House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) announced the first priority bills the 88th Texas legislature discussed Feb. 23. The bills focus on enhancing privacy and supporting mothers and children in the state.
House Bill 12, relating to the duration of services provided under Medicaid to women following a pregnancy, was one of the priority bills filed by State Rep. Toni Rose (D-Dallas) on Feb. 23.
The Rider asked Lori Kennedy, Rose’s district director in the Office of State Representative, for an interview with Rose on Feb. 27 and Kennedy replied on March 9, “So sorry, but we’re not going to make your deadline as the representative’s schedule is super tight the next couple of weeks.”
Diana Forester, director of Health Policy for Texans Care for Children, said it has been the lead advocacy group behind the extension of Medicaid benefits following pregnancy.
“Last session, we did get the six months extension, but that required a waiver from the [federal government], and it’s still pending with the [federal government],” Forester said in a March 6 Zoom interview with The Rider. “So, as of today, the policy is [after] two months postpartum, women lose coverage.”
The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee, which develops recommendations to help reduce the incidence of preventable pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal morbidity in the state, has recommended, since 2016, to extend the coverage to 12 months, according to Forester.
“We’ve seen this happen in other states, and we’ve seen the impact of it,” she said. “So we know it’s a good policy.We’ve been leading the charge for a few sessions now, and it’s been, like, almost a decade on this issue. So, last session, the six months really felt like a huge win, because it has been something that we’ve been talking about for so long. Unfortunately, you know, that hasn’t been implemented yet, but I think we have a real opportunity this session.”
The rest of the bills are House Bill 4, filed on Feb. 16 by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake), which would grant Texans new online rights, including the ability to crack down on how companies collect and, in instances, profit from, their personal data.
The bill is also known as the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act.
House Bill 18, filed Feb. 16 by Rep. Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville), relates to the protection of minors from harmful, deceptive or unfair trade practices in connection with the use of certain digital services.
House Bill 300, relating to an exemption from sales and use taxes from certain family care items, was filed by State Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) on Feb. 23.
The Rider asked Kristine Richmond, Phelan’s scheduler, for an interview with Phelan Feb. 27, but she wrote, “At the moment the Speaker does not have any availability this week for an interview.”
Richmond cc’d Cassi Pollock, Phelan’s press secretary, to help with the newspaper’s request but Pollock wrote, “Thank you. The Speaker will not be available for an interview,” in a Feb. 27 email to The Rider.
However, Pollock sent a link to a Feb. 23 news release by Phelan.
“I am so proud of the hard work that members of the Texas House have already put into these four legislative proposals, which reflect some of the most pressing issues on the minds of Texans today,” Phelan is quoted as saying in the news release. “These bills are great starting points for our chamber as we work to get them over the finish line this legislative session, and I thank Representatives Capriglione, Rose, Slawson and Howard for their leadership.”
He said making meaningful progress on supporting mothers and children starts with extending health care coverage to a year.
Phelan also said that it is important to put “Texans and Texas parents back in the driver’s seat” when talking about enhancing privacy.
“Additionally, I am eager to see our chamber take on Big Tech, which for too long has taken advantage of the data and privacy of Texans and especially our children, who are vulnerable to predatory and addicting algorithms and advertisements on social media platforms,” he said.
