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Hi John,

The Texas Legislative session has begun and, already, the Texas GOP is working against Texas families. In his State of the State address, Greg Abbott voiced his full support for defunding public schools in favor of school vouchers. These vouchers simply take money out of public schools so wealthy parents can offset the cost of private schools. And we say, “Public money stays with public schools.”

We are going to need your help in keeping the Texas legislature accountable to Texas families. We have been posting “Fill the Lines” in the Facebook page, but we know many of you may not see those. To help drive action, we’ll be using this newsletter for calls to action at the #TxLege. If they don’t hear from us (and loudly), they’ll continue pushing our state farther and farther to the right.

We are committed to fighting for Texas families…and We need YOU!

Nancy Thompson, Founder

On Tuesday, 21 February, we need you to call your Texas House representative and senator and let them know you support public education!

Tell them you:

• Want public schools to be fully funded

• Oppose school vouchers

• Support teachers - they deserve a significant pay raise

Remember, Texas has a $33B surplus this year. Not only that, there’s close to $27B in the “rainy day” fund. No more excuses. This is our money, and we want public schools funded.

Some facts:

Texas ranks 44th in dollars spent per student ($9,871 compared to $15,120 on average for the U.S.). Teacher salaries also lag by $7,500 annually compared with the national average.

In 2022, Texas ranked 34th out of 50 states in K-12 public education per U.S. News and World Report. That’s despite the fact that we’re the ninth largest economy IN THE WORLD. It’s clear that decades of under-funding of our public schools have led to this dismal state.

The answer isn’t school vouchers. It’s fully funding our schools! Call your Texas reps on Tuesday, 21 February.

Find out who represents you here.

The citizens of Kansas voted to ensure abortion is protected by the state’s constitution. The citizens of Michigan were able to establish an independent redistricting commission to address gerrymandering in their state.

But we can’t do that in Texas. The state of Texas does not allow for citizens to petition for initiatives or referenda. Sen Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) wants to change that. He’s submitted a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Texans to petition the state and vote on citizen initiatives.

It’s SJR25, and it would allow Texans to put on the ballot the issues that a majority of Texans support. Things like universal background checks, abortion rights, decriminalizing marijuana, and raising the age to buy a semi-automatic rifle to 21. For too long, we’ve allowed our voices to be silenced. SJR25 gives a voice back to the people of Texas.

Call your representatives on Thursday, 23 February and let them know you want them to support SJR25.

Join our #TxLege Team

Our MAGA the Good lege team has assembled for the 2023 Legislative session. We have over 20 volunteers tracking bills on LGBTQ issues, Voting rights, Women’s rights, Environment, Gun Safety, Public Education, and Border & Immigration.

Want to join us in tracking legislation, developing messaging, and getting the word out? Click on the image below and let us know which area you want to support. #TxLegeTeam

Chapter Member Benefits

To continue to make a difference for Texas, Mothers Against Greg Abbott needs sustaining members to help power the changes we all want for our families.

To that end, we’ve launched our new membership program! You can click here to become a sustaining member. Send any questions to [email protected]. And please sign up today to support our grassroots effort!

Save the Date - Lobby Day

We will be descending on the Texas Capitol on May 4th for the second annual Mothers Against Greg Abbott Lobby Day. We are still working through the details, but save the date!!

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