The House Public Health Committee, chaired by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, will hold hearings on Wednesday, April 10, at 10:30am, and will consider HB2725, the adoptee rights bill authored by Rep. Gina Calanni and supported already by more than 26 other representatives. Here’s more info about the hearing and what you can do and expect.
Where is the hearing?
It is at the Texas State Capitol, in room E2.026, which is in the Capitol Extension. A map of the second floor of the Capitol Extension is here.
What time will HB2725 be heard?
The committee is scheduled to convene at 10:30am, though it may be later depending on whether the House is in session in the morning and adjourns later. The committee also has 31 other bills to consider during the day. It is NOT known when HB2725 will be heard during the day and you should expect to wait for hours if the bill is not called early during the hearing calendar.
Is the hearing televised?
Yes. It will be live-streamed, and the stream will be available here prior to the hearing’s start time.
I want to testify at the hearing. What should I do?
Because of the number of bills being heard in the committee, live testimony will be very limited. To register for testimony you must register at one of the kiosks in the Capitol. You can find more information about witness registration here. You can indicate during registration whether you wish to provide testimony or not and whether you support HB2725.
I cannot be at the hearing but want to submit written testimony. What do I do?
TXARC is collecting written testimony and will be submitting it to the committee. To submit testimony through TXARC, email it to [email protected].
I want to learn more about HB2725. Where can I find information?
TXARC has broken down HB2725 here, where we also link to the text of the bill.
Can I contact members of the Public Health Committee to ask them to support HB2725?
Yes, and we encourage you to do so. A list of the members of the committee is below. We have used an asterisk (*) to indicate members of the committee who already support the bill.
Public Health Committee Contact Information
Senfronia Thompson (Committee Chair)
District 141
District Office: (713) 633-3390
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0720
Public Health Committee Office: (512) 463-0806
John Wray (Vice Chair)
District 10
District Office: (972) 938-9392
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0516
[email protected]
Steve Allison*
District 121
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0686
[email protected]
Garnet Coleman
District 147
District Office: (713) 520-5355
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0524
[email protected]
James B. Frank
District 69
District Office: (940) 767-1700
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0534
[email protected]
R.D. “Bobby” Guerra
District 41
District Office: (956)292-0407
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0578
[email protected]
Eddie Lucio III
District 38
District Office: (956) 542-2800
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0606
[email protected]
Evelina “Lina” Ortega
District 77
District Office: (915) 351-4031
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0638
[email protected]
Four Price
District 87
District Office: (806) 374-8787
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0470
[email protected]
J.D. Sheffield
District 59
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0628
[email protected]
Bill Zedler
District 96
District Office: (817) 483-1885
Capitol Office: (512) 463-0374
[email protected]
The Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition is a coalition of Texas and national organizations working to secure the right of all Texas adult adoptees to obtain their own original birth certificates, without discriminatory restrictions.