Texas Democrats on key issues heading into new legislative session

After being hammered in the latest statewide election and still saddled with minority status in the Texas Legislature, Democratic lawmakers are returning to Austin for a new legislative session this week.

When the 89th legislative session begins on January 14, Houston Democrats Ann Johnson and Christina Morales will continue to fight against school vouchers and for reproductive rights.

Both lawmakers sat down with FOX 26's Greg Groogan to discuss the key issues heading into the session.

Abortion

Johnson and Morales are hoping colleagues on both sides of the aisle will heed polls indicating a majority of Texans believe the state's abortion ban is far too harsh. Especially when the mother's health is in jeopardy.

What they're saying:

"We've heard about the situation in which individuals who go in under a pregnancy complication that risks their life, their fertility. That is the life of the mother, and we ought to allow medical professionals to get back to making that determination around healthcare in a pregnancy complication. These are not elective abortions. These are individuals that show up at the hospital in crisis," said Rep. Johnson. 

"If we can at least make an exception for these women, who are literally bleeding to death, that are suffering from sepsis, dying, you know, we're leaving children without a mother. We must look at this. We must listen to the doctors, and we must do what's right for Texas women.," said Rep. Morales.

School Vouchers

One of Governor Greg Abbott's key issues this session is what the governor calls school choice. The multi-billion dollar proposal would allow public education funds to follow the child, even if it is to a private campus.

Both Morales and Johnson believe, if approved, a substantial school voucher program would devastate cash-strapped districts and the communities which depend on them.

They say that billions of surplus dollars in the state should be spent on a public education system they consider to be be chronically underfunded.

What they're saying:

"We're certainly going to fight back. We don't want it at all, and I think most Texans, if they understand what this bill does, taking taxpayer dollars and funding private schools, most Texans won't want that. But because we are worried that the governor could be right, and he has the votes, we're going to try to make sure that it's the most watered-down piece of legislation that we can get," said Rep. Morales.

"Everybody can go to private school if they want. The question is, are they going to take your tax dollars to do it for people that don't need it? It is welfare for the wealthy, and it is a scam against public ed," said Rep. Johnson. "When compared to the rest of the country, we have grossly underfunded public ed. For decades, we're 46th in spending."

House Speaker Race

One of the biggest questions heading into this session is who Democrats will ultimately back to become the next House Speaker.

Rep. Johnson hinted at the party's opposition to House Speaker candidate David Cook, Rep. Morales is among two dozen Democrats publicly supporting the largely symbolic candidacy of a fellow House progressive.

What they're saying:

"You have one speaker candidate who has said basically no there's no place for Democrats in the House. There's no place for an individual that represents 200,000 Texans and that goes for all my colleagues," said Rep. Johnson.

"If we're going to support a republican candidate what are they going to do for the millions and millions of Democrats in Texas," said Rep. Morales.

You can watch Texas: The Issue Is every Sunday night on TV and anytime on FOX LOCAL.