ACTION ALERT FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 22, 2025 Remember I told you at the beginning of the special sessions that things move very fast in specials? Well, hold on to your hats, because here we go! I’m sorry to be sending you action alerts two days in a row, but that’s just the way the special session ball bounces. So please bear with me. The Senate completed most of it’s work for 2nd Special in one afternoon, and now that the House Dems are back, things are on the move there. Friday Aug 22, there are FIVE House Committee Hearings. I know that with only a few hours’ notice, most folks can’t get to Austin to testify in person at any of these hearings (including me!). And even if we did – some of them are happing at the same time! BUT – we can do the on-line comments on ALL of them! So, I’m asking as many people as possible to log into the comment forms and comment on these important bills. STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 8:00 AM Friday, John H Reagan Building Rm 140 · HB7 – Ban mailing abortion pills into the state. The House bill is different from the Senate SB7 bill that passed the Senate (three times). At some point, the two will have to be reconciled. · SB8 – Women’s Private Spaces. This is the Senate bill that already passed (three times). If the House passes it, it goes to the Governor. Click here for the on-line comment form for HB7 and SB8 DISASTER PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE: 8:30 AM Friday, John H Reagan Building Rm 120 · There are a whole series of flood relief & preparedness bills on the schedule for this committee. Click here to see the schedule display with all bills listed. Click here for the on-line comment form for the Disaster Relief bills. PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE: 9:00 AM Friday, E2.030 · HB25 – Authorizes pharmacists to dispense Ivermectin as an over-the-counter drug. (Gov Abbott has recently added this to the 2nd Special, thanks to overwhelming grassroots support for the bill) Click here for the on-line comment form for HB25 INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: 10 AM or after adjournment, Friday, E2.026 · HB46 – This is an interesting bill I just discovered by Rep. Tepper. It limits local government revenue (and therefore spending) each year to last year’s revenue plus an inflation rate. I have not had time to study it in depth, but anything that limits local government spending seems like a good thing to me. Click here for the on-line comment form for HB46 WAYS AND MEANS: 10 AM or after adjournment, Friday, E2.014 · SB10 – Adjusts the level where local governments must have voter approval for a tax increase. This is the Senate bill that has already passed (three times), and if passed by the House, will go to the Governor. Click here for the on-line comment form for SB10 OTHER LEGISLATIVE NEWS: As mentioned above, the Governor has added three items to the call for the 2nd special session: Impose penalties on legislators who break quorum (several bills filed on this one yesterday); Authorize Ivermectin over the counter; and A study of East Texas aquifers by the TX Water Development Board prior to issuance of permits. Read the full statement from the Governor here. ANOTHER REQUEST FOR ACTION SB12 – The Senate bill to ban taxpayer funded lobbying, has passed the Senate (three times), but has now landed back in State Affairs Committee in the House where it DIED in regular session because Chair Ken King refused to give it a hearing. We can’t let that happen again! I WANT TO FLOOD KING’S OFFICE WITH PHONE CALLS, MESSAGES, EMAILS AND HAND WRITTEN CARDS! Grassroots pressure can work if enough of us take action. Example – the Ivermectin situation! So, let’s get after it. Home Group leaders – this would be a good exercise for your groups this month. Write post cards to Rep King and demand that he schedules a hearing on SB12, and not let it die in his committee. AGAIN! If you live in King’s district (HD88), it’s especially important for you to contact him as a constituent (you have more influence). For the rest of us, contact him as chairman of the State Affairs Committee. If you want to go the extra mile, also contact all members of the Committee. Contact details listed below. Contact for Ken King
- Phone Austin Office: 512-463-0736
- Phone District Office: 806-323-8870
- Email: [email protected]
- Snail Mail: PO Box 12910, Austin, TX 78711-2910
Contacts for State Affairs Committee
Snail Mail address for Committee members is the same as Rep. King’s, PO Box 12910, Austin, TX 78711-2910. LET’S LIGHT EM UP! I understand that everyone has busy lives, and maybe higher priorities than these requests for action, but please do whatever you can. If you can’t do all, do some. Every bit helps. You have from now until the hearing ends to complete on-line comments. The hearings that happen early will probably end by around 10 am tomorrow when the House likely reconvenes. The others will probably end after House action later in the afternoon. But we never know! So don’t delay – do it today! (Ha! I made a rhyme) If you need help or talking points for your comments, just reply to this email. I have research and testimony on all of these bills. Happy to help! Thanks everyone! Fran Rhodes, President |
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