AUSTIN (Nexstar) - The Texas House Committee on Public Education met and approved House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 2 on Thursday - two of the most consequential pieces of legislation this session- to the full House floor. The pair of bills, which are a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott, will increase fu nding for public education while establishing an education savings account (ESA)- allowing parents to pay a portion of the cost of private school with tax dollars. On Thursday afternoon, the committee voted 13-2 in favor of HB 2. The ESA legislation, SB 2, passed in a 9-6 party-line vote. For Republicans in the hearing, the argument for the legislation was simple. "There are struggling parents in districts and from families that are certainly not as fortunate as you or I are in terms of our economic status," committee chairman Brad Buckley, R-Salado said during the debate. "All this does, it doesn't make anybody do anything, it simply provides a choice." Democrats opposed to the measure questioned who benefits from that choice. Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, noted that while supporters tout the program for helping disadvantaged families, under the legislation, ESA funds are also available for the wealthiest Texans. Talarico pointed out that the eight school-aged children of Texas billionaire Elon Musk would be eligible for the funds. "That's over $80,000 a year in taxpayer funds, more than what most teachers make," Talarico said. "So, if he sent them to a private school from pre K to senior year, that's a total of $1.2 million in taxpayer funds for Elon Musk." Democrats also raised concerns about the impact of the legislation on public schools. "This bill, this voucher bill, will eventually destroy public schools. I give it 10 years, five sessions from now," Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston said during the debate. Republican supporters argue the $1 billion program will not affect public school funding. "I get frustrated that this is somehow taking money away, because it's not taking anything away from the permanent school fund," State Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson, R-Galveston, said, pointing out that the funds to launch the program come from the state's budget surplus. Previous coverage: School choice and school finance meeting postponed; will not be streamed While these bills will determine how billions of state dollars are spent, Texans across the state had to show up in person (or watch in KXAN's story or on the KXAN+ connected TV app) to hear the deliberation due to a committee decision not to livestream the meeting. "These are the two most consequential bills in this legislative session -- this voucher bill will defund public schools across the state of Texas, and there have been last minute changes made to these two important pieces of legislation," State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said. "But instead of live streaming this important conversation to the public, the Chairman (State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado) has chosen not to have a live stream, even though we have the AV equipment ready to go, it just takes a flip of a switch." Related: ‘School choice’ emergency item wins fast approval in Senate On Tuesday, the committee's clerk's office told KXAN the meeting is not required to be streamed because it's a "formal meeting" and not a "public hearing." Under the 89th legislature House rules, all public testimony is required to be streamed, but formal meetings - where votes are allowed to happen - don't require it. The legislation now advances to the full Texas House for consideration. Floor debate and votes in the chamber are streamed live. Gov. Abbott cites previous Harris County election issues for delay calling special election for vacant U.S. House seat When asked Thursday why he has not called for a special election to fill the vacant seat left by the passing of former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Abbott said Harris County will need "adequate time" to conduct the election after "repeated failures" in the past. But Democratic lawmakers at the state and federal level say the Governor is playing politics as U.S. House Republicans hold a slim majority. "Had I called that very quickly, it could have led to a failure in that election, just like Harris County has failed in other elections, they need to have adequate time to operate a fair and accurate election, not a crazy election, like what they've conducted in the past," Gov. Abbott said during a live newscast to Nexstar. Harris County elections have drawn scrutiny in the past from lawmakers. An audit of the elections in the county between 2021 and 2022 found "systemic failures by the Harris County Elections Administrator to properly distribute election supplies, including ballots, train election workers, and maintain the voter roll have contributed to a breakdown in public trust in the Harris County election system." In 2023, the Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 1750, which abolished the role of elections administrator in Harris County and returned the election duties back to the county clerk. Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said in a statement to Nexstar that since resuming election duties in September 2023, her office has successfully conducted eight elections. "We remain fully prepared to conduct the Congressional District 18 election as soon as the Governor issues the order," Hudspeth's statement read. The Harris County Clerk's office said that after the order is issued, it will take about 60 days to prepare for an election of this size. State and federal laws require election officials to send out overseas and military ballots at least 45 days before election day, according to the county clerk's office. The governor said he will call for the election "sometime soon," but Houston-area lawmakers at a news conference at the state Capitol on Thursday demanded the governor call for the election now. "Please call a special election today and let the people vote," State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D - D-Houston, said. CD 18 encompasses parts of Houston. A Democrat has represented that area for decades and now Democratic members believe the governor is not calling for a special election because he knows a Democrat will win the seat and chip away at the seven-seat majority the Republicans currently hold in the U.S. House. State Representatives Christina Morales, D - Houston, Charlene Ward Johnson, D - Houston, Lauren Ashley Simmons, D - Houston, and State Senator Molly Cook, D - Houston, were all at the news conference Thursday in solidarity to raise concerns for the people living in CD 18. "People not only deserve fair representation in these policies that are affecting them, they need constituent services, and right now they are being denied the person who can run point for that district to make sure that folks are drawing down the federal dollars that they need," Cook said. Ward Johnson added, "We're losing out on funding and an important vote that impacts our district. We need someone in congressional district 18 that's going to be our voice." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D - New York, told reporters this week that House Democrats would likely sue if the governor does not call for a special election. Gov. Abbott is the only person who can call for the election and has no formal deadline to do so. In a post to his X account on Friday, Rep. Jeffries said, "Donald Trump and House Republicans are running scared. That is why far-right extremists have conspired with the Texas Governor. And delayed calling a special election to fill the vacancy left by the passing of Rep. Sylvester Turner.” Texas Lottery Commission fines vendor for political donations The Texas Lottery Commission is sanctioning International Game Technology (IGT), the vendor that provides lottery machines and technology, $180,000 because the agency claims the company violated its contract by making political contributions. However, IGT filed a lawsuit against TLC saying it did not violate the contract because its contributions were not made directly to any individual state officer or legislator. The commission notified IGT in a March 19 letter it is withholding $180,000 because the company made 18 "prohibited indirect gifts." The contract between TLC and IGT reads the company and its officers "shall not knowingly make a gift, loan or political contribution, either directly or indirectly, to any Texas State Officer or a member of the Texas State Legislature, during the term of this Contract." In a lawsuit filed in Travis County, IGT admitted it donated to the Texas Republican Legislative Caucus, Texas House Democratic Caucus, Texas Legislative Black Caucus (TLBC), and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus (MALC) while under contract with TLC, but the company, "was careful to insist that each of these contributions to the legislative caucuses be earmarked and used in a manner that ensured compliance with its contractual obligations to the Lottery Commission." You can read the full lawsuit with attachments below: IGT Lawsuit against TLCDownload IGT argues in its suit that gifts were given to legislative caucuses and not directly to any individual. It also points out that contributions made to the TLBC and the MALC were designated exclusively for "golf outings." The company attached examples of different contributions made to the caucuses. The checks stipulated the gift is not allowed to be used for "campaign contributions, directly or indirectly, to a Caucus member or political candidate." The company is asking for a judgment to declare its gifts were not in violation of its contract and that it did not knowingly pay any gifts to a state officer or individual legislator. Nexstar reached out to both the Texas Lottery Commission and IGT for a comment on the lawsuit. TLC said it does not comment on pending litigation. A spokesperson for IGT said in an email, "IGT and the Texas Lottery Commission (TLC) have a long history of successful partnership, and we are committed to compliance with our contractual obligations to the TLC. We respectfully disagree with TLC’s interpretation of an isolated contract provision and, through a request for declaratory relief, have asked the court, as a neutral third party, to provide clarity on the contractual language in question.  There is no available alternative avenue for obtaining this clarity." The IGT spokesperson said the company hopes to continue working with TLC. 'Sunshine is the best disinfectant' - Calls for accountability after hearing reveals insurance company hired investigators to look into patients Lawmakers and patient advocates are calling for accountability after a legislative hearing revealed emails indicating an insurance company's use of private investigators to gather information on customers and state lawmakers. Superior HealthPlan receives funding from the state to manage the care of sick and disabled children through programs like STAR Kids. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into Superior HealthPlan, one day after a heated public hearing at the Capitol. In the March 26 hearing, lawmakers on the House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, grilled the company’s CEO over surveillance practices, they say, that crossed a line. During the hearing, committee chairman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, revealed emails indicating Superior hired private investigators to get information on lawmakers and customers. “Why would you go and and run a background check, hire a private investigator to follow, to to dig into the records of people who are your customers?” Capriglione asked CEO Mark Sanders. “First of all, I will say we no longer use that practice, and haven’t for several years,” Sanders answered. “At the time, we really just wanted to have information on those individuals, and really nothing beyond that of what was publicly available to us.” One day after the hearing, the Dallas Morning News reported that Sanders had been fired by Centene, the parent company to Superior HealthPlan. Rep. Capriglione spoke with the State of Texas host in the week after the hearing. Capriglione was joined by Hannah Mehta, founder of the advocacy group Protect TX Fragile Kids. Rep. Giovanni Capriglione: "Let's start with the fact that Superior was funded almost entirely with taxpayer dollars, right? They used those taxpayer dollars to hire private investigators to surreptitiously follow journalists, customers, and lawmakers. I was made aware of these emails, which led to the discovery of additional information about who they were following and the intent behind them. And so in our committee hearing just a week ago, we revealed that to the public and made them answer." Josh Hinkle: "Hannah, what are some of the concerns you've heard from the families with medically fragile children who rely on the state's STAR Kids program?"Hannah Mehta: "You know this is horrifying and alarming for families who literally are fighting for life, sustaining care for their children, trying to keep their kids alive. In this case, Linda Badawo was one of those who was fighting for her foster child who was actually awarded the state to be able to breathe and maintain his trach care that was ordered by his doctor, and so we have seen this pattern of behavior from Superior and it is alarming and horrifying that patients who are literally just trying to stay alive and follow their doctor's orders are being targeted for trying to access that care."Josh Hinkle: "So in last week's hearing, Sanders admitted he authorized hiring private investigators to get information on patients. Hannah, you knew about these emails for a while. What was it like for you to hear the admission in the hearing itself?"Hannah Mehta: "Sunlight is the best disinfectant. There is, I think again, a pattern of behavior here that is really disturbing. Texans deserve better, and taxpayers deserve better. Patients deserve better. No family, no patient, should be targeted for trying to keep their child alive, for trying to access care for their loved one. And this could be anyone. This could be you. This could be any text, and we should all be horrified and concerned about what we're hearing here." Josh Hinkle: "One question I have is about the transparency surrounding this type of program. You know, it was even difficult for the media to get confirmation of rumors we've been hearing for months, and finally, it came out in this hearing, is there more transparency to be had in the future when it comes to this type of funding and these type of programs?"Rep. Giovanni Capriglione: We have several bills going right now in the legislature, several on contracting, of course, a few on transparency. HB 111 and a few other bills that we're working on that will require Absolutely, much more transparency, making sure that whether it's the press or patients or lawmakers get more access to what is going on with our dollars. I mean, we created the Speaker of the House, created the delivery of government efficiency [committee], and I think behind efficiency is transparency. The way that we need to make sure that we do this is that everyone has access. These are taxpayer dollars. I mean, and not just a few. This is the second biggest expense for the state. Okay, there's tens of billions of dollars of contracts that are going out to provide medical care to constituents of Texas. We deserve answers. We deserve responses as soon as possible."Josh Hinkle: "So I have a question for both of you. Sanders is obviously out. The company is under investigation from the AG, what do you hope changes after this?"Hannah Mehta: "You know, I think the truth of the matter is, Josh, there are some massive changes that need to be made in this system, but let's take one step at a time, and let's start by addressing these issues and also ensuring that patients can access, incredibly vulnerable patients can access the life sustaining care that they need on a daily basis. And that starts with, as Gio said, some oversight, responsibility and some transparency for where those tax dollars are going. Are they being utilized in the way that the Legislature has allocated them, and are the patients, these vulnerable patients, who are often in life and death situations, able to access the care that they need to remain stable? That, that is really the intended purpose of these programs."Josh Hinkle: "You've touched on the transparency. What other changes are you hoping for?"Rep. Giovanni Capriglione: "Well, first of all, I'm thankful that Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating Superior. I'm expecting him, and I'm sure that he will do everything he can to make sure that he digs into what they're doing. Because I'll tell you, a company that has a culture of doing this probably has a culture of doing other things as well, whether it's double billing to the state unethical behavior, I think the state should consider dropping the contracts that it has with Superior and requiring all other providers to follow ethical guidelines. And that's what I'm hopeful will happen, not just here in Texas, because I think other states across the country now are going to start looking and asking these same tough questions to their providers." After election losses, Texas Democrats pick new party leader Texas Democrats are on a losing streak that's lasted more than 30 years. November 1994 was the last time a Democrat won a statewide election in Texas. Now, the state party has a new leader, tasked with turning that trend around. On the last Saturday in March, the Texas Democratic Party's governing board elected Kendall Scudder to lead the party forward. Scudder, who previously served as the party's finance chair, came out on top in a seven-way race to lead the party. Scudder replaces longtime TDP chair Gilberto Hinojosa, who resigned last November, shortly after poor results for Democrats statewide in the elections. Party candidates continued the statewide losing streak and also lost vote share among Latino voters, particularly in South Texas. Scudder says he has ideas to turn things around, outlining a vision to build what he called a "grassroots apparatus" in every part of Texas. "There are 40 mid sized cities in this state with more than 100,000 people, and anywhere outside of Texas, it would be a population center. But what's happening here in Texas is that Democrats have neglected those areas," Scudder said. He believes that building the party's presence around the state would be a key measure of success. "Winning elections is always the highest priority, and that's what we're going to be laser focused on, non stop, right? But I think that there are also some wins that we can have around the state, like making sure that we're filling our county chair positions," Scudder said, adding that more than 20% of counties in Texas don't have a Democratic Party. "We have an obligation to make sure that we're filling those spots, filling precinct chair spots, making sure that people are active and engaged, and making sure that we don't have a milquetoast party that's sitting around and crying process when bad things are happening," Scudder said. "People want a Democratic Party that will stand up and fight back, and that's what we're delivering. It is a new day in the Texas Democratic Party. We are here to stand up and fight back on behalf of the working men and women of this state," Scudder said. ...read more read less