Brimming with adrenaline, determination and wide-eyed optimism, a group of teenagers gathered outside the state Capitol last week, ready to take their first steps into the underbelly of Texas politics. Most had been under the iconic Pink Dome only for school field trips.

Policy Background

The OmniBase “Failure to Pay / Failure to Appear Program” places a hold on a person’s driver’s license or renewal if that person fails to pay fines and fees or fails to appear in court, usually for traffic offenses. To date, roughly 400,000 Texans are unable to legally drive due to the program,¹ hampering their ability to get to work, school, or medical appointments.

On the opening day of the Texas Legislature’s 2023 session, a group of young people, formerly incarcerated organizers, advocates, and organizations will gather for a rally and advocacy day. The event is hosted by the Finish the 5 Coalition, which is advocating to close Texas’ inhumane youth prisons and instead invest in kids and communities. More information is available on the event registration page.

Policy Background

For far too long, Texas lawmakers have based state drug policy on a Moral Model, which assumes that drug use and addiction are inherently wrong, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

On December 3, a group of formerly incarcerated and justice system-impacted Texans will convene in Austin. The event, “From Prison to Power: Finding Your Voice After Incarceration,” is organized by the Texas Center for Justice and Equity’s Statewide Leadership Council (SLC) and partners.

St. Edward’s University’s Black Student Alliance held its second annual “Power to the People” event, with this year’s focus on the intersection of race and incarceration. The main topic was “Justice for Us” and revolved around a panel of experts on the incarceration system.

Read the rest of this article from Hilltop Views.

Today, the Texas Center for Justice and Equity (TCJE) released a policy brief outlining a path to closing Texas’s five youth prisons by 2027.

In his first TV ad, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick focuses on rising crime in Texas. He plans to address the issue during the next legislative session. “Texans are fed up with violent crime and skyrocketing murder rates. To stop it, I will pass legislation next session to add a 10-year mandatory jail sentence to anyone convicted of using a gun while committing a crime,” Lt. Gov. Patrick said in the ad.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is making the increase in violent crime a major point of his reelection campaign, most recently proposing to imprison people for at least 10 years if they’re convicted of any crime while using a gun.

Read the rest of this article from the Texas Tribune.

The future of Austin Police transparency is in the hands of Austin voters after city council failed to adopt the Austin Police Oversight Act Thursday night. The item will go in the city’s election in May. After a local nonprofit collected enough signatures to put the Act before Austin City Council, the council was required to vote to either adopt the act or to send it to voters.

Read the rest of this article from KXAN.