menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Texas Legislature is working on good laws along with the bad and ugly

2 1
22.03.2025

Texas state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, answers a question from state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham.

State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst represents Texas Senate District 18.

State Rep. Donna Howard, D - Austin, left, greets President Joe Biden as he arrives at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

It ain’t all bad in Austin.

The Texas Legislature is halfway through its biennial session, and while I’ve written columns about crony capitalism and bad policy, lawmakers from both parties have some good bills worthy of public support.

The most fascinating are Republican bills aimed at improving public health. While I find state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst’s energy legislation abhorrent, she has admirably fought to improve Texans’ health for two decades.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Her Senate Bill 25 would require daily physical activity in public schools, a nutrition curriculum for medical students and food labels to warn Texas consumers which ingredients are banned in other countries. The proposed law would also establish the Texas Nutrition Advisory Committee to examine links between food additives and chronic illness.

“This is a bill about every Texan, and every Texan that we love,” Kolkhorst told senators before the senate........

© Houston Chronicle