AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Senate has unanimously approved prohibiting government entities from compelling pastors and other religious leaders to divulge the contents of their sermons in civil legal cases.
Wednesday’s 31-0 vote sends Houston Sen. Joan Huffman’s measure to the state House. She sponsored a similar proposal that cleared the Senate last session but stalled without becoming law.
In 2014, the city of Houston sought to subpoena sermons and speeches by five Houston pastors who opposed a local gay rights ordinance. Those subpoenas were dropped, though, amid outcry over freedom of speech and religion.
Huffman’s so-called “sermon safeguard” bill prohibits governments from seeking written copies or audio or voice recordings of orations delivered “during religious worship in any civil proceeding to which the governmental entity is a party.”
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SENATE PASSES BILL TO CURB IMPROPER TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS
The Texas Senate also approved a bill seeking to crackdown on improper relationships between teachers and students.
Lawmakers have for months expressed alarm at what they’ve called a growing problem. Supporters of the proposal say teachers have sometimes avoided punishment by transferring to other school districts after being accused of improper relationships with students.
Houston Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt’s measure would charge with a felony punishable by up to two years behind bars any school principals and district superintendents who fail to report improper teacher conduct to state authorities.
It also would revoke pensions from teachers convicted of some felonies involving improper student relationships, while requiring school districts to devise guidelines on teacher-student text messaging and online communication.
Tuesday’s 31-0 vote sends the bill to the state House.
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’FETAL REMIANS’ BILL GETS HOUSE HEARING
Lawmakers in the Texas House have started debating a bill mandating burial or cremation of fetal remains from abortions and miscarriages, even though a federal judge already blocked a state rule requiring the same thing.
Republican Rep. Byron Cook, who heads the State Affairs Committee, proposed the measure. The committee heard it Wednesday.
Cook, of Corsicana, says Texas now allows putting such remains in garbage disposals, though medical providers say they usually are incinerated and deposited in sanitary landfills.
Opponents argue the bill will discourage abortions by making them more expensive.
Texas’ health department previously set rules requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains, but a U.S. district judge suspended them as “purely political.”
Lawmakers are still insisting on such a mandate being part of state law. A Senate committee already passed that chamber’s version of the bill.
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CRUZ HAS ’SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS’ ABOUT HOUSE GOP HEALTH CARE PLAN
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has “significant concerns” about the House Republican health care plan, but says there’s time to address them through congressional negotiations.
The Republican told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that he doesn’t believe the bill as introduced would pass the Senate. He added, though, that he’s hopeful those problems can be resolved working “around the clock.”
Cruz alleys Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah have questioned whether the plan goes far enough in keeping GOP promises to fully repeal and replace the Obama administration’s health care law.
Cruz criticism’s was more measured. Pressed if the House plan could keep repeal promises with changes, Cruz said “I certainly hope so” since “this is not an easy task, but we cannot fail.”
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’BATHROOM BILL’ HEADS TO FULL SENATE
A North Carolina-style “bathroom bill” has cleared a first vote in Texas after 13 consecutive hours of public comment dominated by transgender-rights supporters who oppose the measure.
A Senate committee early Wednesday advanced the proposal that would require people to use public bathrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificates. The bill has drawn backlash from big businesses including Google and the NFL.
The 7-1 vote came nearly 21 hours after the start of the hearing that packed the Texas Capitol. Parents of transgender schoolchildren were among more than 400 people who signed up to give often emotional testimony.
Republicans pushing the bill say they’re trying to protect women’s privacy in bathrooms.
The proposal now goes to the full Senate but faces resistance in the House
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ON DECK
The House has its next floor session at 10 a.m. on Thursday but isn’t expected to accomplish much. Except for some ceremonial housecleaning, meanwhile, the Senate won’t reconvene until Monday at 2 p.m. Next week things should start getting busy, though, since state rules prohibiting both chambers from passing most bills until 60 days into the session expire on Friday.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I believe we can get to ’yes’ but it’s going to take hard work and it’s going to take commitment to honor our promises” - Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, speaking Wednesday on changes he’ll push for on the congressional GOP health care plan to ensure it fully meets longstanding Republican promises to repeal and replace the Obama administration’s signature health care law.
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