79S30770 AJA-D
By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 104
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a bill of rights for the poor.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known as the Bill
of Rights for the Poor.
SECTION 2. GENERAL POLICY AND PURPOSE. (a) It is the
policy of this state that:
(1) all forms of human oppression be dismantled; and
(2) all people, especially the poor, have the right to
pursue life, liberty, and happiness without institutional
barriers.
(b) The legislature finds that racism, sexism, classism,
imperialism, and discrimination against disabled people must be
addressed and eliminated if the poor are to escape impoverishment.
SECTION 3. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. (a) The legislature
finds that the poor have a right to a public policy agenda that
invests in human beings.
(b) The legislature intends that:
(1) "communities of opportunity" be created for the
purpose of eliminating all forms of economic predators that
preclude economic development in areas of this state in which there
has been historic neglect and economic apartheid;
(2) federal, state, and local resources be made
available to community-based groups and other persons that create
economic opportunity in communities of opportunity; and
(3) partnerships between corporate and
community-based groups that open doors of opportunity and invest in
the poor should be encouraged and rewarded.
(c) The legislature recognizes that creation of communities
of opportunity will necessitate a comprehensive economic policy on
the national, state, and local levels that places the interests of
people in need over the interest of corporate greed.
(d) The legislature declares that it is necessary to
regulate corporations to:
(1) end the transfer of jobs out of this state and the
country;
(2) prohibit the closing of plants and business
headquarters without a public hearing; and
(3) ensure compensation for those who suffer job loss.
SECTION 4. RIGHTS OF CHILDREN. (a) The legislature finds
that:
(1) one in every six children in the United States is a
victim of poverty; and
(2) one in every three children of color is growing up
in poverty.
(b) It is the intent of the legislature that each child in
this state have access to quality health care, education, and
housing and live in a safe community.
SECTION 5. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE; LAW ENFORCEMENT.
(a) It is the policy of this state that all people have a right to
equal protection under the law, and, to that end, the poor must be
protected from injustice in the legal system.
(b) The legislature finds that the poor are often warehoused
in the nation's prison industrial complex, which has become the
21st century's version of slavery. It is the policy of this state
that the poor be guaranteed competent representation and equal
justice and be assured of justice in civil and criminal courts of
this state.
(c) The legislature recognizes that the poor must be
protected from state-sponsored terrorism in the form of police
brutality and that the poor have a right to be protected and served,
as opposed to being abused and exploited. Therefore, it is the
intent of the legislature that:
(1) unequivocal civilian control exist over
neighborhoods;
(2) citizen review boards with the power to discipline
police abuse and misconduct be established; and
(3) a partnership for the elimination of crime and
violence in impoverished communities be established between the
police and community-based groups.
SECTION 6. EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME. The legislature finds
and declares that the poor have the right to full employment and a
guaranteed income that enables them to rise above the poverty
level. Therefore, the legislature pledges to:
(1) support investment in community-based and
cooperating partnerships that generate jobs; and
(2) make a concentrated effort to bring jobs and
opportunity to areas of concentrated unemployment in this state.
SECTION 7. RACIAL AND SEXUAL EQUALITY. (a) It is the
policy of this state that:
(1) the poor not be victimized by inequality of
opportunity; and
(2) women be legally protected from:
(A) sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace;
and
(B) domestic violence.
(b) The legislature intends that equal pay for women and
people of color should exist in this state.
SECTION 8. ENVIRONMENTAL EQUALITY. (a) The legislature
finds that:
(1) an unhealthy economic community has repercussions
on the physical and mental health of that community's residents;
and
(2) thousands of African Americans, Latinos, and
Anglos are dying needlessly and prematurely as toxic chemicals are
released into the air and the drinking water of impoverished
communities.
(b) The legislature recognizes that the poor must be
protected from environmental racism that disproportionately
targets impoverished communities with toxic waste sites and other
elements that adversely affect the atmosphere and health of persons
in those communities.
(c) It is the intent of the legislature that:
(1) toxic waste sites be cleaned up immediately; and
(2) environmentally unsafe facilities in impoverished
communities that have been victimized by environmental racism be
cleaned up, removed, or replaced.
SECTION 9. SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT. (a) The legislature
finds that the health of the poor is often compromised by:
(1) the proliferation of drugs that are allowed into
impoverished communities; and
(2) a lack of substance abuse treatment.
(b) It is the policy of this state that the poor have a right
to substance abuse treatment and that substance abuse treatment,
rather than incarceration, be the first response to substance
abuse.
SECTION 10. HEALTH CARE SERVICES. (a) The legislature
finds that the poor have a right to quality health care that is
affordable.
(b) The legislature recognizes that:
(1) the health of the nation is compromised when
pockets of poverty breed ill health; and
(2) this state can no longer afford to ignore the
economic maladies that end the lives of individuals who have no
access to health care.
(c) It is the intent of the legislature to make available
affordable quality health care services and affordable hospitals in
neglected and impoverished communities.
SECTION 11. FOREIGN POLICY. The legislature declares that:
(1) oppressed people all over the world should be
liberated and empowered; and
(2) the foreign policy of the United States should be
based on justice and freedom and should ensure the elimination of
economic exploitation of impoverished people throughout the world.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of
the legislative session.