(The Center Square) – The Texas House has advanced two abortion-related bills that already passed the Senate.

On Thursday, the House passed SB 33, filed by state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, which bans taxpayer money from being used to assist with travel outside of Texas to have an abortion. The bill passed the House by a vote of 87-57. It passed the Senate in April by a vote of 22-9.

Campbell filed the bill after officials in Austin and San Antonio allocated millions of taxpayer funds for “abortion travel” in violation of state law, The Center Square reported.

“Currently, ‘abortion providers’ may no longer commit legal abortion within the state. Even if they did, cities would be prohibited from engaging in business with them. However, cities have found a way to use taxpayer money to support abortion while skirting the law. Instead, they are giving money to entities that aid or abet abortions in some form but are not directly abortion providers themselves. So far, Austin has directly spent money to this end while the San Antonio city council has repeatedly attempted this blatant misuse of Texan taxpayer funds. Other cities are likely to follow suit without legislation that prohibits such actions explicitly,” Campbell’s bill analysis explains.

The bill explicitly prohibits governmental transactions with abortion assistance entities to ensure that taxpayer funds aren’t used to indirectly support or facilitate out-of-state abortion services. It amends state to law to expand the definition of “abortion assistance entities” to include any organization or individual that “provides financial support, travel arrangements, childcare, or other logistical services that facilitate access to abortions.”

It also empowers the Office of the Attorney General, state residents, or individuals within a political subdivision to sue “any entity engaging in prohibited transactions, with provisions for recovering misused funds, court costs, and attorney’s fees.”

The author of Texas’ Heartbeat Act, state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, filed the Life of the Mother Act, SB 31, which unanimously passed the Senate in late April. State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, filed companion legislation, HB 44, in the Texas House.

It passed the House Wednesday by a vote of 89-57 after a heated debate.

Despite Gov. Greg Abbott saying earlier this year that there was no need to amend the state’s Human Life Protection Act, state lawmakers advanced the bill.

Abbott signed the Human Life Protection Act into law in June 2021, which became effective after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022. Texas law prohibits all elective abortions of preborn children with the exception of saving the life of the mother. The law and other Texas abortion bans were challenged in court and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and Texas Supreme Court. Last May, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that doctors could use “reasonable medical judgment” when determining when a medical necessity justified performing an abortion. The Texas Medical Board also established rules and guidelines.

SB 31 “seeks to clarify existing medical emergency exceptions to otherwise prohibited abortions, which are spread throughout or implicated by multiple provisions in different codes, and provide uniformity among them.” It also establishes continuing medical education and continuing legal education courses about state abortion laws and the bill’s medical emergency exceptions, the bill analysis explains.

It revises state law “relating to exceptions to otherwise prohibited abortions based on a physician’s reasonable medical judgment,” which several Republicans argue creates a loophole to allow elective abortions.

SB 31 passed by a vote of 134-4 after heated debate. Four Republicans voting against it: Harrison; Hopper; Lowe; Pierson, according to an unofficial vote tally.

Seven Republicans voted “Present, not voting:” Holt; Money; Mr. Speaker; Olcott; Swanson; Tinderholt; Toth. Five members were absent and didn’t vote.

Democrats overwhelmingly voted for it.

According to the latest data published by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, zero elective abortions and 157 medically necessary abortions have been performed in Texas since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and Texas’ abortion ban went into effect in August 2022. This is up from 145 medically necessary abortions performed that were reported in March, The Center Square reported.

If an average of 2,852 abortions performed per month in the first six months of 2022 were to have continued, an estimated 79,856 elective abortions would have been reported by October 2024, based on the data. Meaning, Texas abortion bans reduced elective abortion by nearly 80,000 in a roughly two-year time span.

No doctor has been prosecuted, sued, or sanctioned for performing any of the medically necessary abortions reported to the state. Several people have been arrested and are being prosecuted for operating illegal abortion facilities, The Center Square reported. Elective abortions performed at these facilities were not reported to the state.

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers said Thursday that 11 Lake Lanier boat ramps and their parks are closed, revising a number released Thursday. 

The 11 ramps are Burton Mill, Old Federal Day Use, Keith’s Bridge, Robinson, Little Hall, Two Mill, Little River, Van Pugh North, Van Pugh South, Long Hollow and Mountain View. Twenty-one areas managed by the Corps of Engineers are open. 

The Corps of Engineers has closed several recreational areas across the country. A map on its website shows visitors what is open and closed. 

The announced closures set off a debate between Georgia lawmakers. 

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, R-Ga., blamed the staffing shortages on President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency.

“Trump and Elon’s DOGE cuts are forcing Georgia parks to indefinitely close right before a holiday weekend,” Warnock said in a post on X. “Enough is enough with these reckless cuts. Georgia families deserve better.”

State Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, said Warnock was wrong.

“When @RichforGA (U.S. Rep. Rick McCormick) and I spoke with the Corps today, they said ‘this is not about money,’” Dolezal said on X. “Warnock might know this if he bothered to put down the keyboard, pick up the phone, and advocate for his constituents like we did.”

Dustin Gautney, chief of public affairs for the Corps of Engineers Mobile District said in an email to The Center Square: “It is true that the staffing shortage is due to the Department of Defense hiring freeze along with a series of deferred resignations this is a manning issue and not a budget issue. Normally we are able to ‘flex’ our manning with temporary hires during the summer. We are hoping we will be able to bring in more summer positions soon and open even more parks for the public to enjoy.”

The Corps of Engineers manages 400 lake and river projects in 43 states, according to its website. 

(The Center Square) − The Louisiana Senate Committee on Finance took testimony Thursday on the state’s proposed $45 billion operating budget for the 2026 fiscal year, hearing directly from advocates for individuals with disabilities, those battling addiction, survivors of domestic violence, and low-income students.

The budget, which includes constitutionally mandated funding for K-12 education, also outlines major appropriations for health, human services, and infrastructure. As lawmakers begin parsing through the spending plan, nonprofit and community leaders are pressing for renewed or increased investments in social safety net programs.

Tracy Garner, president and CEO of Easter Seals Louisiana, a nonprofit providing support to people with disabilities, urged the committee to approve $465,000 in state funding through House Bill 1. The money would go toward support coordination services — a vital link between individuals and the care they need.

Other organizations made similar appeals. Jamie Duplechine, chapter coordinator for People First of Louisiana, asked the committee to restore $110,000 in funding that had been cut from the group, which advocates for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Several people with disabilities testified in support of the organization’s work. Charles Romera also voiced gratitude for a previous $250,000 allocation to the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council, but noted the funds have yet to be reallocated in the current proposal.

Several advocates and protestors rallied in support of disability services funding.

The behavioral health and addiction treatment community also turned out in force.

Lonnie Granier, policy and advocacy manager at Odyssey House Louisiana−one of the state’s largest behavioral health nonprofits−thanked lawmakers for an additional $10 million in the State General Fund for substance use disorder treatment. 

Granier warned, however, that without sustained investment, “addiction Medicaid rates will be cut” once temporary funding enhancements expire. Granier called on legislators to support $31 million in total for substance use disorder Medicaid treatment rates.

Scottie Thompson, a peer support specialist at Serenity Treatment Center, also testified, requesting recurring funds for addiction services, though did not specify an amount.

Brian Patchett, president and CEO of the Louisiana Association for the Blind, requested an additional $11 million in funding, calling it “an investment that would yield $35 million” in return.

Domestic violence services were also the subject of advocacy.

Mariah Wisneski, executive director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, noted the Legislature has allocated $7 million in state funds for victim services in the current budget.

She requested an additional $3 million, citing tangible results from past funding: over 200 new shelter beds and 11 outreach offices, many in rural areas.

“Investments from the last two years have been incredibly successful,” Wisneski told the committee.

Also appearing before the panel was Laurie Adams with the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, who asked lawmakers to prioritize full funding for the Louisiana GATOR scholarship program to ensure that all eligible applications are supported.