DALLAS — State Rep. Toni Rose is one of many Texas lawmakers who have no idea how the property tax relief debate will play out in Austin during the second special legislative session, when leaders will try to find agreement between the House plan and the Senate’s proposal.
And the Dallas Democrat says her constituents haven’t been calling her office demanding one version over the other.
“They just want property tax relief,” Rose told us on Inside Texas Politics. “Their main concern in District 110 is just that they get some kind of relief.”
And a couple of weeks after it was signed into law, Rose is still touting the benefits of a piece of legislation she’d been trying to get passed for years.
HB 12 extends Medicaid benefits to new Texas mothers for a full year after they give birth.
Before now, that healthcare coverage cut off within two months.
“To know that women, especially Black women, were dying at alarming rates and now women will be able to get the healthcare that they need, and it will save lives, that’s huge. And so, that’s why this legislation is so important,” the Democrat said.
A long awaited study by the state released just before the start of the regular session found that most pregnancy related deaths in Texas were preventable and disproportionately impacted Black women.
Rose first introduced her legislation in 2019.
Why did it succeed in 2023?
“One of the things that I always said to my colleagues, you know, if you’re going to be pro-life, be pro-life. And this bill to extend Medicaid services is a pro-life bill.”
It apparently worked. HB 12 passed with near unanimous support.