The Party That Governs Versus The Party That Controls

Texas Democrats are doing the work while Republicans manufacture outrage.

Yesterday was the 64th day of the 140-day legislative session, and once again, Democrats, despite being in the minority, proved they were the only party working for the people of Texas. And the majority party? State-mandated religion, banning certain types of anti-poverty programs, and throwing librarians in jail.

Let’s start with the good. While we would like to see Democrats expand Medicaid, legalize recreational cannabis, and raise the minimum wage, there is only so much Republicans will actually let them do. However, the small things they manage significantly impact everyday Texans.

One of those small but meaningful efforts came from Armando Walle (D-HD140), who introduced HB636, a bill to improve coordination among agencies that serve Texans experiencing homelessness.

HB 636 directs the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to collaborate with the Texas Homeless Network to create a data-sharing system. This ensures that when a houseless individual moves between cities, their information follows them, allowing agencies to provide faster, more effective support. Currently, service providers, hospitals, and local governments work in silos, leading to wasted resources, redundant paperwork, and people falling through the cracks.

• 62,000 Texans experience houselessness each year.

HB636 isn’t flashy, and it won’t make headlines like Republican efforts to criminalize poverty. But if passed, it would make life tangibly better for thousands of people across the state. That’s what happens when lawmakers try to govern instead of perform.

There are currently 4,000 public housing units in Texas without air conditioning.

Enter HB211, filed by Diego Bernal (D-HD123), to ensure all Texas public housing has air conditioning. Yes, in 2024, we still have to legislate this.

This is Bernal’s third attempt at passing this bill. It has passed out of committee and the House before, only to die in the Senate because Senate Republicans have no problem funding corporate welfare but draw the line at making sure Texans don’t bake to death in their own apartments.

And now, for yet another example of Democrats doing the actual work of governing while Republicans are busy stoking culture war nonsense: HB1203, filed by Rep. Jessica González (D-HD104), aims to tackle Texas’ rampant food insecurity crisis, a crisis that Republicans have ignored for years.

Texas has the highest rate of food insecurity in the country. Thousands of Texans struggle to access affordable, nutritious food in rural and urban communities. González’s bill would create the Office of Food System Security and Resiliency within the Texas Department of Agriculture. This office would work with farmers, industry professionals, school districts, and local governments to develop farm-to-table programs, increase access to fresh produce, and create food distribution strategies to make nutritious options more affordable.

Yeah, Democrats are in the minority, but they’re working for Texans, which is more than we can say about the other side. And now, on to the villainy. Yes, I said villainy.

Ellen Troxclair’s bill to ban UBI programs is villainous.

Republicans love to talk about freedom until that freedom extends to poor people making choices about their own lives.

HB530, Ellen Troxclair’s (R-HD19) bill to ban guaranteed income programs at the local level. The bill would prohibit local governments from using any public funds to implement direct cash assistance programs, even if those programs reduce poverty, increase economic mobility, and save taxpayer money in the long run.

Troxclair spent her testimony hand-wringing about “government theft,” implying that helping people survive is somehow an injustice against taxpayers.

And that’s precisely what programs like UpTogether do. Cities like Austin, Houston, and El Paso have piloted direct cash assistance programs that put money directly in the hands of struggling families. Studies show these programs work, and families use the money for rent, groceries, childcare, and education. But Troxclair doesn’t care about data or results. She cares about punishing the poor for being poor.

Even when confronted with the fact that over half the money used in these programs comes from private donations, Troxclair doubled down, insisting that local governments shouldn’t be allowed to distribute private funds to help their residents. Her justification? These programs perpetuate unaffordability and somehow cause poverty instead of alleviating it.

HB 2023 isn’t about responsible governance. It’s about cruelty.

Republicans have spent decades dismantling the social safety net, ensuring that Texas has some of the highest poverty rates, worst healthcare access, and lowest wages in the country. They want to outlaw any local effort to address those problems because fixing economic inequality would mean admitting it’s a policy choice.

Troxclair wrapped up her testimony by warning that if you “believe socialism works, then guaranteed income is your jam.” If socialism means not letting people starve in the wealthiest country in the world, then Republicans should probably stop giving billion-dollar tax breaks to corporations while gutting any program that helps working families.

This bill is villainous. Plain and simple.

Republicans let their ignorance shine through during this hearing. Democrats will shred them to pieces if it goes to a floor debate. Like David Lowe (R-HD91), who seemed to struggle with the idea of anti-poverty programs:

Later, it was fermented that the solution to poverty was “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.”

My favorite moment was when Carl Tepper said he always wondered whether hourly workers would get paid if they didn’t go to work.

Out of touch doesn’t even begin to cover it. These are the people in charge of making laws that affect millions of working-class Texans, and they genuinely don’t seem to understand how poverty works.

Republicans spent the entire hearing proving that their whole worldview is built on myths that excuse government inaction while blaming struggling families for their own circumstances.

Listen to Every Texan explain why this is a bad bill:

El Paso County Commissioner David Stout also testified against HB530. He also shut down Lowe quickly by reminding him about the cost of unfunded mandates.

The Texas GOP isn’t just ideologically opposed to helping people. They’re so far removed from the struggles of everyday Texans that they don’t even understand the basics of economic survival.

Troxclair’s bill isn’t about protecting taxpayers or stopping government overreach. It’s about ensuring that the working poor stay desperate, that cities have fewer tools to address poverty, and that the people who need help the most are forced to grovel for it from churches and charities instead of getting direct relief from their communities.

Meanwhile, in the Senate Chamber, Republicans passed several Christian Nationalist bills.

Specifically, SB10 and SB11 both passed the Senate yesterday. SB10 requires the Ten Commandments in every school classroom, and SB11 allows open prayer.

Listen to the exchange between Senators Sarah Eckhardt and Mayes Middleton exchange regarding the First Amendment and religious freedom:

You can tell these two hate each other. Their exchanges are always like this.

Another tense moment happened when Nathan Johnson called Middleton out, saying, “The same people who want pornography in schools don’t want prayers in schools.”

Yeah, it was pretty offensive. Right before the bill allowing elementary school teachers to openly recite scripture in their classrooms, the Senate also passed SB412, a bill threatening to jail librarians and bookstore clerks who give a minor “the wrong kind of book.”

Middleton referred to “the wrong kind of books” as pornography. Still, under the bill, it would include classic and contemporary literature with mature themes and depictions of racism, violence, trauma, or abuse, books with LGBTQ+ themes, and books about racism and social justice.

Watch Senator Roland Gutierrez take Middleton to town over Republicans’ latest attempt to ban thought:

Republicans have made it clear that their priorities have nothing to do with governing and everything to do with controlling what Texans see, hear, and think.

They claim to stand for “freedom,” but only if that freedom applies to corporations, the wealthy, and themselves. Poor Texans? They can’t be trusted with financial assistance. Librarians? They should be jailed for handing out books. Teachers? They should be forced to push religious doctrine in the classroom.

This session has laid bare the GOP’s vision for Texas: a state where poverty is criminalized, education is sanitized, and religion is mandated. Meanwhile, Democrats, despite their limited power, continue to fight for policies that actually improve people’s lives. They may not always win, but at least they’re trying.

And that, right there, is the difference.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

• June 3: The beginning of the 2026 election season.

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

LoneStarLeft is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Follow me on Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.