Texas legislative session deemed ‘successful’

AUSTIN—In what Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission staff members deemed a “successful” legislative session, lawmakers defeated efforts to expand gambling, approved a health insurance plan that would cover ministers of small churches, created liaisons between state agencies and faith-based groups and passed legislation against human trafficking.

More than 79 gambling-related bills were introduced during the legislative session. Only five passed, each of which tightened gambling laws. Legislators voted down efforts to expand eight-liners, video lottery terminals, poker and Indian casinos.

Suzii Paynter

The CLC, working with other members of an anti-gambling coalition, managed to defeat the more than 200 lobbyists at the capital who believed they could get legislation changed to allow casinos across the state.

“They went from thinking they were going to get full-blown casinos to passing a resolution,” CLC Legislative Counsel Stephen Reeves said.

The CLC helped advocate for the passage of a bill that provides small business owners and nonprofit organizations such as churches access to affordable health insurance through a public-private partnership with the state. The program is called the Healthy Texas Plan, and $35 million is allocated for it.

“The benefit is small-church staffs could have meaningful, affordable insurance,” said CLC Director Suzii Paynter. “It’s really a tremendous new development for the state of Texas.”

Through legislation the CLC has encouraged for years, Texas lawmakers created liaisons for state agencies specifically to work with faith-based groups. Those liaisons will come together regularly to meet as a council so the state can be more informed as to what outreach efforts are taking place across the state. The bill also creates a pool of funds to help train nonprofit leaders how to expand their efforts.

Lawmakers also created an advisory group of faith-based ministries and bodies that can inform the state of what is working and what is needed.

“The advisory committee of faith-based groups is a place where faith-based groups can inform the state, especially when there is no fiscal relationship between the group and the state,” Paynter said. “That is the proper role of separation of church and state—where the state and faith groups can talk without being connected financially.”

Another bill also advocated by the CLC that passed allows human trafficking victims to file civil lawsuits against those who traffic them. Prior to this legislation, victims were unable to do that. House Bill 1372 allows human trafficking victims to be eligible for benefits and protections under the Victims’ Bill of Rights and the Crime Victims’ Compensation Act.

The CLC also successfully advocated for the passing of legislation to create a statewide human trafficking task force, increase funds for non-profit agencies that provide assistance for human trafficking victims and increase human trafficking training for law enforcement.

“After this session, we now have a comprehensive statewide strategy to combat human trafficking through a task force, increased funding for direct service organizations, law enforcement training and victim assistance,” Reeves said.