Time for the CWA 83rd Legislative Session Wrap-up and Scorecard
Click here to see how your State Senator voted.
Click here to see how your State Representative voted.
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Concerned Women for America of Texas worked very hard this past session for you. Our scorecard reflects the key bills that actually did receive a vote on the floor of either the house or the senate; you can click on the links below to see how your state representative and senator voted. You can look up your state representative and/or state senator here.
Does it surprise you that in Texas many conservative bills never even made it out of committee? Our legislators need to know that Texans want conservative committee chairs because these chairmen are the “gatekeepers” in determining, singlehandedly in many cases, which bills are allowed to move to the floor for a vote. Many of the key bills we worked so hard on never saw the light of day. The responsibility to get these bills moving rests squarely with the committee chairmen who are appointed by Speaker Straus and Lt. Governor Dewhurst. The four bills listed below, which died in committee, are just a sampling of these bills. CWA is committed to redoubling our efforts in the 2015 session to insure passage of these and many other such bills that will protect our faith, our family, and our freedoms.
1. Religious Liberties – HJR 110/SJR 4– Would have codified into the Texas Constitution protection for religious liberties so the courts would be more restrained. As we have seen in the recent unconstitutional acts of the city council in San Antonio attempting to exclude Christians from participation in city government, the need to protect religious liberties in Texas is greater than ever. This bill, however, was locked up in our State Affairs Committee and never saw the light of day. CWA supported this bill.
2. National Security – HB 750/SB 285 – American Law in American Courts – Makes sense that in America our laws should be reflective of our Constitution, yet would be you believe we currently have no protections for that? CWA supported this bill.
3. Education – HB 1568 – Would have penalized ISD’s for using state tax dollars to fund health insurance for domestic partners – As you may have seen in the news lately, some Texas ISD’s are offering health insurance benefits to domestic partners. CWA believes marriage is sacred and this use of tax dollars should not be occurring. CWA supported this bill.
4. Education – HB 1057/SB 521 – Relating to providing human sexuality instruction in public schools and parental notification. Concerned Women for America of Texas firmly believes that neither Planned Parenthood nor any abortion provider should be providing sex education to our children. We also firmly believe in parental rights; thus, parents should be notified when their children are being educated on sexual matters. CWA supported this bill.
Tiny Texans Saved
CWA was on the Frontlines
Many of you saw the media reports about the passage of the historic pro-life bill HB 2. CWA along with our other pro-life partner groups helped to organize a rally on the south steps of the capitol the night before the passage of HB 2. More than 3,000 pro-life Texans showed up to support life. Penny Nance, our CEO and President, came from Washington, D.C. to support our efforts here in Texas. Many in the legislature told us that seeing the large numbers who cared enough to come to Austin to support them in their efforts to pass this bill was extremely encouraging. Thank you to all who came to stand for life. The photo above was taken at the bill signing ceremony where Gov. Perry signed the bill into law. CWA wants to give special thanks to Gov. Perry for calling the second special session, and please write or call State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg and Sen. Glen Hagar to thank them for carrying this bill. This bill provided many restrictions on abortion, but it will essentially stop late-term abortion in Texas. This bill has already closed many abortion clinics. CWA is so grateful to have been a part.
In Christ Service,
Michelle Smith
State Director
CWA of Texas
P.O. Box 1746
Rockwall, TX 75087
972-835-9506
director@texas.cwfa
To find out more about Concerned Women for America please visit: ConcernedWomen.org.
To reach Michelle Smith for an interview, please contact: 972-835-9506 or director@texas.cwfa.org .
To reach Penny Nance and/or Concerned Women for America National please contact: Alison Howard at 202-266-4816 or ahoward@cwfa.org .