Texas Impact's Weekly Witness

Last week Texas Impact concluded a series of kick-off events for our Houston Faith Votes campaign in partnership with local congregations and organizations in Houston. We aired the audio from the first of three faith leader panels and y'all loved it so much we thought we'd do it again! The material from these conversations isn't Houston-specific, but hopefully inspires all of us to engage our cong...

Last weekend Scott had a chance to moderate a faith leader panel with four incredible Houston faith leaders discussing the importance of civic engagement and why and how local congregations can engage their communities. That conversation was so rich and deep, we wanted to share it with the whole Texas Impact community…so we decided to run it as the podcast this week.    Texas Impact is in the midd...

Many public school kids are returning to school across the state this week. Public school teachers, staff and administrators are excited about the new year's possibilities but maybe less enthusiastic about the legislature's failure to use the record budget surplus to invest in public schools and teachers.    This seems like a perfect week to have a chat about public education with a public school...

This week we traveled to the heart of Houston for a conversation with Texas state representative Gene Wu, representing House District 137. Rep. Wu is a fellow LBJ School alum, so I enjoyed catching up with him and hearing about his work during the session, concerns shared by Harris County residents and some thoughts on economic justice and how bills impacted his district.  Rep. Wu will also be one...

This week we welcome back to the program Josh Houston, Texas Impact's Advocacy Director, to talk about public education in Texas, and specifically about the implementation of the school chaplain bill that will impact every one of your communities. We will discuss the multiple layers of public school conversations that are taking place in Texas, starting with the vote EVERY school district in Texas...

This week we are taking a mid-summer break from our legislative wrap-up series to talk about the recent judicatory season with the Chair of the Board of Church and Society for the North Texas Annual Conference United Methodist Church and one of our Board Members, Rev. Phil Dieke. Every year from April through June, the Texas Impact team is busy with what we refer to in house as judicatory season–w...

This week our Executive Director, Bee Moorhead had a chance to catch up with former State Senator Beverly Powell, who represented parts of Fort Worth and North Texas. And, while Sen. Powell would definitely have some wise words about legislative topics, the conversation this week focused on her work in organizing Texans to support Uvalde families while we wait for policy change. She is providing l...

This week we welcome Texas State Representative John Bucy, who represents House District 136 in Williamson County, to discuss higher education policy in the 88th Legislature. We haven't talked a lot about higher ed policy on this podcast, but Texas colleges, universities, community colleges and trade schools are important components in our communities and an important driver of the Texas economy....

This week we welcome Texas State Representative Donna Howard, who represents House District 48 in the Austin area, to discuss maternal health and the role it played in the 88th Legislature. We will talk about whether the glass was half full or half empty in regards to maternal health policy–yes, indeed there were some good moments during this legislative session, thanks in large part to Rep. Howar...

This week we welcome Texas State Representative James Talarico, who represents District 50 in the Austin, Travis County, area, to discuss Christian nationalism and the role it played in the 88th Legislature. Rep. Talarico had several "viral moments" during the session combatting Christian nationalism, speaking as a person of faith… an area where he has some experience as a current divinity student...

This week we welcome Representative Vikki Goodwin to the program. Rep. Goodwin represents House District 47 in the Austin area and has been a longtime  champion for commonsense gun reform. Scott and Rep. Goodwin talk about how personal stories impact the policy discussion, and Rep. Goodwin offers practical tips for sharing your story with lawmakers.   Head to Texas Impact's YouTube Channel to watc...

This week we welcome Texas Impact's outside legislative counsel, Beaman Floyd, as we discuss some of the factors at play a s state leadership continues to figure out what is happening with the special session, or sessions. Weekly Witness will take a look back on the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature  and what Texans of faith should be watching this summer.  Head to Texas Impact's YouTu...

Weekly Witness is back with a new legislative wrapup series, and we are excited to start by welcoming Senator Nathan Johnson to the program to discuss the grid and making sure Texas can keep the lights on in a sustainable way that is best for all Texans.  Sen. Johnson is a leader on many of the issues Texans of faith care about. He represents about a million Dallas County residents, and it was nic...

The tax policy cliche "oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to exempt" is on point for this legislative session. This week, tax-whisperer Dick Lavine joins Scott to discuss legislation to increase property tax exemptions, including SB3 and HB5. This is the last episode of the regular session in the Texas Legislature. If you have ideas for the program during the interim, or questi...

Immigration and border issues have really come to the forefront in the last few weeks thanks to the news around the COVID-era Title 42 policy ending and some frankly shocking border militarization bills in the Texas Legislature. So, here to help us make sense of what is happening, is Bobby Watson, Texas Impact's Human Rights fellow, fresh off a trip to the border with the Texas Impact team.  *Corr...

This week we welcome Dr. Charlie Brown, Board Member with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to talk about key reforms to Texas' ban on abortions that are necessary to better define steps that can legally be taken to protect the lives of Texas moms. Doctors need a better legal definition, and so far the Legislature has been unwilling to even have that conversation. We are reco...

This week Scott welcomes two advocates in the struggle for common sense gun control.  Christina Delgado, Southwest Regional Advocacy Associate with the Community Justice Action Fund and Nicole Golden, Executive Director with Texas Gun Sense, have both been working tirelessly at the capitol this session with legislators and the families of victims of gun violence. Despite all of that work, and a th...

This week we recorded in between bill hearings with Doug Lewin, President of Stoic Energy Consulting and host of the Texas Power Podcast. Renewable energy is a big part of the Texas economy. We talked to Doug about some positive advancements this legislative session and work that still needs to be done to protect renewable energy. Check out Doug's podcast at www.renewableenergyworld.com/ the-texas...

This week we are excited to be recording from the Texas Capitol office of Rep Trey Martinez-Fischer. Scott talks with his Senior Budget Analyst, Eva Deluna Castro—many Weekly Witness listeners will know Eva from her years with the Center for Public Policy Priorities, now Every Texan. Eva is one of Texas' most respected state budget experts, and today she's sharing her take as we move into the home...

This week we are recording from the University of Houston Downtown at the invitation of the Center for Critical Race Studies. Scott sits down with Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, author, and the Associate Professor of Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. She also serves as co-founder of the Society for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Religion and as the Executive Director of both...

This week we welcome Terri Burke, Executive Director of the Immunization Partnership, to talk about the importance of vaccinations–one of the 10 major advances in public health of the 20th century–and the history behind the vaccine opposition movement, which is grounded in a discredited study in the mid 2000's. Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we welcome Diana Forester, Director of Health Policy with Texans Care for Children. We are just over halfway through the 140 day legislative session, and Texas Impact has many priorities, and maternal health and Medicaid for Texas families are always important legislative priorities for Texans of faith across the state. But Diana joined us to talk about another Medicaid issue: the unwind...

This week we welcome Texas Impact's Executive Director Bee Moorhead and Advocacy Director Josh Houston to the program as we reach the midpoint of the 140 day legislative session.  Get full access to Texas Impact at texasimpact.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are joined by Reverend Rob Mueller, pastor of Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, and one of the clergy leaders of Texas Impact's Ending Gun Violence issues team. We discuss the work Rob is doing to engage his denominational body–Mission Presbytery–in policy advocacy and the recent resolution they passed with overwhelming support. You can find the resolution on our web...

This week Scott talked with Jamila English, Legislative Director for the Texas Chapter of Emgage, a foundation with the goal of educating and mobilizing Muslim American voters in support of policies that enable their communities to thrive and democracy to flourish. They discussed the upcoming Texas Muslim Capitol Day and AAPI Advocacy Day and their priorities for the legislative session. Head to w...