In the policy arena, legislators should address the wellbeing of children and families. This is where supporters of these bills fail to employ good policy.
Tag: Texas Politics
Categories
The Higher Court: Episode 2
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/303973646″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] Photo: Rock, Paper, Scissors Read more about The Higher Court and the LBJ School students behind it at thehighercourt.org
A Partnership Piece from The Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University How many readers have consumed marijuana before? How many readers have been actively harmed by someone under the influence of marijuana? It may surprise you to know that marijuana is currently listed under Schedule 1, the most dangerous category, and a class of drugs deemed […]
Although many Texans may not have noticed yet, life in the Lone Star State changed dramatically this month. When the clock struck midnight on September 1, more than 600 new state laws went into effect, changing everything from farmers’ market standards to switchblade restrictions. [1] These laws added new rules, removed old rules, and amended […]
The Feminist Policy Alliance and the Texas Observer invite you to a panel discussion on Sept. 4 on the battle over women’s health in Texas and how recently passed legislation is changing the health care — and political — landscape in Texas. In a state where only 27 percent of the voting-age population participated in […]
Rules matter. In the legislative process rules can decide whether a bill lives or dies – as they did this week with a high-profile bill attacking women’s health, Senate Bill 5. More broadly, however, legislative rules provide structure for a chaotic process and establish certain expectations for how the legislative process will proceed. In other […]
Categories
Reforming Redistricting
Only an hour after a fairly friendly and bipartisan Texas legislative session ended, Governor Rick Perry called lawmakers back together to debate one of the most partisan and polarizing issues facing the legislature: redistricting. The redistricting process, through which legislators redraw the state’s political boundaries in order to ensure elected officials represent the same number […]
Categories
Invest in Texas’ Future
When Ross Perot embarked on his crusade to fix the Texas education system in the 1980s, he said the state’s schools excelled in only three areas: drill team, band and football. To fix this, he helped craft and lobby for a sprawling education reform package that boosted state aid to poor districts, funded prekindergarten, […]
It seems that one of the major battles of the legislative session will come down, once again, to politics versus prudence. While the Supreme Court upheld most of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), it ruled that states have the option of expanding Medicaid eligibility. Although Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders have adamantly […]