Every Texan Talks - Legislative Podcast from Every Texan

Today, we’re talking about the bear of all bills—the Texas State Budget. This massive document carves out how your state dollars will be spent for the next two years. At Every Texan, we believe the state budget is a moral document that should reflect the values and meet the needs of all Texans, regardless of zip code, race, gender, or background. That’s why we’re starting our journey through the l...

And we’re back again….Texas Governor Greg Abbott calls a fourth special session. Vouchers are back on the agenda as well as immigration bills, school finance and safety are potentially finally up for debate, procedural rules and processes are being thrown out the window. Marisa, Luis, and Jaime take a break at the Capitol to discuss what this all means for Texans.

Marisa and Luis discuss vouchers and immigration bills more than halfway through the third special session.

The Every Texan team talks about developments on vouchers and border security during the first two days of the special. Hold on to your hats.

We're baaaaccckkk.....The special session starts next week and the Governor's proclamation setting the agenda for session came out today. Marisa and Luis review the topics and talk about what to expect at the Capitol next week.

Texas is re-checking eligibility for all 5.9 million Texans with Medicaid through May 2024 following a 3-year nationwide pause on disenrollments during the pandemic (sometimes called Medicaid “unwinding”). This is an enormous undertaking, unprecedented in scale for Texas Medicaid’s eligibility and enrollment system. Millions of Texans, mostly children in low-income families and postpartum mothers,...

On Thursday, June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in public and private college admissions, reversing a policy that schools and universities have used to increase diversity for decades. Joined by analysts and experts from the Every Texan team, Marisa discusses the ruling's harmful implications on policy and people both in Texan and nationwide. Host: Marisa Bono,...

The 88th Legislative Session ended...and the first Special Session began the next morning! Luis and Marisa chat about developments in the final days of session, including what happened with HB5, how the tax break negotiations between the Senate and the House broke down, and more. They also explain what a Special Session is, and what Texans can expect in coming days (spoiler alert: it's mostly...

All eyes are focused on impeachment this weekend, but we can't lose sight of the fact that the countdown to Sine Die can now be done in hours rather than days. Sunday is the last day for the House and Senate to adopt conference committee reports or adopt the other chamber’s amendments. Like the end of a school year, some members are starting to say their goodbyes to their deskmates and their b...

With less than 28 days left in the Texas legislative session, Luis and Marisa talk about which bills are moving, which ones are dead, and which ones are... living dead. From healthcare to education to immigration, find out where you can make a difference on the issues that affect all Texans.

No matter what we look like, where we come from, or what we do for a living, we can all agree that working people should have the pay and benefits they need to work in dignity to support their families. 74% of Texas workers do not have access to any form of paid medical leave and 64% do not have access to unpaid family medical leave. This reality leaves both families and employers vulnerable durin...

For twenty years, Texas had a program – known as Chapter 313 –  that let wealthy corporations avoid paying what they owed to support our schools. These companies got to keep $31 billion that would have otherwise gone to help our children. The program, which was never shown to work, finally expired last year, but House Speaker Phelan is trying to bring it back this session through HB 5. The bill wo...

With 41 days left in session, Marisa talks with Luis, Jaime, and Shannon Halbrook about the major takeaways from the House budget debate and what Texans can expect in the next couple of weeks at the Capitol before looking at the committee deadlines. Guests:  Luis Figueroa, Every Texan's Chief of Legislative Affairs, and Every Texan Senior Policy Analysts Jaime Puente and Shannon Halbrook Host:...

Texas has used the federally-administered HealthCare. Gov insurance marketplace for the last 10 years. A few bills have been filed in the 2023 Texas Legislative Session that would replace HealthCare. Gov and create a state-based Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace. Successfully running a marketplace takes an ongoing commitment to both coverage as a value and making public progra...

This Thursday is Budget Night , a big debate in classic lege fashion set right before the Easter weekend. The Legislature’s only constitutional obligation during session is to pass a balanced budget. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee signed off on sending its 2024-25 plan to the House floor, which spends about $303 billion over two years. Here to talk with Marisa about what to expect t...

Despite no evidence of widespread election fraud, a "bad batch" of bills were heard in the Senate State Affairs and House Elections Committee that threaten to undermine and restrict the vote of all Texans if passed. Chief of Legislative Affairs explains how these bills are politially motivated solutions in search of a problem, and what we can do to push back against bills that make it ha...

"Vouchers, riders, and tax cuts, Oh My!" Follow the yellow brick road with Chief of Legislative Affairs Luis Figueroa, Marisa, and special guest Rep. Diego Bernal as we recap all the major highlights from the Lege this week, from the tax plan that came out of the Senate to postpartum healthcare in the House to the DEI rider on the budget. Things are heating up at the Capitol, get up to d...

In the midst of record-high grocery store prices and inflation, over 4 million Texans experience food insecurity , which is difficulty meeting basic food needs. Food insecurity has a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities. This week, we learn more about the face of hunger in Texas, how the end of the public health emergency has created a quiet crisis in Texas, and how some key bill...

The property tax cut debate is in full swing at the Texas Legislature, and our Director of Policy and Advocacy Chandra Villanueva and Senior Fiscal Policy Analyst Dick Lavine tell tales from the front lines on the latest developments. There are two proposals, one in the House and one in the Senate - do these proposals but Texans first? Do they offer real relief for working Texans? Are we making tr...

One of the bills we identified in our "Worst of the Worst" episode got set for hearings next week - learn about how to engage next week to fight back against this harmful preemption bill. Luis and Marisa also discuss bills that reflect good policy, good values, that we hope get a hearing this session. 

Picture it: Texas, 2023. We have the worst uninsured rate in the nation. Five million Texans don’t have access to affordable healthcare. Rural hospitals are closing. We need a system where everyone can get the care they need when they need it, and Medicaid expansion is the first step Texas leaders can take toward that future. It has broad bipartisan support and would bring billions of federal doll...

We're hearing a lot of talk about protecting parents, but who's watching out for our students? One of the Governor’s top priorities is vouchers, or educational savings accounts, and he's hit the road to tout his plan. With the conversation gaining steam at the Capitol, this week Chandra and Jaime join Marisa to dig into how the plan to use taxpayer-funded vouchers to send children to private schoo...

Last week at the Capitol , the Governor and Lt. Governor laid out their priority legislative items and the Governor delivered an overview of his legislative priorities at the State of the State.  Committee hearings for non-appropriation bills begin next week. The priority bills by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker represent the biggest opportunities and threats this session. However, ma...

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, Governor Abbott delivered his State of the State address to share his priorities for the 88th Legislative Session and outline his plans for Texas. As expected, his top focuses fail to prioritize our state's most valuable resource – people. This week, Marisa and Every Texan Senior Fiscal Analyst Dick Lavine discuss the real state of the state with leaders from some o...

"When we all do better, we all do better." State leaders frequently brag about the "Texas miracle," a theory where politicians insist that no matter what is going on with the nation’s economy as a whole, the Texas economy is thriving. But this might be news to many Texas workers who are being left behind. Millions of Texans have a tough time making ends meet because their pay doesn’t keep up with...