Current Political News in Texas
The following news items were published last week at the Texas Lobby Group website.
Texas Department of Health and Human Services Statement on Affordable Health Care Act Ruling
AUSTIN – Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Tom Suehs released the following statement after today’s Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act:
We’ll work closely with Gov. Perry, state leaders and the Attorney to fully analyze the ruling, but I’m pleased that it gives states more ability to push back against a forced expansion of Medicaid. The court clearly recognized that the Affordable Care Act put states in the no-win situation of losing all their Medicaid funding or expanding their programs knowing that they would face billions of dollars in extra costs down the road.
SCOTUS Reaffirms Citizens United Vs. F.E.C.
The United States Supreme Court reaffirmed its decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C. Monday in American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock, 11-1179, 2012 WL 2368660 (U.S. June 25, 2012). In a short 5-4 per curiam opinion, the Court overturned a Montana statute prohibiting corporations from making “an expenditure in connection with a candidate or a political committee that supports or opposes a candidate or a political party.” The Court reaffirmed that “political speech does not lose its First Amendment protection simply because its source is a corporation.”
Immigration Law Analysis: US Vs. Arizona 2012
The United States Supreme Court overturned three of four challenged provisions in the controversial Arizona immigration law S.B. 1070 by a 5-3 majority in Arizona v. United States. The Court held that Congress has enacted a comprehensive immigration registration and enforcement regulatory scheme that preempted the three provisions of S.B. 1070 that created state-level penalties, Sections 3, 5(C), and 6. The Court refused to strike down Section 2(B), which requires state officers to make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of an individual stopped by the officer, because it was not yet clear how this provision would operate in practice.