80R4246 UM-F

By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 947

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a bill of rights for the underprivileged.

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 Underprivileged.

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 underprivileged, have the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness without institutional barriers.

(b) The legislature finds that racism, sexism, classism, and imperialism and discrimination against disabled people must be addressed and eliminated if the underprivileged are to escape impoverishment.

SECTION 3. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. (a) The legislature finds that the underprivileged 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 economic predators that preclude economic development in areas of this state that have historically experienced neglect and economic disparity;

(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 provide and invest in opportunities for the underprivileged 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 underprivileged must be protected from injustice in the legal system.

(b) The legislature finds that the underprivileged 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 underprivileged 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 underprivileged must be protected from state-sponsored terrorism in the form of police brutality and that the underprivileged 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 underprivileged 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 underprivileged not be victimized by inequality of opportunity; and

(2) women be protected by law 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 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 underprivileged 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 underprivileged 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 underprivileged 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 underprivileged 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 persons 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 September 1, 2007.