Bills in Committee This Week. Pay Day & Auto Title Lending Reform

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1 TEXAS IMPACT Texas Impact was established by Texas religious leaders in 1973 to be a voice in the Texas legislative process for the shared religious social concerns of Texas faith communities. Texas Impact is supported by more than two-dozen Christian, Jewish and Muslim denominational bodies, hundreds of local congregations, ministerial alliances and interfaith networks, and thousands of people of faith throughout Texas. Bills in Committee This Week Pay Day & Auto Title Lending Reform Support HB 1134 by Craddick (Makes the city ordinances apply statewide) HB 741 by Bernal (Requires payday lenders to assess a borrowers ability to repay) HB 975 by Giddings (payday lenders cannot threaten criminal prosecution for being unable to pay) HB 3508 by Neave (Prohibits governmental contracts with payday lenders) House Investments & Financial Services Committee hearing Tuesday, April 25 Oppose SB 1530 by Estes (Preempts the city ordinances) SB 2178 by Huffines (Allows payday lenders to sue cities that pass local ordinances) Senate Business & Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday, April 25 Food Support HB 3324 by E. Rodriguez Creates financial incentives for grocers to locate in food deserts House Urban Affairs hearing Tuesday, April 25 Support SB 1696 by Lucio Requires a study of the school breakfast program Senate Education hearing Tuesday, April 25 Public Information Support HB 792 & 793 by Capriglione Restores public access to information that the Texas Supreme Court limited House Government Transparency Committee hearing Monday, April 24 Water Support SB 1587 by Garcia Requires testing for lead in schools and child care facilities Senate Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs Committee hearing Monday, April 24 Child Welfare Support SB 2164 by Zaffirini Requires DFPS to collect data and report on safety at day-care centers Senate Health & Human Services hearing Wednesday, April 26

2 Keep These Bills Moving! Report from Committee ASAP! HB 2395 by Collier Requires testing for lead in school drinking water H Committee action pending House Public Education HB 3151 by Sheffield Streamlining Medicaid and CHIP eligibility Committee action pending in House Human Services Committee Tell House Calendars to Support HB 199 by Bernal (county wide voting) H Committee report arrived in Calendars HB 249 by Hernandez (abuse & neglect definitions) H Committee report arrived in Calendars HB 337 by Collier (continue Medicaid after jail release) H Committee action pending House Public Health Tell Your House Member Oppose SB 3 by L. Taylor (vouchers) Oppose SB 4 by Perry (sanctuary cities) Tell Your Senate Member Support HB 21 by Huberty (school finance bill) Support SB 275 by Watson ($ for job training & placement)

3 Weekly Witness Call Scripts Attached is a list of toll free numbers for Committee members referenced on the first page. The full list of House and Senate members is at of Using the toll free numbers allow Texas Impact staff to track how many calls are going in to each office. It s especially helpful if your own senator or representative is a member of the committee; however, even if you don t live in the district of any committee members, you still should call all the members of the committee and let them know how you feel about the bill. Sample Script Hello, my name is and I live in. I am calling to thank Representative/Senator for his/her service and to let you know that I and members of my congregation are praying for the Representative/Senator and his/her staff. I m calling about HB/SB by. That bill is in (name of the committee the bill is in). I support/oppose the bill and here s why: I want to urge the Representative/Senator to support/oppose HB/SB. Can you tell me how the Representative/Senator plans to vote on the bill, and if there is any information she/he needs to help make a decision about how to vote? Don t forget to thank the staff member you are talking to at the end of the call, even if you disagree with their boss on the issue or bill they are working hard and appreciate being appreciated! In the past members have occasionally blocked our toll free number because of high call volume from people of faith. We want them to hear your voice, so if you call twice and received busy signals, engagement@texasimpact.org and we will update the number. This week s Weekly Witness sponsored by: Platinum Sponsor: Rev. Dr. T. Randall Smith and Rev. Sandra W. Smith Platinum Sponsor: Members of Friends Congregational Church, College Station Platinum Sponsor: Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, Houston Silver Sponsor: Central Texas MFSA on behalf of Austin Region Justice for our Neighbors For updated information, visit follow us on Facebook or Twitter or contact engagement@texasimpact.org Texas Impact is a membership organization. Join Texas Impact and be part of Texas' oldest and largest interfaith action network! For more information, visit

4 House Human Services Committee Rep Richard Raymond (877) Rep James Frank (877) Rep Mark Keough (877) Rep Stephanie Klick (877) Rep Rick Miller (877) Rep Ina Minjarez (877) Rep Toni Rose (877) Rep Valoree Swanson (877) Rep Gene Wu (877) Senate Agriculture, Water, & Rural Affairs Sen Charles Perry (877) Sen Jose Rodriguez (877) Sen Brandon Creighton (877) Sen Bob Hall (877) Sen Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (877) Sen Lois Kolkhorst (877) Sen Borris L. Miles (877) House Public Education Committee Rep Dan Huberty (877) Rep Diego Bernal (877) Rep Alma Allen (877) Rep Dwayne Bohac (877) Rep Joe Deshotel (877) Rep Harold Dutton, Jr. (877) Rep Lance Gooden (877) Rep Ken King (877) Rep Linda Koop (877) Rep Morgan Meyer (877) Rep Gary VanDeaver (877) House Public Health Committee Rep Four Price (877) Rep J.D. Sheffield (877) Rep Diana Arevalo (877) Rep Cindy Burkett (877) Rep Garnet Coleman (877) Rep Nicole Collier (877) Rep Philip Cortez (877) Rep R.D. Guerra (877) Rep Stephanie Klick (877) Rep Tom Oliverson (877) Rep Bill Zedler (877) House Agriculture and Livestock Committee Rep. Tracy King (877) Rep. Mary Gonzales (877) Rep. Charles Anderson (877) Rep. Dustin Burrows (877) Rep. John Cyrier (877) Rep. Matt Rinaldi (877) Rep. Lynn Stucky (877) House Calendars Rep. Todd Hunter (877) Rep. Donna Howard (877) Rep. Roberto Alonzo (877) Rep. Trent Ashby (877) Rep. Byron Cook (877) Rep. Sarah Davis (877) Rep. Charlie Geren (877) Rep. Helen Giddings (877) Rep. Kyle Kacal (877) Rep. Ken King (877) Rep. Linda Koop (877) Rep. Poncho Nevarez (877) Rep. Chris Paddie (877) Rep. Dade Phelan (877) Rep. Toni Rose (877) House Government Transparency Rep Gary Elkins (877) Rep Giovanni Capriglione (877) Rep Larry Gonzales (877) Rep Eddie Lucio (877) Rep Matt Shaheen (877) Rep Tony Tinderholt (877) Rep Tomas Uresti (877) House Investments Rep Tan Parker (877) Rep Phil Stephenson (877) Rep Dustin Burrows (877) Rep Jay Dean (877) Rep Justin Holland (877) Rep Eric Johnson (877) Rep Oscar Longoria (877) House Urban Affairs Rep Carol Alvarado (877) Rep Jeff Leach (877) Rep Diego Bernal (877) Rep Gary Elkins (877) Rep Jason Isaac (877) Rep Jarvis Johnson (877) Rep Bill Zedler (877)

5 Senate Business & Commerce Sen Kelly Hancock (877) Sen Brandon Creighton (877) Sen Donna Campbell (877) Sen Craig Estes (877) Sen Robert Nichols (877) Sen Charles Schwertner (877) Sen Larry Taylor (877) Sen John Whitmire (877) Sen Judith Zaffrini (877) Senate Education Sen Larry Taylor (877) Sen Eddie Lucio Jr (877) Sen Paul Bettencourt (877) Sen Donna Campbell (877) Sen Bob Hall (877) Sen Don Huffines (877) Sen Bryan Hughes (877) Sen Kel Seliger (877) Sen Van Taylor (877) Sen Carlos Uresti (877) Sen Royce West (877) Senate Health and Human Services Sen Charles Schwertner (877) Sen Carlos Uresti (877) Sen Dawn Buckingham (877) Sen Konni Burton (877) Sen Lois Kolkhorst (877) Sen Borris L. Miles (877) Sen Charles Perry (877) Sen Van Taylor (877) Sen Kirk Watson (877)