Sen. Van Taylor’s Ethics Reform bill – TRASHED in the House

Tuesday May 27th the Texas House of Representatives came out showing their true colors by effectively killing Sen. Van Taylor’s bill to increase transparency of government officials and terminate conflicts of interest.

SB 19 by Van Taylor was passed unanimously in the senate (April 28) but is being gutted and used to further shield government actions from public eyes over in the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Joe Straus. Continue reading “Sen. Van Taylor’s Ethics Reform bill – TRASHED in the House”

How threatening is the U.S. Constitution?

When a marriage goes south, the partners don’t amend the marriage vows to keep the vows compliant with issues of infidelity.

Likewise, when the federal government violates their Oath, we must not change the words in the constitution to justify federal non-compliance. Enforce the 10th Amendment first, and then see what America looks like. Continue reading “How threatening is the U.S. Constitution?”

Why Texans don’t have faith in an Article V Convention

Texas has the independent power, without the advice or consent of any other state, to enforce the 10th Amendment

An Article V Convention won’t work to benefit the People because the same legislators who refuse to enforce the good parts in the current constitution will be the ones to propose new amendments.

Did Joe Straus appoint Rep. Phil King to chair the House committee that would oversee 10th Amendment bills because King could be counted on to stall any and all good 10th Amendment action bills? Would Straus be a likely Texas delegate to an Article V Convention? The answer to both questions is a very possible yes. Continue reading “Why Texans don’t have faith in an Article V Convention”

School Choice already exists in Texas

PARENTAL CHOICE is, and has been, in the Texas Education Code since at least 1995, allowing for a student to transfer to another campus within a school district, to another school district, to another county, and even to a district in another state (for districts bordering the state line).

PUBLIC EDUCATION GRANTS and the public FINANCING of the grants is, and has also been, in the Texas Education Code since 1995.

Why then, does the Texas Legislature continue to reinvent the wheel with programs designed to force private schools to accept public money through grants or vouchers? This is done under the guise of Continue reading “School Choice already exists in Texas”

29 COMMITTEE HEARINGS NEXT WEEK

The 84th Legislature will heat up next week, with 29 Committee Hearings scheduled as of today.

Here’s a sampling of bills that are scheduled to be heard:
FINANCE
• Committees on Finance continue their hearings
EDUCATION
• Compensatory education allotment funding to provide assistance with child care to students at risk of dropping out of school.
• Testing of students with limited English proficiency
• notifying a parent or guardian whether an employee of a school is appointed school marshal Continue reading “29 COMMITTEE HEARINGS NEXT WEEK”

ACTION ITEM -TWO 2nd AMENDMENT BILLS- scheduled for THURSDAY

Please read these bills and if you are interested, please contact the committee members and voice your support/opposition. You do not have to reside in the committee members’ district to have an impact on these bills! The committee is charged with representing all Texans on those bills heard in their committee, It is their duty to allow the body of the entire Senate to discuss and vote on bills after they have passed out of the committee. It is at that time each senator should vote according to their district.

Bills to be heard in the State Affairs [SENATE Committee]
TIME & DATE: 9:00 AM, Thursday, February 12, 2015
PLACE: E1.016 (Hearing Room)

SB 11 Birdwell | et al.
Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of and certain other locations associated with institutions of higher education.

SB 17 Estes [ REVISED agenda – SB 17 added, SB 346 removed]
Relating to the authority of a person who is licensed to carry a handgun to openly carry a holstered handgun; creating a criminal offense; providing penalties.

Continue reading “ACTION ITEM -TWO 2nd AMENDMENT BILLS- scheduled for THURSDAY”

List of Gun Bills Filed in 84th Session

List of bills filed related to guns as of 2/8/2015:

Also available as a google spreadsheet for easy manipulation

Contact Lists For Texas Legislators Now Available

The email addresses, phone numbers (main Austin office), room numbers, twitter handles, and committee assignments are now published for the Senate and the House of the current Texas legislative session. There are links to these lists on the front page of ntcl.org, on the right-hand side bar, and are also available from the NTCL Resources menu on the top menu bar.

The contact lists can be filtered by committee by pressing the committee button and selecting the committee to filter by.

Columns can be hidden by pressing the show / hide columns button.

Continue reading “Contact Lists For Texas Legislators Now Available”

Key Public Education Bills in the 84th

Bill Ames has reviewed some 200 bills that have been filed in the 84th Texas Legislature, relating to public education. We express our gratitude to Bill for his offering of 12 of the “Best” , and 10 of the “Worst” bills filed.

84th Texas Legislature – Key Public Education Recommendations
– created by Bill Ames for North Texas Citizens Lobby (NTCL)

Bill Content Description: State contractors (incl. school district contractors) must participate in E-Verify program.
Bill Number: HB88
Author: James White (R)
NTCL Recommendation: Support
Justification: Contain employment of illegals

Bill Content Description: Course in U. S. Constitution in curriculum requirements for public school students
Bill Number: HB135
Author: Dan Flynn (R) NTCL Recommendation: Support
Justification: Counters trend towards progressive curriculum in Texas public schools

Continue reading “Key Public Education Bills in the 84th”

Two Gun Nullification Bills Filed Today by DFW Representatives

Two DFW area representatives filed strong second-amendment protection bills today:

Matt Krause, (R-Ft. Worth) filed House Bill 422 (HB422). This bill would require that Texas refuse to enforce almost all federal gun control measures enacted at anytime – past, present or future.

Craig Goldman (R-Ft. Worth) filed House Bill 413 (HB413). This bill declares all federal restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms to be “invalid” and “not enforceable” within the state of Texas.

These bills will need strong grassroots support to pass.