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87Th LEGISLATIVE SESSION and COVID RESTRICTIONS On
87th LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND COVID RESTRICTIONS On January 12, 2021, lawmakers from across the state will convene the 87th Texas Legislative Session, meeting for the Regular Session over the following 140 days through May 31. This will be the first time that all 181 legislators will come together since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the virus is top-of-mind for everyone involved. While the Governor recently announced the re-opening of the Capitol building on January 4, we have minimal knowledge of the health and safety protocols the members, staff and Capitol visitors will have to follow when they enter the building next week. It will surely be a much different environment than previous sessions. We know the following requirements will be in place as of today, per a memo released by the State Preservation Board last week: • The Capitol building will only be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; it will be closed Saturday and Sunday for cleaning. • The public may only enter through the North Capitol entrance. • Covid testing will be encouraged and provided on the North Plaza at no expense. • A mask will be required to be worn inside the building at all times. • All deliveries to the Capitol, including food and beverage, must be left at the loading dock; no delivery personnel will be allowed beyond the loading dock or through the public entrance. • No public tours or groups or sponsored event space will be available. • The House and Senate will manage public access to their offices once convened and rules are adopted, and the public will need to check with the offices directly for specific guidelines. -
IDEOLOGY and PARTISANSHIP in the 87Th (2021) REGULAR SESSION of the TEXAS LEGISLATURE
IDEOLOGY AND PARTISANSHIP IN THE 87th (2021) REGULAR SESSION OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE Mark P. Jones, Ph.D. Fellow in Political Science, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy July 2021 © 2021 Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Wherever feasible, papers are reviewed by outside experts before they are released. However, the research and views expressed in this paper are those of the individual researcher(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Baker Institute. Mark P. Jones, Ph.D. “Ideology and Partisanship in the 87th (2021) Regular Session of the Texas Legislature” https://doi.org/10.25613/HP57-BF70 Ideology and Partisanship in the 87th (2021) Regular Session of the Texas Legislature Executive Summary This report utilizes roll call vote data to improve our understanding of the ideological and partisan dynamics of the Texas Legislature’s 87th regular session. The first section examines the location of the members of the Texas Senate and of the Texas House on the liberal-conservative dimension along which legislative politics takes place in Austin. In both chambers, every Republican is more conservative than every Democrat and every Democrat is more liberal than every Republican. There does, however, exist substantial ideological diversity within the respective Democratic and Republican delegations in each chamber. The second section explores the extent to which each senator and each representative was on the winning side of the non-lopsided final passage votes (FPVs) on which they voted. -
Amicus Brief of Former Speakers of the House
No. 21-0538 In the Supreme Court of Texas IN RE CHRIS TURNER, IN HIS CAPACITY AS A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND HIS CAPACITY AS CHAIR OF THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS; TEXAS AFL-CIO; HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS; MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS; TEXAS LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS; LEGISLATIVE STUDY GROUP; THE FOLLOWING IN THEIR CAPACITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: ALMA ALLEN, RAFAEL ANCHÍA, MICHELLE BECKLEY, DIEGO BERNAL, RHETTA BOWERS, JOHN BUCY, ELIZABETH CAMPOS, TERRY CANALES, SHERYL COLE, GARNET COLEMAN, NICOLE COLLIER, PHILIP CORTEZ, JASMINE CROCKETT, YVONNE DAVIS, JOE DESHOTEL, ALEX DOMINGUEZ, HAROLD DUTTON, JR., ART FIERRO, BARBARA GERVIN-HAWKINS, JESSICA GONZÁLEZ, MARY GONZÁLEZ, VIKKI GOODWIN, BOBBY GUERRA, RYAN GUILLEN, ANA HERNANDEZ, GINA HINOJOSA, DONNA HOWARD, CELIA ISRAEL, ANN JOHNSON, JARVIS JOHNSON, JULIE JOHNSON, TRACY KING, OSCAR LONGORIA, RAY LOPEZ, EDDIE LUCIO III, ARMANDO MARTINEZ, TREY MARTINEZ FISCHER, TERRY MEZA, INA MINJAREZ, JOE MOODY, CHRISTINA MORALES, EDDIE MORALES, PENNY MORALES SHAW, SERGIO MUÑOZ, JR., VICTORIA NEAVE, CLAUDIA ORDAZ PEREZ, EVELINA ORTEGA, LEO PACHECO, MARY ANN PEREZ, ANA-MARIA RAMOS, RICHARD RAYMOND, RON REYNOLDS, EDDIE RODRIGUEZ, RAMON ROMERO, JR., TONI ROSE, JON ROSENTHAL, CARL SHERMAN, SR., JAMES TALARICO, SHAWN THIERRY, SENFRONIA THOMPSON, JOHN TURNER, HUBERT VO, ARMANDO WALLE, GENE WU, AND ERIN ZWIENER; AND THE FOLLOWING IN THEIR CAPACITIES AS LEGISLATIVE EMPLOYEES: KIMBERLY PAIGE BUFKIN, MICHELLE CASTILLO, RACHEL PIOTRZKOWSKI, AND DONOVON RODRIGUEZ, Relators. Brief of Amici Curiae Former Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives and former Lieutenant Governor of the State of Texas in Support of Petition for Writ of Mandamus Jessica L. Ellsworth Blayne Thompson (pro hac vice application forthcoming) State Bar No. -
TIPRO Election Results and Analysis As the 2020 Election Cycle
TIPRO Election Results and Analysis As the 2020 election cycle concludes and all votes are counted, we can all agree that this one will long not be forgotten. The pandemic, economic crisis and a renewed struggle for racial justice aside, more tangible factors like record fundraising totals and banner turnout numbers have created new swing districts and have had a significant impact on many hotly contested races across the state. This is also the first cycle in Texas that voters aren’t able to push a button for straight ticket voting. For the first time in almost two decades, it was anticipated that a Democratic candidate could win a statewide election in Texas, and the Texas House, controlled by Republicans since 2002, could see a Democratic takeover. It’s important to note that Republicans have not had a net gain in the House since 2014 – Democrats have picked up 15 seats since then. Texas is truly becoming a battleground state. A few highlights: TURNOUT During the extended early voting period from October 13 – 30, almost a full three weeks of Early Vote for the first time in history, 57.03 percent of registered voters cast ballots either through in- person early voting or through mail-in ballots. The overall number of early voters – 9,669,246 – broke the previous record of almost nine million (8,934,718) in the 2016 Texas General Election. That number is expected to rise as mail-in ballots continue to be delivered to elections offices, so long as they’re postmarked by November 3. One driver of increased turnout was the high numbers of voters in the state’s most populous counties, such as Harris County, where more than 1.4 million people have already voted, compared to 1.34 million TOTAL votes in the last presidential election in 2016. -
2021 State Legislator Pledge Signers
I pledge that, as a member of the state legislature, I will cosponsor, vote for, and defend the resolution applying for an Article V convention for the sole purpose of enacting term limits on Congress. The U.S. Term Limits Article V Pledge Signers 2021 State Legislators 1250 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 200 ALABAMA S022 David Livingston H073 Karen Mathiak Washington, D.C. 20036 Successfully passed a term S028 Kate Brophy McGee H097 Bonnie Rich (202) 261-3532 limits only resolution. H098 David Clark termlimits.org CALIFORNIA H103 Timothy Barr ALASKA H048 Blanca Rubio H104 Chuck Efstration H030 Ron Gillham H105 Donna McLeod COLORADO H110 Clint Crowe ARKANSAS H016 Andres Pico H119 Marcus Wiedower H024 Bruce Cozart H022 Margo Herzl H131 Beth Camp H042 Mark Perry H039 Mark Baisley H141 Dale Washburn H071 Joe Cloud H048 Tonya Van Beber H147 Heath Clark H049 Michael Lynch H151 Gerald Greene ARIZONA H060 Ron Hanks H157 Bill Werkheiser H001 Noel Campbell H062 Donald Valdez H161 Bill Hitchens H001 Judy Burges H063 Dan Woog H162 Carl Gilliard H001 Quang Nguyen H064 Richard Holtorf H164 Ron Stephens H002 Andrea Dalessandro S001 Jerry Sonnenberg H166 Jesse Petrea H002 Daniel Hernandez S010 Larry Liston H176 James Burchett H003 Alma Hernandez S023 Barbara Kirkmeyer H177 Dexter Sharper H005 Leo Biasiucci H179 Don Hogan H006 Walter Blackman CONNECTICUT S008 Russ Goodman H007 Arlando Teller H132 Brian Farnen S013 Carden Summers H008 David Cook H149 Kimberly Fiorello S017 Brian Strickland H011 Mark Finchem S021 Brandon Beach H012 Travis Grantham FLORIDA S027 Greg Dolezal H014 Gail Griffin Successfully passed a term S030 Mike Dugan H015 Steve Kaiser limits only resolution. -
Texas Ethics Commission 2021 Lobbyists Receiving
Texas Ethics Commission 2021 Lobbyists Sorted By Political Funds Provider Receiving Reimbursement from Political Funds Printed On Sep 29, 2021 American Federation of State, County, and 1625 L St, NW Austin TX 78701 Municipal Employees 00085723 Guild, Lauren E. (Ms.) Union Organizer American Federation of State, County & 1625 L St., NW Austin TX 78701 Municipal Employees 00070846 Hamill, Joe (Mr.) American Federation of Teachers 3000 SH I35 Suite 175 Austin TX 78701 00067181 Cates, Andrew S. (Mr.) Associated Republicans of Texas 807 Brazos Street Suite 402 Austin TX 78701 00037475 Yarbrough, Brian G. (Mr.) Attorney Bonnen Campaign, Dennis 122 East Myrtle Austin TX 78703 00085040 Eichler, Shera (Mrs.) Consultant Brad Buckley Campaign Austin TX 78701 00061160 Berry, Jordan (Mr.) Brett Ligon Campaign PO Box 805 Houston TX 77046 00056241 Blakemore, Allen E. (Mr.) Briscoe Cain Campaign Austin TX 78701 00061160 Berry, Jordan (Mr.) Bryan Hughes Campaign Austin TX 78701 00061160 Berry, Jordan (Mr.) 09/29/21 Page 1 of 12 Buckingham Campaign, Dawn P.O. Box 342524 Austin TX 78701 00055627 Blocker, Trey J. (Mr.) Attorney Burrows Campaign, Dustin P.O. Box 2569 Austin TX 78703 00085040 Eichler, Shera (Mrs.) Consultant Capriglione, Giovanni (Rep.) 1352 Ten Bar Trail AUSTIN TX 78767 00068846 Lawson, Drew (Mr.) Lobby Charles "Doc" Anderson Campaign P.O. Box 7752 Austin TX 78747 00053964 Smith, Todd M. (Mr.) Impact Texas Communicaions, LLP Charles Perry Campaign Austin TX 78701 00061160 Berry, Jordan (Mr.) Claudia Ordaz Perez for Texas PO Box 71738 El Paso TX 79943 00053635 Smith, Mark A. (Mr.) Lobbyist Cody Vasut Campaign Austin TX 78701 00061160 Berry, Jordan (Mr.) Cole Hefner Campaign Austin TX 78701 00061160 Berry, Jordan (Mr.) Contaldi, Mario (Dr.) 7728 Mid Cities Blvd Austin TX 78705 00012897 Avery, Bj (Ms.) Texas Optometric Asso. -
2020 General Election Results GHDS District.LAC
LEGISLATIVE US PRESIDENT: DEMOCRAT - Joe Biden US SENATE: REPUBLICAN - John Cornyn US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT: US House – 2 REPUBLICAN: Dan Crenshaw US House – 4 REPUBLICAN: Van Taylor US House – 7 DEMOCRAT: Lizzie Fletcher US House – 8 REPUBLICAN: Kevin Brady US House – 9 DEMOCRAT: Al Green US House – 10 REPUBLICAN: Mike McCaul GHDS DISTRICT: US House – 14 REPUBLICAN: Randy Weber US House – 18 DEMOCRAT: Sheila Jackson Lee US House – 22 REPUBLICAN: Troy Nehls 2020 GENERAL US House – 29 DEMOCRAT: Sylvia Garcia US House - 36 REPUBLICAN: Brian Babin ELECTION RESULTS TEXAS SENATE DISTRICT: DEMOCRAT: TX Senate – 4 REPUBLICAN: Brandon Creighton TX Senate – 6 DEMOCRAT: Carol Alvarado TX Senate – 11 REPUBLICAN: Larry Taylor Tx Senate – 18 REPUBLICAN: Lois Kolkhorst TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT: TX House – 15 REPUBLICAN: Steve Toth TX House – 24 REPUBLICAN: Greg Bonnen TX House – 25 REPUBLICAN: Cody Vasut TX House – 26 REPUBLICAN: Jacey Jetton TX House – 27 DEMOCRAT: Ron Reynolds TX House – 28 REPUBLICAN: Gary Gates TX House – 29 REPUBLICAN: Ed Thompson TX House – 85 REPUBLICAN: Phil Stephenson TX House – 126 REPUBLICAN: E. Sam Harless Save The Date! TX House – 127 REPUBLICAN: Dan Huberty TX House – 128 REPUBLICAN: Brisco Cain TX House – 129 REPUBLICAN: Dennis Paul W ed ne sday TX House – 130 REPUBLICAN: Tom Oliverson TX House – 131 DEMOCRAT: Alma Allen F ebr uary 17, 2021 TX House – 132 REPUBLICAN: Mike Schofield TX House – 133 REPUBLICAN: Jim Murphy Austin Texas TX House – 134 DEMOCRAT: Ann Johnson TX House – 135 DEMOCRAT: -
GINA HINOJOSA DEMOCRAT Incumbent
2020 General Election FACEOFFWEBSITE BOOKLET OCCUPATION CONSULTANT MAJOR ENDORSEMENTS Proprietary Document, Please Share Appropriately 1 VOTERS, CANDIDATES, AND ELECTED OFFICIALS: It’s time to start gearing up for the General Election! In a year that has already seen huge numbers of voter turnout, even amid a pandemic, the Texas state election promises to be one for the history books. To help all Texans better understand the landscape of this November’s race, we have put together a high-level booklet of the candidates facing off for every elected state position. Within this booklet, you will find biographical informa- tion and quick facts about each candidate. It is our hope that you will find this information helpful leading up to, during, and after the election as you get to know your candidates and victorious elected officials better. If you have suggestions on how to improve this document or would like to make an addition or correction, please let us know at [email protected]. Best of luck to all of the candidates, David White CEO of Public Blueprint To Note: Biographical information was sourced directly from campaign websites and may have been edited for length. Endorsements will be updated as major trade associations and organizations make their general election choices. "Unknown Consultant" denotes that we did not find a political consultant listed in expenditures on campaign finance reports. PUBLIC BLUEPRINT • 807 Brazos St, Suite 207 • Austin, TX 78701 [email protected] • publicblueprint.com • @publicblueprint TABLE OF CONTENTS 04. TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATES 32. TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CANDIDATES 220. STATEWIDE CANDIDATES WEBSITE OCCUPATION CONSULTANT 3 TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATES FOR STATE SENATOR 06. -
March 9, 2021 the Honorable Diego M. Bernal the Honorable Alma A
March 9, 2021 The Honorable Diego M. Bernal The Honorable Lyle Larson The Honorable Alma A. Allen The Honorable Oscar Longoria The Honorable Steve Allison The Honorable Ray Lopez The Honorable Rafael Anchía The Honorable Eddie Lucio III The Honorable Trent Ashby The Honorable Armando “Mando” Martinez The Honorable Ernest Bailes The Honorable Trey Martinez Fischer The Honorable Michelle Beckley The Honorable Morgan Meyer The Honorable Rhetta Andrews Bowers The Honorable Terry Meza The Honorable John Bucy III The Honorable Ina Minjarez The Honorable Elizabeth “Liz” Campos The Honorable Joe Moody The Honorable Terry Canales The Honorable Christina Morales The Honorable Philip Cortez, Ph.D. The Honorable Eddie Morales, Jr. The Honorable Jasmine Crockett The Honorable Penny Morales Shaw The Honorable Joe Deshotel The Honorable Sergio Muñoz, Jr. The Honorable Harold Dutton, Jr. The Honorable Claudia Ordaz Perez The Honorable Art Fierro The Honorable Lina Ortega The Honorable Barbara Gervin-Hawkins The Honorable Leo Pacheco The Honorable Jessica González The Honorable Mary Ann Perez The Honorable Mary González, Ph.D. The Honorable Ana-Maria Ramos The Honorable Vikki Goodwin The Honorable Richard Peña Raymond The Honorable R.D. “Bobby” Guerra The Honorable Ron Reynolds The Honorable Ryan Guillen The Honorable Eddie Rodriguez The Honorable Sam Harless The Honorable Ramon Romero Jr. The Honorable Cody Harris The Honorable Toni Rose The Honorable Ana Hernandez The Honorable Jon Rosenthal The Honorable Able Herrero The Honorable Carl Sherman The Honorable Gina Hinojosa The Honorable Hugh D. Shine The Honorable Donna Howard The Honorable James Talarico The Honorable Celia Israel The Honorable Shawn Thierry The Honorable Julie Johnson The Honorable Senfronia Thompson The Honorable Ann Johnson The Honorable Chris Turner The Honorable Jarvis Johnson The Honorable Armando Walle The Honorable Julie Johnson The Honorable Gene Wu The Honorable Kyle Kacal The Honorable Erin Zwiener The Honorable Stan Lambert Texas House of Representatives P.O. -
TWIA Board Meeting Public Comments
TWIABoardMeeting PublicComments August 3,2021 July 28, 2021 Dear Chairman Franklin-Womack, As members of the Texas coastal legislative delegation, the undersigned legislators respectfully request that the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) Board not consider any rate increase on coastal policyholders, residents, and businesses at this time. A rate increase during an unprecedented season of economic distress would only cause an additional and cruel financial burden on coastal residents and business owners. Once again, we respectfully reiterate that the coastal delegation firmly opposes any rate increase on TWIA policyholders. Sincerely, Dade Phelan Todd Hunter Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives District 21 District 32 Eddie Lucio, Jr. Abel Herrero Texas Senate Texas House of Representatives District 27 District 34 Judith Zaffirini James White Texas Senate Texas House of Representatives District 21 District 19 Terry Canales Geanie Morrison Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives District 40 District 30 J.M. Lozano Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa Texas House of Representatives Texas Senate District 43 District 20 Lois Kolkhorst Texas Senate Eddie Lucio, III District 18 Texas House of Representatives District 38 Larry Taylor Briscoe Cain Texas Senate Texas House of Representatives District 11 District 128 Mayes Middleton Greg Bonnen Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives District 23 District 24 Ed Thompson Cody Vasut Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives -
Vote4mentalhealth Region 8 Candidate Questionnaire for NAMI
#Vote4MentalHealth Region 8 Candidate Questionnaire For NAMI Affiliates: NAMI Greater Houston, NAMI Gulf Coast, NAMI Golden Triangle The candidates were asked the following open-ended questions: 1. Texas is experiencing a shortage of mental health and addiction care providers, especially in rural and underserved areas. How will you make sure more people have access to mental health treatment and services? 2. State and federal law requires mental health parity, or the NAMI Texas staff and NAMI volunteers sent out a mental health equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance use policy six-question questionnaire on Google Forms to every individual disorders, compared to physical health conditions, in running for a state legislative seat in a contested race. Candidates were insurance plans. However, individuals in Texas still often also provided information on NAMI Texas’ public policy platform. receive unequal coverage for mental health treatment and For now, we are only sharing the results for candidates who are in a services. What will you do to improve coverage for mental contested primary race. If we have not received a completed health care? questionnaire from a candidate, we will indicate that we have not 3. At least 30% of individuals in local Texas jails have a severe received a response yet. mental illness, and more than half of justice-involved individuals nationwide have at least one mental health NAMI Texas is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We condition. What will you do to divert people with mental DO NOT endorse any candidates, or rank or alter their answers in any illness from the criminal justice system? way. -
Texas Senate
This was certainly an election like no other before it. More than a million Texans showed up at the polls (with masks and hand sanitizer) to cast their ballots, while an unknown number chose to put their ballot in the mail. Mail-in ballots are not all counted and included in the election day totals, so it is possible that the outcome of a few races may still be subject to change. Even so, for the most part, we know which names will appear on the ballot in November. Knowing who will show up to vote and who will receive the most votes in November is an entirely different matter. Voter turnout was higher among democratic voters, but that may or may not be indicative of Texas turning blue because there was a statewide runoff race for that party’s nomination for the US Senate. That means that democrats had a reason to vote statewide, while republican voters in many areas of the state didn’t have a runoff race on ballot at all. No incumbent member of the Texas Legislature lost their seat in March, but of the six incumbents facing challenges in this runoff election, only two survived. Even so, four is still a lower turnover rate than we have seen in previous election cycles. That coupled with fewer retirements could mean less turnover in the Texas Legislature overall…unless voters have something different to say about that in November. Texas Senate There were two runoff races for seats in the Texas Senate and one special election. Senator Eddie Lucio (D- Brownsville) won his election to keep his seat.