Vicky Camarillo
By Vicky Camarillo:
Texas Legislature Considers Bills to Break the Cycle of Debtor’s Prison
Republicans Push Back Against Making Election Day a Texas Holiday
Citing lost productivity, GOP lawmakers pounced on a bill that would make voting a little easier for state employees.
Confederate Heroes Day, honoring the likes of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, has been a state holiday in Texas since 1973. But during a House Committee on State Affairs hearing on Wednesday, two Republican lawmakers chafed at a proposal … Read More
Third Time’s The Charm? Marijuana Decriminalization Gets Another Chance in Texas
The first marijuana reform bill heard in committee this session would downgrade possession of an ounce to a civil offense and a fine up to $250.
Police chiefs from Plano, North Richland Hills and Grand Prairie told a Texas House committee on Monday that marijuana is a dangerous gateway drug that leads to violent crime. In the same hearing, David Sloane, a 60-year-old criminal defense attorney … Read More
The ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Bill Has 57 Authors. All but 3 of them Are Men.
Even two of the state’s largest anti-abortion groups have stopped short of endorsing House Bill 1500 because of its glaring constitutional problems.
In a legislative session so far characterized by a focus on school finance and property tax cuts, growing support for a controversial abortion bill is threatening to disrupt the relative harmony among lawmakers. Fifty-six House Republicans have signed onto a … Read More
The Border Debate is Changing at the Capitol. With Newfound Influence, Can Democrats Go Beyond Playing Defense?
With more than a dozen new Democrats in the Legislature, opponents of Trump’s wall and the state’s long-running border surge want to focus on facts, not warped rhetoric.
In between singing Texas’ economic praises and listing his emergency items for this legislative session, Governor Greg Abbott named another pet priority during his State of the State address last week: fully funding security at the Texas-Mexico border, to the … Read More