2009 Legislative Summary
About the Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature meets once every two years for five months, so when the Legislature is in session, it is a race to the finish to help good bills get through and stop harmful bills. In the 2009 session, Liberty Institute was at the Capitol every day, testifying before countless committees, meeting with elected officials, and helping people just like you get involved in the legislative process.
Here are our notes from the front lines of the Texas Legislature:
Despite a change in D.C. and a more liberal coup in the Texas House (which helped many dangerous bills progress that would have previously never moved an inch), there is good news to report, but also some unfinished business. Thanks to people like you, mainstream Texas values were upheld and these dangerous pieces of legislation were defeated.
We spent countless hours on many issues which affect you, including sanctity of life legislation, pro-family bills, religious liberty, as well as taxation and limited government issues. Also, we worked hard in the Texas State Board of Education to uphold academic freedom in science classes statewide.
* HB 36/SB 182 (Ultrasound Bill)
* HB 109/HB 3097/SB 1098 (Choose Life License Plate)
* HB 3318 (Infanticide, reducing punishment for a mother's murder of her infant)
* HB 2221 (Forces Private Hospitals to Provide Abortion Pill)
* HB 1 (Funding for Alternatives to Abortion and Umbilical Cord/Adult Stem Collection and Research)
* Pro-Life Rallies
Pro-Family
* HB 480/SB 2352 (Divorce Reform)
* HB 3025 (Religious symbol discrimination)
State Board of Education
* Academic Freedom/Evolution and Censorship
* SB 1440 (CPS Expansion Bill)
Limited Government and Taxation
* SB 1 (State Budget)
* HB 9/SB 855 (Tax Increase for Transportation Funding)
* HB 4765 (Business/Franchise Tax Exemption Raised)
* HB 1038 (Foreclosure Sales Included in Property Appraisal Calculations)
* HB 1323/HB 2966 (Transgender Special Rights)
* HB 824 (Applying Hate Crimes Punishments to Children)
Educational Freedom
* HB 710 (Taking Away Your Right to Vote on State Board of Education Members)
* SB 2275 (Removing Curriculum Approval from the Role of the State Board of Education)
News & Updates






