It’s not easy to get a bill—especially a clean adoptee rights bill—drafted, agreed upon, and sponsored by representatives and senators in Texas who stand steadfastly behind it. But we are close, and we expect a clean bill to be introduced in the Texas legislature within a week, if not within days.
It could not happen this session without the guidance and sure hand of Senator Brandon Creighton, my own senator from Senate District 4. Senator Creighton is a dogged advocate for his district’s constituents. While he’s had his hands full with the aftermath and recovery from Hurricane Harvey, he has not forgotten the numerous other significant issues affecting those he represents. And while Senator Creighton will not be sponsoring our OBC bill this session, he has been critical to get the bill moving and in place and to get our issue to where it is today. Those within the world of adoption, especially Texas adoptees, owe him a world of thanks.
We have also been working with Representative Gina Calanni, new to the Texas House and astute, strategic, and quickly up to speed on TXARC’s issues. We are excited to work with her, and TXARC looks forward to hard days ahead while working together to get a clean bill enacted in Texas.
Stay tuned. We will have big news soon. And thanks again to Senator Creighton and Representative Calanni. We could not do this without them and without other legislators and staff. Most of all, we cannot do this work without you—all of you. Please join us.
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.