIZE POLITICAL MEMES. House Bill 366 would LOCK UP ANYONE FOR A YEAR unless political memes or altered media have a gov disclaimer. Why is TEXAS DOING THIS?! RINOS are destroying the state!" However a community note, a clarifying point agreed by other X users, said: "HB366 requires political ads with altered media to include a disclosure stating the content isn't real. Applies to political ads, not all social media posts or memes. Non-compliance is a Class A misdemeanor." What Happens Next It is unclear whether HB 366 has the votes to get past the state Senate, which is also Republican controlled. If it does it would be up to Abbott to decide whether to sign the legislation into law.
