The Core Blog

Just in time for Elder Abuse Prevention Month, the Texas House passed HB 3921 last week — a bill by Rep. Tan Parker, Chair, House Investments & Financial Services. This bill aims to reduce financial abuse by providing financial institutions and securities dealers with tools and authorization to place a hold on suspicious transactions. Once money is in the hands of fraudsters and those taking advantage of vulnerable family members, it is difficult, if not

Updated: May 2, 2017 Loan Shark Bill Moving in Texas House: Oppose HB 3081 HB 3081 would expand abusive payday lending in Texas and erase hard-fought local protections (the unified city ordinance) that at least 42 Texas cities have passed since 2011.We MUST stop HB 3081 frombeing placed on the House Calendar. TAKE ACTION TO DEFEND THE CITY ORDINANCES:Please call as many of the following committee members as you can, especially the ones in your

Updated: March 27, 2017 Several great bills have been filed this session to improve how courts handle fines and court costs in criminal cases, so that people are able to resolve what they owe while avoiding the counterproductive cycle of debt, warrants and jail time that often results. Here are a few of the bills that Texas Appleseed strongly supports: Senate Bill 1913 (Zaffirini) was drafted based on 2016 recommendations on court costs approved by

Updated: March 27, 2017 Currently, there are six bills related to asset forfeiture that have been sent to the either the State Affairs or Criminal Justice Committees in the Senate and nine bills that have been sent to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee in the House. The most comprehensive of these bills are companion bills SB 380 (Burton) and HB 1364 (Thompson). These identical bills will repeal civil asset forfeiture and establish criminal asset forfeiture. Simply

Updated March 14, 2017 Three bills that would significantly reduce suspensions for young students were filed this legislative session: SB 370 by Senator Sylvia Garcia, HB 674 by Representative Eric Johnson, and HB 2616 by Representative Helen Giddings. Senator Garcia’s bill prohibits the use of suspensions and alternative school placements for minor behaviors for students in Pre-K through 2nd grades. Representative Johnson’s bill prohibits out-of-school suspensions for students younger than six years old. Representative Giddings’

Updated: March 13, 2017 The Texas House Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee considered HB 122 (Dutton) on March 8, 2017, one of several “raise the age” bills filed in the House. The Committee heard testimony in support of the bill from advocates, district court judges, concerned parents, and several young people whose lives have been affected by their involvement at age 17 with the criminal justice system. Lexus Cubero is one of these young

Stay up-to-date on our top priorities during the 85th Legislative Session. This issue falls under our Criminal Justice Reform work. Texas' jails are full of people who have not been convicted of any crime, but who are awaiting trial, costing the counties an estimated $905 million annually. The current system for making pretrial release decisions leads to individuals being detained primarily based on whether they have enough money to afford bail; low-income individuals remain in

Stay up-to-date on our top priorities during the 85th Legislative Session. This issue falls under our Children & Youth work. Texas Appleseed continues to support measures to improve school police training and data collection. Following the passage of House Bill 2684 in 2015, police officers in all school districts in Texas with more than 30,000 students are required to have at least 16 hours of youth-focused training. Unfortunately, the law does not require training for

Stay up-to-date on our top priorities during the 85th Legislative Session. This issue falls under our Children & Youth work. While the number of Class C charges filed against juveniles has dropped dramatically in the wake of 2013 reforms that eliminated ticketing of schoolchildren for minor misbehavior, for the more than 60,000 youth who are charged, the consequences are still severe. A Class C conviction results in high fines and a criminal record that can

Stay up-to-date on our top priorities during the 85th Legislative Session. This issue falls under our Fair Financial Services work: When someone is no longer able to manage their own money or property due to age, illness or another factor, they hope that they have entrusted their money to someone who is financially responsible and ethical. But, we know that abuse and exploitation occurs. Texas Appleseed supports creating better systems for financial service providers to

Stay up-to-date on our top priorities during Texas' 85th Legislative Session. This issue falls under Courts & Due Process: Texans without an attorney to represent them are often at a disadvantage during the legal process. Research shows few resources exist for pro-se litigants in Texas, and where there is information, it is inconsistent and difficult to access. To help improve the justice system, Texas Appleseed advocates that court websites must have links to self-help resources

With the 85th Session of the Texas Legislature in full swing, we wanted to share the list of priorities that Texas Appleseed will be working on. You can stay updated on specific issues and bills here. We'll have blog posts covering each issue, which we'll update throughout session. Criminal Justice Reform End Jail Time for Unpaid Fines in Texas Too often, traffic tickets and fines in other low-level misdemeanor cases derail low-income Texans' lives, sending