Committees to discuss voucher bills

Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 9, is the perfect storm for vouchers with several voucher bills scheduled to be heard in multiple committees. The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to take up Senate Bill (SB) 23 by committee chairman Sen. Dan Patrick (R–Houston) and SB 1575 by Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels). SB 23 provides a tax break to businesses that contribute to a scholarship fund that would help kids in poor performing schools attend private schools. SB 1575 is a straight voucher bill that would reimburse families for private school tuition using public funds. The committee is also scheduled to take up two other voucher bills that were left pending: SB 115 by Sen. Tommy Williams (R–The Woodlands), which creates a voucher program for special education students, and SB 1298 by Sen. Glenn Hegar (R–Katy), which creates a “virtual” voucher program. The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to take up House Bill (HB) 3245 by Rep. Bill Callegari (R–Katy). The bill is similar to Patrick's bill and provides a tax break to businesses that contribute to a scholarship fund that would help kids in poor performing schools attend private schools. We encourage you to call or email the members of these committees and ask that they oppose any bill that uses public funds for private education services. Contact information for the committee members is below. You can also find out who your senator is, including contact information, by entering your address in the TeachtheVote.org officeholder page. When you call, be sure to be respectful and courteous. Senate Education Committee members: Sen. Dan Patrick (R–Houston): dan.patrick@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0107 Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. (D–Brownsville): eddie.lucio@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0127 Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels): donna.campbell@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0125 Sen. Robert Duncan (R–Lubbock): robert.duncan@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0128 Sen. Ken Paxton (R–McKinney): ken.paxton@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0108 Sen. Kel Seliger (R–Amarillo): kel.seliger@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0131 Sen. Larry Taylor (R–Friendswood): larry.taylor@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0111 Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D–San Antonio): leticia.vandeputte@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0126 Sen. Royce West (D–Dallas): royce.west@senate.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0123 House Ways and Means Committee: Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (R–Kerrville): harvey.hilderbran@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0536 Rep. John Otto (R–Dayton): john.otto@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0570 Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R–Houston): dwayne.bohac@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0727 Rep. Angie Chen Button (R–Garland): angie.button@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0486 Rep. Craig Eiland (D–Galveston): craig.eiland@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0502 Rep. Naomi Gonzalez (D–El Paso): naomi.gonzalez@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0622 Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D–San Antonio): trey.martinez.fischer@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0616 Rep. Allan Ritter (R–Nederland): allan.ritter@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0706 Rep. Mark Strama (D–Austin): mark.strama@house.state.tx.us, (512) 463-0821