In labor and in shackles
For too long the ACLU and other organizations received reports of pregnant inmates being shackled while in labor. That won't be the case under HB 3653, which allows for shackling of jail inmates while in labor but only if the prisoner is deemed an escape risk or a security concern. Its companion bill, HB 3654, also established other basic standards for pregnant women in jail.
School discipline
HB 171 requires school districts to consider mitigating factors when determining disciplinary action against a student who violates the code of conduct. This legislation aims to ameliorate the dramatic increase in the number of referrals resulting in placement in alternative disciplinary education programs and/or juvenile justice alternative education programs. The Houston Chronicle recently summed up what can happen under these "zero tolerance" policies.
Keeping your life private
HB 3186 improves privacy protection by requiring private entities to destroy fingerprints and other biometric data within a year after the purpose for collecting the identifier has expired. It also narrows the circumstances in which a biometric identifier can be disclosed, including requiring that disclosure to law enforcement be mandated by a warrant.
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Access to marriage licenses
HB 3666 sought new regulations for applying for a marriage license that included standards on how to establish an applicant's identity. The legislation passed though not in its original form, which would have prevented Texas residents who are undocumented immigrants from acquiring a marriage license.
The right to vote
The divisive Voter ID legislation that was approved in the Senate went on to fail in the House, ensuring minority groups and the poor will not be disenfranchised.
Voter ID was a solution in search of a nonexistent widespread voter fraud problem.
Police powers kept in check
SB 1175, known as the "papers please" bill, would have made it a crime to refuse to identify yourself to a police officer, even if you are not being arrested.
SB 298 would have given police the latitude to set up sobriety checkpoints on Texas roads. These checkpoints are better at intruding on the lives of innocent Texans than they are at resulting in arrests.
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