80R4246 UM-F
 
  By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 947
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a bill of rights for the underprivileged.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  SHORT TITLE.  This Act shall be known as the Bill
of Rights for the Underprivileged.
       SECTION 2.  GENERAL POLICY AND PURPOSE. (a)  It is the
policy of this state that:
             (1)  all forms of human oppression be dismantled; and
             (2)  all people, especially the underprivileged, have
the right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness without
institutional barriers.
       (b)  The legislature finds that racism, sexism, classism,
and imperialism and discrimination against disabled people must be
addressed and eliminated if the underprivileged are to escape
impoverishment.
       SECTION 3.  ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. (a)  The legislature
finds that the underprivileged have a right to a public policy
agenda that invests in human beings.
       (b)  The legislature intends that:
             (1)  "communities of opportunity" be created for the
purpose of eliminating economic predators that preclude economic
development in areas of this state that have historically
experienced neglect and economic disparity;
             (2)  federal, state, and local resources be made
available to community-based groups and other persons that create
economic opportunity in communities of opportunity; and
             (3)  partnerships between corporate and
community-based groups that provide and invest in opportunities for
the underprivileged should be encouraged and rewarded.
       (c)  The legislature recognizes that creation of communities
of opportunity will necessitate a comprehensive economic policy on
the national, state, and local levels that places the interests of
people in need over the interest of corporate greed.
       (d)  The legislature declares that it is necessary to
regulate corporations to:
             (1)  end the transfer of jobs out of this state and the
country;
             (2)  prohibit the closing of plants and business
headquarters without a public hearing; and
             (3)  ensure compensation for those who suffer job loss.
       SECTION 4.  RIGHTS OF CHILDREN. (a)  The legislature finds
that:
             (1)  one in every six children in the United States is a
victim of poverty; and
             (2)  one in every three children of color is growing up
in poverty.
       (b)  It is the intent of the legislature that each child in
this state have access to quality health care, education, and
housing and live in a safe community.
       SECTION 5.  CIVIL AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE; LAW ENFORCEMENT.
(a)  It is the policy of this state that all people have a right to
equal protection under the law, and, to that end, the
underprivileged must be protected from injustice in the legal
system.
       (b)  The legislature finds that the underprivileged are
often warehoused in the nation's prison industrial complex, which
has become the 21st century's version of slavery. It is the policy
of this state that the underprivileged be guaranteed competent
representation and equal justice and be assured of justice in civil
and criminal courts of this state.
       (c)  The legislature recognizes that the underprivileged
must be protected from state-sponsored terrorism in the form of
police brutality and that the underprivileged have a right to be
protected and served, as opposed to being abused and exploited.
Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature that:
             (1)  unequivocal civilian control exist over
neighborhoods;
             (2)  citizen review boards with the power to discipline
police abuse and misconduct be established; and
             (3)  a partnership for the elimination of crime and
violence in impoverished communities be established between the
police and community-based groups.
       SECTION 6.  EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME. The legislature finds
and declares that the underprivileged have the right to full
employment and a guaranteed income that enables them to rise above
the poverty level. Therefore, the legislature pledges to:
             (1)  support investment in community-based and
cooperating partnerships that generate jobs; and
             (2)  make a concentrated effort to bring jobs and
opportunity to areas of concentrated unemployment in this state.
       SECTION 7.  RACIAL AND SEXUAL EQUALITY. (a)  It is the
policy of this state that:
             (1)  the underprivileged not be victimized by
inequality of opportunity; and
             (2)  women be protected by law from:
                   (A)  sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace;
and
                   (B)  domestic violence.
       (b)  The legislature intends that equal pay for women and
people of color exist in this state.
       SECTION 8.  ENVIRONMENTAL EQUALITY. (a)  The legislature
finds that:
             (1)  an unhealthy economic community has repercussions
on the physical and mental health of that community's residents;
and
             (2)  thousands of African Americans, Latinos, and
Anglos are dying needlessly and prematurely as toxic chemicals are
released into the air and the drinking water of impoverished
communities.
       (b)  The legislature recognizes that the underprivileged
must be protected from environmental racism that
disproportionately targets impoverished communities with toxic
waste sites and other elements that adversely affect the atmosphere
and health of persons in those communities.
       (c)  It is the intent of the legislature that:
             (1)  toxic waste sites be cleaned up immediately; and
             (2)  environmentally unsafe facilities in impoverished
communities that have been victimized by environmental racism be
cleaned up, removed, or replaced.
       SECTION 9.  SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT. (a)  The legislature
finds that the health of the underprivileged is often compromised
by:
             (1)  the proliferation of drugs that are allowed into
impoverished communities; and
             (2)  a lack of substance abuse treatment.
       (b)  It is the policy of this state that the underprivileged
have a right to substance abuse treatment and that substance abuse
treatment, rather than incarceration, be the first response to
substance abuse.
       SECTION 10.  HEALTH CARE SERVICES. (a) The legislature
finds that the underprivileged have a right to quality health care
that is affordable.
       (b)  The legislature recognizes that:
             (1)  the health of the nation is compromised when
pockets of poverty breed ill health; and
             (2)  this state can no longer afford to ignore the
economic maladies that end the lives of persons who have no access
to health care.
       (c)  It is the intent of the legislature to make available
affordable quality health care services and affordable hospitals in
neglected and impoverished communities.
       SECTION 11.  FOREIGN POLICY. The legislature declares that:
             (1)  oppressed people all over the world should be
liberated and empowered; and
             (2)  the foreign policy of the United States should be
based on justice and freedom and should ensure the elimination of
economic exploitation of impoverished people throughout the world.
       SECTION 12.  This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.