Lawmakers decided how to dole out about $13.3 billion in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. Zoe Nemerever, a political science professor at Texas Tech University, said there are very few trans youth athletes in Texas, so lawmakers are willing to look past their concerns to “ social conservatism on issues of gender and sexuality to socially conservative constituents.” Abbott is all but certain to sign it, saying the bill protects “the integrity of Texas high school sports.” Opponents are worried it will increase the number of youth who consider suicide, and point to data from the LGBTQ advocacy group The Trevor Project that says this is already happening. Under a bill passed last week, public school athletes must play on sports teams that correspond with the sex assigned to them at birth. Here’s a roundup of the rest of the major laws passed in the third special legislative session: Over 90% of new residents in Texas since 2010 are people of color. “In all four of these redistricting maps additional Latino majority districts should have been created to reflect the growth of the Latino community over the past decade,” said Nina Perales of MALDEF in a Tuesday press conference. The civil rights group Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has already sued. “And I’d love to be able to say it a stain on the legacy of voting rights but that seems to be the playbook decade after decade after decade in this state.”Ībbott is expected to sign the redrawn maps into law. “It’s shameful,” said Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas. Congressional and state legislative districts, which will determine who represents Texans in federal and state government for the next 10 years.ĭespite Latinos and non-Hispanic whites having about equal numbers in the population overall, Republicans drew a large majority of districts to favor white, conservative voters.ĭemocrats objected to the passing of the new congressional maps overnight, but because they do not have a majority of the seats in either chamber, they were powerless to stop their colleagues in the GOP. The major result of the third special session was creating new boundaries for U.S. “The Legislature went above and beyond to solve other critical issues to ensure an even brighter future for the Lone Star State,” the statement said. Leaders of both the state House and Senate gave no indication they expect to be back for more, and a Tuesday statement from Gov. The 30-day special session, which has a number of other GOP-sponsored legislation on the agenda, will last until September 5.The fourth legislative session overall of 2021 looks to be the last. Texas Governor Greg Abbott had said he would not stop calling special sessions until the Democrats returned. Several of the lawmakers then tested positive for COVID-19. But they also drew some criticism from the right, especially after being photographed on a private plane flying to Washington, D.C. The House Democrats - along with several state senators - gained national following after they left the state, even meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris. Opponents say the bills would make it more difficult for thousands of Texans, especially in minority communities, to vote. Both measures would eliminate drive-thru and 24-hour early voting, expand early voting hours to some medium-sized counties, add identification requirements for voting by mail, increase criminal penalties for some election officials who don't follow regulations and give more powers to poll watchers. The lawmakers also pointed to the start of the school year amid the COVID-19 surge in the state, saying "it is time to move past these partisan legislative calls."ĭemocrats are objecting to two main election bills in the House and Senate.
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