Sen. Ellis Files New Bills

Yesterday was the first day to file bills for the coming session of the Texas legislature, and State Senator Rodney Ellis is wasting no time. He has introduced a rather good package of bills. I don't know whether any of the bills have a chance to be passed since we still have a Republican senate and governor, but I like the way he's thinking.

He starts with some education bills. First, he wants to guarantee all Texas school kids get off to a great start. SB-122 would guarantee that all students have an available pre-kindergarten. Then he tries to do something about the 60% rise in tuition in the last five years at state universities. SB-104 requires legislative approval for any tuition increases after this fiscal year. Finally, he does something to make a college education more available for our military veterans. SB-113 would provide free in-state tuition to veterans and their children.

Then Senator Ellis wants to make some improvements to the criminal justice system. SB-115 would establish an Innocence Commission to investigate wrongful convictions. SB-116 requires all custodial interrogations to be video recorded. SB-117 increases the accuracy and reliability of eyewitness identification procedures. And SB-169 would give the governor the power to grant multiple reprieves to prevent the execution of an innocent person. These would all be improvements to the current justice system in Texas.

Senator Ellis has also introduced some bills to make our elections fairer and more accessible. SB-118 would allow voters to register during the early-voting period. SB-138 would make election day a state holiday. SB-139 increases the penalties for deceptive election practices. And SB-143 further limits certain political contributions.

Ellis has also introduced bills affecting insurance, health care, environment and energy. Looks like the senator is going to be a busy man in the upcoming legialative session. I hope he can get a good number of these excellent bills passed.