The Texas Catholic Conference is issuing the following floor letter on HB 3790:

The Texas Catholic Conference is the statewide association of the 15 Roman Catholic dioceses in our state and it is our responsibility to advocate for the public policy positions of the active Bishops of Texas.  It is vital that any legislation passed affirms the life and dignity of all. Based on this foundational basis for Catholic Social Teaching, we urge members to support or oppose the following amendments:

Support the Following Floor Amendments:

• Page 199, by Crownover, would prohibit smoking in certain public places
• Page 209, by Christian, would end to taxpayer-funded abortions
• Page 335, by King, would create an audit regarding the state funds used to pay attorneys who represent minors in judicial bypass cases

Oppose the Following Floor Amendments:

• Page 151, by Van Taylor, requiring sponsors of legal residents to pay for social service benefits
• Page 184, by Van Taylor, requiring counties to use sponsors’ incomes for determining eligibility for TANF benefits
• Page 173, by Riddle, would require state agencies to report only cost of undocumented immigrants. We believe that if a report is conducted, it should include the financial benefit of undocumented immigrants as well
• Page 275, by Elkins, regarding unfair lending practices
• We have been notified that our concerns have been addressed and have removed our opposition to it: Page 290, by Otto, regarding definition of  “non-elective abortions”