Spurred by a groundswell of far-right support, the Texas Senate has passed all of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority LGBTQ bills — and then some. What the House does next will impact queer Texans’ lives and could determine Speaker Phelan’s future.
Jessica González
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LGBTQ+ Texans
The Texas House has a record number of LGBTQ representatives as lawmakers face scores of bills focused on gender and sexuality
The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Two House Democrats who broke quorum missing from Washington, D.C., reportedly vacationing in Portugal
Their vacation does not affect the lack of quorum that the House has in Austin that prevents the chamber from passing an elections bill. But it is at odds with Democrats’ insistence that they would use their time away to advocate for federal voting rights legislation in the nation’s capital.
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Texas Legislature 2021
State Rep. Jessica González defends Democrats’ walkout on Texas voting bill
González, of Dallas, and fellow state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, discussed Senate Bill 7, which failed to pass during the regular legislative session, and what’s next for legislators.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Democratic lawmakers hope to enact statewide nondiscrimination law and ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ Texans
As the Biden administration works to expand federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, Texas advocates and lawmakers are pushing for similar legislation here.
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COVID-19 Recession in Texas
“We do a lot of work”: Texas’ low-wage workers hope for more as Biden, Congress push minimum wage hike
The minimum wage in Texas pays $7.25 an hour, well below a livable wage and far lower than the minimum hourly pay in most states.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House passes religious liberty bill amid LGBTQ Caucus’ objections
What started as a sweeping religious refusals bill has been significantly watered down as it moves through the Texas Legislature. But LGBTQ advocates still fiercely oppose it, saying it perpetuates hateful rhetoric.
