03.25.09
TexBlog PAC endorsed candidates Maldonado & Turner already making it happen
Today was the first day with a calendar in the Texas House and two Democratic freshmen were already making things happen, via TexBlogs PAC, TexBlog PAC Candidates Pass Good Public Policy in Austin.
Today, your donations to TexBlog PAC showed their first return on investment in Austin, as candidates you donated to, raised money for, and helped us endorse were able to bring incredible public policies to the floor of the Texas House on its first day of official business.
Bills were introduced today that increase economic benefits for workers and businesses and create transparency for utility bills.. The bills were authored or co-authored by your TexBlog PAC endorsed candidates, and they were passed unanimously from the floor of the House.”
The following legislation passed on 2nd reading from the floor of the Texas House earlier today from the first and second candidates TexBlog PAC endorsed, State Representative Diana Maldonado and State Representative Chris Turner:
- HB 1637 (Author - Rep. Chris Turner) – Increases economic benefits by adjusting how businesses are allowed to award worker benefits. Currently, workers on alternating biweekly, full-time schedules (3-4 days a week at 10-12 hours a day) are granted fewer benefits than those working on a regular workweek schedule (the “9-5, Mon-Fri” type of job). Manufactured workers, especially, are harmed by this inconsistent practice.Rep. Turner’s bill equalizes all the benefits, helping the previously under served workers get the benefits they earned and allowing businesses to avoid layoffs in tough economic times. It is supported by business and labor groups alike.
- HB 1822 (Co-author – Rep. Diana Maldonado) – Creates transparency for utility bills. If the law went into affect, the Public Utility Commission will have the rulemaking authority to “unify language” on electric bills. The ultimate form of transparency – honesty in language – is necessary because if all utilities have to use the same words, and all the words have to mean the same thing, there will be fewer hidden costs for families.Some families have to switch utility providers to save money in the deregulated market we’ve been forced to live in; others switch by force because the utility provider goes bankrupt. This bill makes that transition more transparent, in an effort to bring some common sense to our day-to-day lives.
Finally, though we are thrilled with these candidates and the work we’ve done, there is still much more to do. These bills were not heard on the House floor until well after the midpoint of the legislative session – a snail’s pace that is the direct result of Republican Speaker Joe Strauss taking more time than anyone can remember to assign committees and get to work.
Great work by our new legislators and TexBlog PAC.