In the Texas Senate, Dallas County is represented primarily by Sens. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) and Royce West (D-Dallas). Sens. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) and Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound) have districts that reach into Dallas County, however neither of their hometowns are inside its boundaries. Reps. Angie Chen Button (R-Garland) and Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) are the one Republicans from Dallas County within the Texas House.
Marriage
Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Farmers Branch) filed a invoice to repeal the part of the Texas Constitution that defines marriage as “the union of one man and one woman.”
The State of Texas has been required to license and acknowledge same-sex marriages since 2015 as a result of U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Obergefell v. Hodges; nevertheless, the wedding modification handed by Texas voters in 2005 stays within the state structure.
House Joint Resolution 61 would place the next language on the poll in November: “The constitutional amendment repealing the constitutional provision providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage.”
In a latest poll by the University of Houston, 62 % of adults in Texas mentioned they’d vote in favor of repealing the state’s constitutional modification.
While public opinion has shifted dramatically in favor of recognizing same-sex marriage, it’s unlikely that such a proposal could be handed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The GOP nonetheless depends closely on the assist of socially conservative voters and publicly supporting same-sex marriage could be fraught with political peril for any Texas Republican.
Sen. Nathan Johnson launched an an identical invoice within the Senate.
Statutes of Limitations
Meyer launched a number of payments that will make adjustments to the legal code’s statutes regarding offenses towards youngsters.
Texas legislation requires the legal professional basic to supply a system whereby victims of sure crimes can have their addresses stay confidential. Meyer launched a invoice, House Bill (HB) 1161, that would come with victims of youngster abduction in that program.
Meyer additionally launched two different payments in regards to the statutes of limitations for sure crimes towards youngsters. HB 1769 would lengthen the statute of limitations for prosecuting sure sexual exploitation and trafficking crimes towards youngsters to twenty years after the sufferer’s 18th birthday. Another invoice, HB 1506, would lengthen the statute of limitations for prosecuting the crime of abandoning or endangering a toddler from 5 years to 10 years.
Firearms
Rep. Terry Meza (D-Irving) filed a invoice that will develop the prevailing prohibition on possession of a firearm by somebody convicted of committing a Class A misdemeanor assault towards somebody in their very own family or household. Currently, it’s legal for somebody to own a gun inside 5 years of their launch from jail or group supervision.
However, HB 482 appears to suggest increasing that to incorporate all assaults, not simply Class A misdemeanors, and embody different sorts of relationships, together with courting relationships.
The previous checklist is simply a pattern of payments which were launched this session. All payments and resolutions filed by state lawmakers will be discovered on the Texas Legislature’s website.
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