AT THE CAPITOL
News from the 88th legislative session
QUOTE OF NOTE
Texas Democrats propose $15K pay raise for teachers
NUMBER TO KNOW $57.5 million This is how much state Senators have allocated in the draft 2024-25 biennium budget for anti-human tra cking e orts, including victims services, mental health treatment for survivors and law enforcement training. UPDATES FROM LOCAL LEGISLATORS “THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: WE’RE NOT GOING TO END THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION WITHOUT HAVING STRATEGIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE POWER TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS STATE FOR THE NEXT 40 YEARS.” GOV. GREG ABBOTT, DURING A JAN. 31 WINTER STORM MARA UPDATE
BY HANNAH NORTON
National Education Association, Texas now ranks 28th. “In Texas, it’s go big or go home. And it’s time, at this moment, to go big on teacher pay,” Talarico said at a Jan. 24 news conference. Before becoming a lawmaker, Tala- rico taught language arts at Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio. “I struggled to make ends meet, and my coworkers at Rhodes Middle School drove Ubers at night and sold their own blood plasma to make extra money,” Talarico said. “Now, 40% of Texas teachers work a second job just to pay the bills.” Other supporters of the bill include state Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer, D San Antonio; Gina Hinojosa, D Aus- tin; and Terry Meza, D Irving. Many districts lost up to one-third of their teachers, Austin ISD board President Arati Singh said. “This leads to bigger class sizes, ... smaller course o erings and an increased likelihood that you have an
EDUCATOR PAY RAISE Under House Bill 1548, lawmakers would propose a:
One proposed bill by Texas Demo- crats aims to increase teacher pay after 11.6% of teachers—over 42,000—left their jobs at public schools ahead of the 2021-22 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency. State Rep. James Talarico, D Round Rock, led House Bill 1548—which is supported by the Texas House Democratic Caucus—that would raise teacher salaries by $15,000 and increase pay for school support sta by 25%. This would bring the minimum annual salary for Texas teachers to $48,660. During the 2022-23 school year, classroom teachers, full-time librarians, counselors and registered nurses with less than one year of expe- rience must receive at least $33,660 per year, according to the TEA. Under the bill, the average teacher salary would be $73,887, making Texas the seventh-best state for teacher pay, Democrats said. According to the
Anti-human tra cking e ort aims to raise recognition, reporting The bill would also reduce property taxes, Singh said. The TEA partially funds schools based on attendance. The rest of the money schools receive comes from local property taxes. uncerti ed teacher teaching your kids how to read,” Singh said. This session, Texas lawmakers have $188 billion available for the 2024-25 biennium state budget, including nearly $33 billion leftover from the previous biennium. $15,000 teacher salary increase 25% increase in pay for school support sta $48,660 minimum teacher salary, up from $33,660 $73,887 average teacher salary SOURCE: TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE COMMUNITY IMPACT
ANGIE CHEN BUTTON, DISTRICT 112 Republican-Richardson Elected: 2009
Residents can report latest winter storm damage
BY HANNAH NORTON
Texans are not guaranteed disaster relief assistance when reporting to the state. “I urge any Texan who sustained property damage to report it in order to aid o cials in identifying com- munity needs,” said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Abbott also issued a statewide disaster declaration for the seven counties of Denton, Hays, Hen- derson, Milam, Smith, Travis and Williamson. The declaration makes state emergency resources available to help cities and counties as they continue to repair infrastructure, clean up debris and restore electricity in local power outages.
Texans impacted by Winter Storm Mara can report damage to their homes and businesses. The Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool, which can be found in English and Spanish, allows emergency management o cials to measure how much damage occurred during the storm and determine where resources are most needed, according to a Feb. 2 news release from Gov. Greg Abbott’s o ce. It also helps with receiving federal disaster assistance as a result of the storm. Reporting damage online is entirely voluntary and should not be done in place of submitting reports to insurance agencies, the release said.
HB 796 Chen Button led a bill that would create a new section for the state’s tax code, requiring the chief appraiser of each appraisal district in Texas to maintain a publicly available, searchable online database of its protest hearings by the beginning of 2024. The bill would not apply retroactively.
BY HANNAH NORTON
State and community leaders relaunched the “Can You See Me?” human tra cking campaign Jan. 26 aimed at spreading awareness of the signs of tra cking and how to report suspicious activity. About 300 billboards will be displayed in over 70 Texas cities with information about the cam- paign and hotlines to call to report possible human tra cking. “These victims are not invisible if we learn to look for the signs, and if we learn how to report suspected abuse, exploitation and tra ck- ing,” said Texas rst lady Cecilia Abbott, who led the campaign’s relaunch. The state’s initial budget in Senate Bill 1 includes $57.5 million for anti-human tra cking e orts, including victims services, mental health treatment for survivors and law enforcement training, Sen. Joan Hu man, R Houston, said.
JUSTIN HOLLAND, DISTRICT 33 Republican-Rockwall Elected: 2017
HB 1514 Holland led a bill that would make changes to existing legislation regarding residents’ protest of municipal zoning regulations and boundaries. If passed, the bill would increase the percentage of residents either inside the boundaries of the zoning change or within 200 feet of the a ected property required to protest a proposal from 20% to 50%. Sign up for our newsletter at communityimpact.com for daily updates throughout the session. SUBSCRIBE TODAY
HOW TO REPORT STORM DAMAGE
Residents a ected by Winter Storm Mara can report their damage to help with disaster assistance.
When submitting, include: • Photos • Key information • Location of the damage • Scope of loss • Livability of the building
Visit Select “ Ice Storm/Winter Weather January 29-Ongoing ” under “ active incidents .” There is no deadline to report damage. https://damage.tdem.texas.gov.
SOURCE: TEXAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
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