New year brings new laws, but Texas still falls short on health, education | Opinion

With so many sessions in 2023, the Texas Legislature put plenty of new laws on the books, including about 30 that took effect Jan. 1. And while some are necessary and useful, they remind us how lawmakers could have used their time a bit more wisely.

A handful of new laws address property appraisal issues and streamline tax codes. One makes it so that if a person who is 65 or older dies, a surviving spouse who qualifies can still get a homestead exemption the next year without applying. This is a helpful tweak for an already-complicated homeowner’s life in a time filled with grief and confusion.

We’ve written before about the pros and cons of homeowners associations, but one new law might help level the playing field for property owners. House Bill 614 makes it so that HOAs now need to adopt a policy for issuing fines, outlining amounts for specific violations and providing information about hearings. No more guessing for homeowners who see a bill and wonder what the fuss is about.

An important if little noticed change could help keep young Texans from long interaction with the criminal justice system. The law enrolls more minors charged with Class C misdemeanors in diversion programs, such as community service or mental health treatment. That should help many learn and make behavioral changes to avoid escalating crime. There are boundaries, of course; kids aren’t eligible for the program if they’ve already participated unsuccessfully. But curbing crime early on will help everyone in the long run.

House Bill 4758 makes it a class B misdemeanor to market electronic cigarettes to children. Vaping has become an epidemic among adolescents and while more goes into the appeal for kids than packaging, every effort to prevent kids from starting the process is a good idea.

Texans need major help acquiring and navigating health insurance. And while the Legislature again fell woefully short on providing more coverage through Medicaid, it took a modest step to help people improve the quality of their insurance. House Bill 4500 requires insurers to create online portals so healthcare providers can see what plans patients have and other pertinent information, which should improve the accuracy of billing.

While this will be helpful for providers and patients, the Legislature did nothing to deal with the almost 2 million Texans who have lost access to Medicaid due to changes post-pandemic. Often, simple paperwork errors or difficulty verifying assets can make the difference in getting coverage or not. Keep in mind that for many low-income people who just miss out on Medicaid, coverage at county-funded facilities is their last resort. Urban taxpayers will pay more than if the state stepped up with more preventive care.

Probably the most controversial and timely law taking effect is the state ban on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at public universities. This includes eliminating offices that offered training for faculty and staff or requirements for diversity considerations in hiring and helped support diverse enrollment. In a majority-minority state, it’s vital that college opportunities are open to all. Lawmakers should have followed up with more support for students struggling to afford higher education, such as programs that improve the experience for first-generation students.

Mostly, the 2023-24 Legislature will be remembered for unresolved battles for property tax cuts and the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with the political fallout that has yet to be fully measured. But don’t forget the unfinished fight over school vouchers, which meant a whole raft of missed opportunities to improve public education.

On the heels of the Uvalde school massacre, the state could have pursued modest gun reform, such as raising the age to buy semi-automatic rifles or implementing red-flag laws, as Florida did following the Parkland shooting. While Texas did approve a bill to require armed security personnel at schools, legislators didn’t provide much to pay for it.

Meaningful reforms to improve classroom education are still missing, too, a real shame in a state that’s lagging behind others in reading, writing, and math metrics. The voucher fight derailed a chance to raise teacher pay. Legislation that would have helped refine reading instruction and improved school accountability should be a priority when lawmakers are back at it a year from now.