You can stay up to date with our advocacy efforts in three different ways: follow us on twitter, check our regularly updated website here at www.texascn.org, and to make certain you are always in the loop, subscribe to our Legislative News email Blasts!
Hello, Hayley here, with the Texas DeafBlind Coalition!
This is our second Texas Co-Navigators Legislative News Blast! If you want to read our previous eBlasts, go here.
In our first eBlast, we shared that our HB 3287 had been assigned to the House Committee on Human Services, and asked you to contact the representatives serving on this committee to request their support and a public hearing for our bill.
If you haven’t yet done so, we again urge all of you in the DeafBlind community to advocate for HB 3287 by emailing, calling or writing these committee members. And importantly, if any of you live in Representative James Frank’s district, District 69, and support our efforts, please let him know with an email—as his constituent—because he is the Chair of this Human Services committee and ultimately decides whether our bill merits a public hearing. His district includes the towns of Archer City, Bellevue, Benjamin, Burkburnett, Byers, Cashion Community, Crowell, Dean, Electra, Goree, Henrietta, Holliday, Iowa Park, Jolly, Knox City, Lakeside City, Megargel, Munday, Petrolia, Pleasant Valley, Scotland, Seymour, Wichita Falls and Windhorst. For links to his and the other house committee members’ emails—and a sample email, go here. But wait, there’s more! Smile
Last Friday, our Senate Bill 1715 was assigned to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services. So, in addition to emailing all of the House Human Services Committee members, we now need you to contact each member of this senate committee to request each of them to support SB 1715 and request that a public hearing be scheduled for our bill. And importantly, if any of you live in Senator Lois Kolkhorst’s district, please send her an email—as her constituent— because she is the Chair of this Health and Human Services committee and ultimately decides whether our bill merits a public hearing. Her district includes the towns of Aransas Pass, Austwell, Bay City, Bayside, Beasley, Bellville, Blessing, Bloomington, Boling, Brazos Country, Brookshire, Burton, Caldwell, Carmine, Cinco Ranch, Columbus, Cuero, Cumings, Eagle Lake, East Bernard, Edna, El Campo, Fayetteville, Flatonia, Four Corners, Fulshear, Fulton, Ganado, Giddings, Glidden, Goliad, Gonzales, Hallettsville, Hempstead, Holiday Beach, Hungerford, Iago, Industry, Inez. Placedo, Katy, Kendleton, La Grange, La Ward, Lamar, Lexington, Lolita, Louise, Markham, Matagorda, Mission Bend, Moulton, Needville, New Territory, Nixon, Nordheim, Orchard, Palacios, Pattison, Pecan Grove, Pine Island, Point Comfort, Port Aransas, Port Lavaca, Port O’Connor, Prairie View, Quail Creek, Refugio, Richmond, Rockport, Rosenburg, Round Top, San Felipe, Schulenburg, Seadrift, Sealy, Shiner, Simonton, Smiley, Snook, Somerville, Sugar Land, Tivoli, Van Vleck, Vanderbilt, Victoria, Waelder, Waller, Wallis, Weimar, Weston Lakes, Wharton, Woodsboro, parts of Yoakum, and Yorktown. For links to her and the other senate committee members’ emails—and a sample email to guide you, go here.
And again, we are here to support you the best we can. For any support or reasonable accommodations to email these legislators. Please send your needs to accommodations@texascn.org
Again, to find all of the information you will need for contacting each member of both the House Committee on Human Services and the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, go here.
And, If you are interested in volunteering time to support our efforts further, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Cheers!
Hayley