Point of Order — Don’t Squander this Opportunity

A Message from Legislative and Policy Director Luis Figueroa

We are on day 11 of the third special session. In this endless barrage of bad policy comes a real opportunity to do some transformative good for Texas communities. No, it’s not redistricting. It’s the American Rescue Plan Act recovery funding, which will give Texas nearly $16 billion for any number of projects that could improve education, health, infrastructure, housing, or other socio-economic outcomes. We hope the Texas Legislature does not squander this opportunity by authorizing back-door tax cuts for large corporations and wealthy property owners or spending even more on the criminalization of immigrants or communities of color. Millions of Texans are still reeling from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Winter Storm Uri, and it’s time to put this needed funding towards its intended purpose. We encourage you to engage on this policy issue because, with nearly $16 billion available, there is no excuse not to address the real needs of Texans. To learn more about how to support equitable investments using Rescue Plan funds, please sign up here.

What We're Following

• The American Rescue Plan Act has brought billions of federal dollars to our state to help Texans recover from the pandemic. In this session, the Texas Legislature is responsible for allocating some of these funds. Every Texan hosted a discussion on how the Texas Legislature can allocate those funds to help Texans recover and thrive.
• Every Texan opposes SB 1 because it puts tax cuts before kids by accelerating the costly elimination of the Tier I M&O property tax rate that was put in place by HB 3 in 2019. When our schools are facing more uncertainty than ever, the priority of the Legislature should not be additional tax cuts.

New on the Blog

SB 1 Tax Cuts: Who Wins and Who Loses? 

Proponents of SB 1 claim they are “giving taxpayers back their money.” But only the 20% of Texas households with the highest incomes would benefit from SB 1 because, on average, they pay (directly or indirectly) a lower proportion of their income in sales and other state taxes than they would gain from SB 1’s forced reduction in property taxes. The remaining 80% of Texan households would be net losers if state taxes they had paid were used to replace school property taxes. Read more via Senior Fiscal Analyst Dick Lavine >>

Return to Office Chaos? Not for Every Texan.

On the one hand, the delay for many organizations to return to the office is demoralizing. On the other, it’s a real opportunity to extend the period of experimentation and consultation with staff, to provide even clearer messages about how work should change, and to train and support managers for the coming chapter. Read more via guest blog author Kevin Delaney, co-founder and CEO of Charter >>

Every Texan Is Proud to Be a Unionized Workplace

Every Texan recently reached a momentous milestone with the adoption of our first union contract. In February 2020, blissfully ignorant about how our lives were about to change in the looming pandemic, Every Texan (then known as CPPP) management and employees signed an agreement to voluntarily recognize our union, now known as Every Texan United. During the last 18 months, the road to our first contract hasn’t been straightforward or easy, as we navigated challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of our offices and shift to remote work, and the search for a new CEO. We’re excited that we’ve finally made it. Read more via CEO Marisa Bono >>

New Census Data Show Federal Investments Kept Millions out of Poverty, But Texas Needs Bold Action

On September 14, the U.S. Census Bureau released data showing a nationwide decrease in income. But it could've been worse — families underwent extraordinary hardships due to the pandemic, but policy interventions kept many of them afloat. Without the substantial support provided by the CARES Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, and other state and local investments, Texas and the nation could have experienced a greater rise in poverty, impacting not only today but our future. Child poverty, for example, is shown to have cascading long-term impacts. Read more via Research & Data Director Amy Knop-Narbutis >>

What to Expect from the 2020 Census Data Release

Census data is an essential source of information for community decision-making. It underlies redistricting processes, funding allocation, and the ability of state and local governments to identify and work toward closing equity gaps. This year is a particularly technical one for those that follow Census data releases because it includes several Decennial Census products, plus significant changes to annual American Community Survey (ACS) data, both impacted by the pandemic. Read more via Research Analyst Kaitlan Wong >>

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, November 16 | 5:00 PM CT

Legacy Cocktail Reception

Join us and meet our new CEO Marisa Bono on November 16, 2021, at 5:00 PM CT, at the South Congress Hotel in Austin for a cocktail reception and special guest panel. We will be honoring our Future of Texas awardees and celebrating the work of Every Texan. Learn more and become a sponsor >>

Notable News Coverage

Despite billions of federal dollars on the table, strong statewide public support, and the ravages of COVID-19, Texas legislators have refused to expand Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program that covers Americans with limited incomes. But the reality remains that Texas is unlikely to expand coverage without federal action. Now, however, Congress has a historic opportunity to enact a comprehensive and permanent solution to the Medicaid coverage gap. All Texans should keep a close eye on this debate. Read the full op-ed by Every Texan CEO Marisa Bono for the Houston Chronicle (also available here) >>

“It’s definitely been whiplash,” says Marisa Bono, chief executive of Every Texan, a policy research and advocacy organization with 28 employees. The Austin-based nonprofit had planned to shift to primarily working from the office on Oct. 18, but Bono called off those plans after infections surged this summer in Texas. A team of managers and unionized employees plans to sit down soon to confer about what to do now. “In my view, I don’t think it’s going to be safe to set a return-to-office date probably until January,” Bono says. Read more via Time Magazine >>

Take Action

American Rescue Plan: Investing in an Equitable Recovery Plan for Texans of All Backgrounds 

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) has brought billions of dollars to our state to help Texans recover from the pandemic. In this session, the Texas Legislature is responsible for allocating some of these funds. This is an opportunity for Texas legislators to invest in an equitable recovery plan for Texans of all backgrounds. To know what everyday Texans need to recover and thrive, legislators need to hear from you. We need your voice!

✍ Sign up and let legislators know what your community needs to recover and thrive >>

 Every Texan

7020 Easy Wind Drive, Suite 200  | Austin, Texas 78752

512-823-2875 | updates@everytexan.org

Original source can be found here.