UPDATE

UPDATE ON RECENT
LEGISLATIVE BILLS THAT AFFECT TEXANS
by Emily Laurel

Two bills, Senate Bill 1525 and House Bill 367, both introduced during the 76th Texas Legislature, failed to be passed into law.

Senate bill 1525 would have given licensed dietitians a monopoly over the practice of nutrition and nutritional supplementation. In other words, other qualified health care professionals such as dentists, master level and Ph.D. level nutritionists, certified clinical nutritionists, certified herbalists, naturopathic doctors, and others would have been excluded from counseling their patients or clients on nutritional matters. The bill passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives without fair hearings and withoutthe public’s knowledge.

Although the standard practice for the Texas legislature is to conduct public hearings to debate the need for and the effect of proposed legislation, this logical and democratic process was circumvented in the passage of Senate bill 1525. An innocuous bill by the same number was indeed the subject of hearings, but at the last minute the bill was amended so drastically that, in effect, it became a new bill. None of the parties adversely affected by the bill were permitted a forum to express their views of the “new” bill. It is unclear what public need this bill was supposed to address. This bill was vetoed at the last possible moment by Governor Bush.

HB 367 was a bill designed to regulate the practice and teaching of Reiki across the state of Texas. Passage of this bill would have created a situation where the teaching and practice of Reiki would have been limited to a monopoly composed of individuals belonging to two small Reiki associations. Those who actually practice and teach Reiki fought passionately to preserve their right to continue teaching and practicing Reiki. To them their commitment to Reiki is deeply heartfelt, and they had a commitment to help preserve it from undue encumbrances. Thanks to these people and many others across the United States, this bill died in the House Committe on Public Health, thus never reaching the Senate floor or the Governor’s desk.

And so, this brings us to realize that very little can be taken for granted when legislation is introduced that may adversely affect the freedom of Texans to seek help from those they wish to consult in spiritual, sacred, or personal matters. We must all remain ever vigilant to safeguard our personal freedoms.

To stay informed check out the State of Texas web sites:
The Govenor’s web site:
http://www.governor.state.tx.us/index.html

The Attorney General’s office provides information about Attorney General Opinions and open government.
http://www.oag.state.tx.us/

The Legislative Budget Board is a permanent, joint committee of the Texas Legislature that develops recommendations for legislative appropriations for all agencies of state government.
www.lbb.state.tx.us

The Texas Legislative Council maintains the main legislative web site for the Texas Legislature. The Texas Legislature On-Line also allows users to search for bills.
www.capitol.state.tx.us

The House of Representatives provides information about the House and Speaker Pete Laney.
www.house.state.tx.us

The Texas State Senate provides information about the Senate and Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry. www.senate.state.tx.us/senate.htm
The Secretary of State’s office provides information about the Texas Administrative Code.
www.sos.state.tx.us/tac

The Library of Congress provides information about state governments. lcweb.loc.gov/global/state/tx-gov.html

The Texas Electronic Ethics Reporter contains information on the Texas Ethics Commission Opinions and Index www.lawlib.uh.edu/ethics

The U.S. Congress named this site after Thomas Jefferson. The Thomas web site provides legislative information about the U.S. Congress. thomas.loc.gov

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