- Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo Wants Taxpayers to Foot $23k Bill for Paris Trip
- Texas House Continues to Pass Conservative Legislation as Key Deadline Passes
- Abbott Seeks USDA Waiver to Ban Food Stamps from Being Used on Junk Food
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo Wants Taxpayers to Foot $23k Bill for Paris Trip
Harris County Commissioners Court will meet on Thursday to consider items including a request by County Judge Lina Hidalgo for $23,300 for a trip to Paris, France next month.
According to the travel request, Hidalgo is seeking taxpayer funding for herself and three staffers to participate in a delegation from Harris County to Paris to “showcase the county as a lead in global innovation and AI.” The request notes that the trip will include “public policy collaboration with European ministers and elected officials.”
Hidalgo’s travel request comes as Harris County leaders have struggled to provide adequate funding for county law enforcement.
“As we approach a new budget cycle, surrounding jurisdictions are approving aggressive pay raises that seriously threaten Harris County’s ability to recruit and retain the best law enforcement talent,” said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez in a recent letter.
Instead of seeking to reduce bloat in the county’s budget or eliminate unnecessary expenditures, Houston Public Media has reported that Hidalgo has said that a tax increase would be required to provide pay raises for Sheriff’s deputies.
Other expenditures on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of Harris County Commissioners Court include $5,000 for the county to sponsor the 2025 “Pride in Business” event hosted by the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce and $30,000 for another public art mural.
Texas House Continues to Pass Conservative Legislation as Key Deadline Passes
As the Texas House faced a May 15 deadline to act on House bills, the chamber passed many bills last week that were applauded by various conservative advocacy organizations, including the Republican Party of Texas. Some of the most notable bills passed by the Texas House last week included:
- House Bill 4076 by State Representative Jeff Leach, which prohibits health care providers from discriminating against patients based on their vaccination status for an organ transplant
- House Bill 4623 by State Representative Mitch Little, which allows public schools and public school employees to be held civilly liable for sexual misconduct
- House Bill 3053 by State Representative Wes Virdell, which bans cities and counties from sponsoring or participating in a gun buyback program
- House Bill 113 by State Representative Cody Vasut will prohibit courts from considering the legislative history or intent of a law, requiring courts only to consider the statute’s plain language.
- House Bill 1533 by State Representative Angie Chen Button, to increase transparency in the property tax appraisal process
- House Bill 3225 by State Representative Daniel Alders, which will prohibit municipal public libraries from making sexually explicit materials available to minors
- Senate Joint Resolution 37 by State Senator Brian Birdwell and State Representative Candy Noble, is a proposed State Constitutional amendment to clarify that non-citizens are prohibited from voting
- House Bill 2674 by State Representative David Cook, which prohibits the Texas Education Agency or the State Board of Education from regulating homeschool programs.
- House Bill 229 by State Representative Ellen Troxclair, known as the Women’s Bill of Rights, which clearly defines terms related to biological sex such as “male” and “female” in state law
- House Bill 1586 by State Representative Lacey Hull, to make vaccine exemption forms for public school students easily available online
- House Bill 4 by State Representative Brad Buckley, to eliminate the STAAR test
- House Bill 4535 by State Representative John McQueeney, which will require health care providers to obtain written informed consent from an individual before administering a COVID-19 vaccine
The deadline for the Texas House to pass Senate bills out of the chamber is May 27, with a June 1 deadline to pass conference committee reports. The last day of the legislative session is June 2.
Abbott Seeks USDA Waiver to Ban Food Stamps from Being Used on Junk Food
Governor Greg Abbott submitted a letter to United States Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday seeking permission for Texas to ban junk food from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“Under the Trump administration, for the first time since the program was authorized, states can take steps to eliminate the opportunity to buy junk food with SNAP benefits and assure that taxpayer dollars are used only to purchase healthy, nutritious food. We appreciate your efforts to allow states to implement innovative changes to support our citizens to lead healthy and productive lives.
Therefore, this letter serves as a formal request from the State of Texas to prohibit SNAP benefits from being used to purchase sweetened drinks and candy,” wrote Abbott.
In response to Abbott’s request, Rollins tweeted, “A powerful movement is sweeping the nation — one that prioritizes the health of those in need, while ensuring taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted on junk food. 🍎
Grateful to Gov. @GregAbbott_TX and my home state of Texas for leading the charge and taking action by submitting a SNAP waiver — I look forward to reviewing it ASAP.👏👍🏼”
