Len Aguilar, Secretary-Treasurer for the Texas AFL-CIO joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the ending of the Texas Congressional Session and bill that they are looking at that could impact union members in the state, and repairing the water delivery system.
This current Texas Congressional Session is approaching its end, and there are still a few concerns left for the Texas AFL-CIO. There have been nearly 8,000 pieces of legislation submitted this session. Of those 8,000 bills, House Bill 2127 and Senate Bill 936 are the two pieces of legislation that Aguilar is watching closely. Despite hoping legislators work on improving life for Texas workers, these bills continue to focus on businesses, he said.
House Bill 2127 targets certain municipal and county regulations, essentially taking away local authority in certain cases. HB 2127 has been passed and is awaiting the Governor’s approval before being enacted. Senate Bill 936 will eliminate Project Labor Agreements for any municipality-funded project. There is already a bill in place that eliminates PLAs for state-funded projects, and this would further restrict PLAs in the state, Aguilar added.
Finally, Aguilar discussed a report released on the water delivery system in the state of Texas in 2021 reported that there were between 100 and 200 municipalities that lost nearly 30 billion gallons of water during the year. With major leaks in the delivery system, the state has put together a bipartisan water caucus to come up with a plan to fix the issues. With the budget currently available, Aguilar believes this is the right time to fund repairs and provide more work. Unfortunately, despite the bipartisan efforts, no progress has been made leading him to call the efforts a failure.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.