Texas Legislative Lowdown: What You Need to Know

Dive into the current Texas legislative session as we unpack significant bills that could reshape education, health care, public safety, and energy. With Senate Bill 2 making headlines by proposing a controversial education savings account system, families are faced with a choice that may pull resources from public schools. We explore the balance of options presented in these discussions, weighing the merits of increased teacher pay to combat staffing shortages against the backdrop of critical funding debates.

Our conversation also ventures into health care, where House Bill 5 and Senate Bill 5 seek to address Alzheimer's and dementia through targeted research funding to prepare for an aging population. Meanwhile, vital services like Medicaid are at risk due to proposed budget cuts, invoking urgent discussions about how to prioritize these services amid fiscal constraints.

Public safety legislation introduces a complex dialogue around bail reform measures aimed at ensuring community safety while striving to maintain fairness in the judicial process. The implications of these decisions resonate with everyday life for many Texans. Finally, hear about ongoing efforts to fortify Texas's power grid, a much-needed initiative in light of past crises.

Join us for an informative episode that encourages you to stay engaged and voice your opinions as a Texas citizen. Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and leave a review!

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Visit the resources we highlighted in the video!

Texas Legislature Online - https://capitol.texas.gov/

Who Represents Me? - https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home/

Get more information, details and resources on Know Your Regulator - https://www.belolaw.com/know-your-regulator

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This podcast is for educational purposes only, does
not constitute legal advice anddoes not create an
attorney-client relationship.
If you need legal assistanceabout a legal problem, contact
an attorney.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome back to Know your Regulator, the podcast that
inspires you to engage.
Texas has entered its 89thlegislative session and we are
here to break down the mostimportant legislative updates
that could impact you.
I'm Simone Murphree, and withme is Troy Bollier, director of
Legal Services for the BertolinoLaw Firm.

(00:35):
Hey, troy.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Hey everybody, today we're going to be jumping into
some of the bigger bills thatare making their way through the
legislative process, some ofthe bigger bills that are making
their way through thelegislative process and we're
going to talk about what doesthis mean for Texans, and also
for professionals and people inoccupations that are licensed by
the state.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
That is right.
This session has been packedwith debates over education,
health care, public safety andeven infrastructure.
Some of these bills could havea huge impact on your daily life
, so let's get into it.
We'll start with one of thehottest topics education reform.
There's been a lot of talkabout SB2, or Senate Bill 2,

(01:15):
which focuses on educationsavings accounts.
Troy, can you break it down forus?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah, absolutely so.
Senate Bill 2, that would allowparents to use public education
funds to pay for private schooltuition.
Supporters of this say that itgives families more choice.
Obviously that's an importantfactor, but there are critics

(01:41):
that argue that it makes ittakes away from the public
school system, which is already,in many people's minds, very
underfunded.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Right, and so it brings up that debate about
whether it creates moreopportunities or simply shifts
resources from the publiceducation system.
It's a very tricky balance.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Oh, exactly right.
So much of the legislativeprocess is about balancing
competing interests.
Another big proposal I'dmention is increasing teacher
pay and offering freekindergarten pre-kindergarten, I
should say for the teacher'schildren.
So the idea here is that we'retrying to help retain teachers

(02:23):
because, especially in the lastfew years, we've been going
through a shortage of teachersin the classroom.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
And it's a huge deal.
I mean, teachers are oftenleaving the profession due to
low salaries and, you know,sometimes experiencing burnout,
so will this be enough to keepthem in classrooms?
We'll just kind of have to seehow that funding holds up.
Moving on to health care, hb 5,which is House Bill 5 and

(02:54):
Senate Bill 5, propose creatinga Dementia Prevention and
Research Institute, troy.
What is the goal here?

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Well, this bill aims to direct funding towards
Alzheimer's and dementiaresearch, and the idea is to
help Texas prepare for an agingpopulation.
So many families are impactedby these diseases, and so
investing in research to betterunderstand some of these really
complicated neurologicaldiseases could lead to new

(03:22):
treatments, preventative careand just get a better
understanding of what's causingthese devastating illnesses.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Definitely no.
I mean, it's a disease thatimpacts a lot of families, so
we'll kind of see how that goes.
Another issue that's gainingattention is Medicaid and SNAP
funding.
Lawmakers are debatingpotential cuts which could
affect thousands of Texans whorely on these programs for
health care and food assistance.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
Yes, that's right, simone.
You know some legislators arguethat the state needs to tighten
their budget.
Others are concerned about youknow what are the long-term
consequences of reducing accessto some of these essential
services that families rely on.
You know it's a very tough call.
Again, it's a lot of balancingof competing interests when

(04:11):
you're making these tough policydecisions.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, absolutely, and that's what they are.
They're tough decisions.
I don't think anyone is, youknow, just going.
Yeah, go ahead and do that, youknow.
I think this is all a verycomprehensive view and look into
the issues that are affectingus most.
Let's talk about public safety.
One of the most controversialbills is the new bail reform

(04:36):
legislation.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yes.
So this bill would limit bailoptions for people that are
accused of violent crimes.
The idea is let's keep repeatviolent offenders off the
streets.
You know supporters say thatthis obviously provides public
safety, because you don't wantsomeone out running around who's

(05:01):
been charged with a violentfelony.
But other people, you know,worry that it's going to
disproportionately impact lowerincome defendants who can't
afford to pay the bail.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
Yeah, again, another tough decision.
It's definitely a yeah, again,another tough decision.
It's definitely a tough topic,and we'll kind of have to see
how the courts handle thesepotential legal challenges.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Another issue that I'm sure many, many Texans care
about is the power grid SB 6,senate Bill 6 is looking to
strengthen the electric grid andprevent another crisis like the
one in 2021.
Yeah, exactly, you knowlegislators, lawmakers, are
pushing for more oversight,increased energy reserves, and
you know they're looking forreliability standards, all of

(06:01):
which have an impact on the grid.
With the extreme weatherphenomenon kind of becoming more
common, keeping the grid stableand available for the consuming
public is really crucial,especially in Texas where you
have a unique electrical gridstructure and oversight process.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Yeah, Well, that was a lot to cover.
We went through education,health, life, your work, your
community.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
So staying informed and understanding these
important legislative activitiesis really crucial.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Absolutely, and you know, making sure that you have
the opportunity to make yourvoice heard as a Texas citizen
is very, very important.
So if you want to keep up withthese bills as they progress,
check out the Texas legislatureonline and don't hesitate to
reach out to yourrepresentatives to voice your
opinion.
They want to hear from you.

(07:08):
You have the power to helpshape these policies and these
bills that are going to bepassed.
So you know, of course,subscribe to Know your Regulator
for more updates.
You can find out who representsyou and follow these bills on
the Texas legislature online.
Until next time, stay informedand continue engaging with your

(07:30):
regulatory agency.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
Know your Regulator.
The podcast that inspires youto engage.