Eye on Politics: School safety takes center stage for state lawmakers
Texas faces a lawsuit over the state's near-total abortion ban. Lawmakers have filed several different pieces of school safety legislation. And Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing for a new economic development program to keep Texas competitive. CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink dives into these stories and more on the latest edition of Eye on Politics (original air date: March 9).
Every week, CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink breaks down some of the biggest political stories grabbing headlines in North Texas and beyond. Watch the latest episode of Eye on Politics in the video player above and stream new episodes live every Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. on CBS News Texas.
School safety legislation
School safety is one of the top priorities for state lawmakers this legislative session after last year's deadly mass shooting in Uvalde when a gunman killed 19 students and their two teachers at Robb Elementary School. After announcing $600 million in spending, lawmakers introduced a variety of school safety bills this week.
Three measures are considered top priority legislation in both the House and the Senate.
Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican from Lubbock, filed House Bill 3. If approved, it would require an armed security guard on each campus. It would also ensure that there's a phone or some kind of electronic device in each classroom so a teacher or substitute teacher can immediately reach district personnel or first responders of there's an emergency.
The legislation would also provide $15,000 for each school campus to use for installing physical barriers and security cameras or other equipment.
House Bill 13, filed by Republican Rep. Ken King of Hemphill, would require training for teachers and others who interact with students regularly to identify those who are having mental health troubles.
There would also be an active shooter preparedness plan that would require prior coordination with law enforcement and a grant program to help schools funding larger infrastructure needs.
Watch the video below to learn more about the legislation.
Background checks for Texas gun buyers
A new bill in the Texas Legislature would make it easier for federal authorities to identify 18 to 20-year-olds who should not be allowed to buy guns.
After the Uvalde shooting, Congress passed a bill that requires the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, to do a more thorough review into gun buyers under the age of 21.
Authorities are looking for anyone 16 or older who received court-ordered mental health services or were admitted to a residential care facility because of an intellectual disability or mental illness as part of a delinquency hearing.
But a report issued by a Texas House Legislative Committee in January found federal authorities face challenges in conducting their background checks into those under 21. It found:
"The problem is Texas does not have a centralized source for statewide mental health adjudication information in juvenile cases."
That information is now kept by the 450 district clerks and county clerks across Texas.
The new bill filed would require those clerks to report the appropriate mental health records to Texas DPS.
To learn more, watch the story below.
Texas sued over abortion law
Texas' controversial abortion law faces a new legal challenge.
Five women, including two from North Texas, have filed a lawsuit against the state saying the ban on most abortions has put their lives at risk.
The women are being represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"It is dangerous to be pregnant in Texas. Doctors and hospitals are turning patients away even those in medical emergencies," said Nancy Northup, the long-time President and CEO of the organization.
She said that's because the doctors are concerned if they're prosecuted for performing an abortion they face time in prison, fines, and losing their medical license.
A spokesman for the Texas Attorney General's Office told CBS News Texas that Ken Paxton sent guidance to providers after the new state law took effect last year.
Watch the video below to learn more.
Deadly Dallas hospital shooting may lead to changes in state law
Democratic State Rep. Rafael Anchia of Dallas has introduced a trio of bills meant to prevent a repeat of last year's deadly shooting at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.
In October, Nestor Hernandez, a felon who was out on parole, received clearance from a parole supervisor to visit the hospital. He's accused of shooting and killing two employees, after allegedly beating his girlfriend in her hospital bed.
This week, Anchia announced bills that would require notification to hospitals of parolee visits and to make it a crime if an ankle monitor is tampered with or cut off.
Hear from Anchia by watching the video in the player below.
Gov. Abbott's push to keep Texas competitive
Last week in Austin, Texas received Site Selection Magazine's economic development award for the 11th straight year.
But speaking to more than 400 people at the Dallas Regional Chamber luncheon in Dallas this week, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state program that helped secure corporate relocations has expired and that a new one is needed.
"There's no reason why we cannot replace it with a similarly effective tool that actually is more strategic for the future of our state," he said.
Abbott urged business leaders to encourage lawmakers to act:
"You should take five minutes out of your day to call your state representative and your state senator if you believe economic development tools are needed. You have the right and the necessity to be in that process."
Hear more of what Abbott had to say in the story below.