Two years ago, Javier Ambler was killed by police officers for a reality TV show.

Today the House passed my bill banning police departments from contracting with reality TV programs.

We voted to name the bill Javier Ambler’s Law. #txlege Image
In 2019, Javier Ambler—a father of two—was pulled over by Williamson County Sheriff’s deputies for not dimming his headlights.

The deputies were followed by a camera crew for Live PD, a reality TV show that relies on violent police encounters to boost their ratings.
Cameras rolled as deputies tased an unarmed Ambler while he begged for his life.

Deputies continued to tase him until he died of congestive heart failure.

Live PD destroyed the footage.
This is not an isolated case.

An investigation by the @statesman found violent police encounters nearly doubled after Live PD began following Williamson County officers.

Other police departments around the country saw similar effects after contracting with reality TV shows.
I want to thank @JavierAmbler’s family for bringing this bill to me. It’s been an honor to work with you. Now on to the Senate!

With this legislation, we can say once and for all: policing is not entertainment.

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More from @jamestalarico

22 Apr
Our planet’s survival depends on young people.

I’m authoring legislation to teach climate change as part of the core curriculum in our public schools. #EarthDay
The time to stop climate denialism is before it even starts.

House Bill 4157 will ensure every public school student in Texas has a strong science-based understanding of human-caused climate change and its consequences.
This bill would also ensure students learn about the unique ecosystems in their own local bioregion.

Too many of us are disconnected from the land and water on which our communities depend.

You can’t protect what you can’t name.
Read 4 tweets
20 Apr
Happy 4/20! I’ve filed legislation to legalize cannabis, expunge past marijuana convictions, and use the new tax revenue to fund early childhood education. #txlege Image
This is a popular bipartisan idea.

According to the @TexasTribune’s latest polling, 60% of Texans support the full legalization of marijuana.

Only 13% said it should be completely illegal.
Marijuana is not a “gateway drug.” Most people who use marijuana do not go on to use harder substances.

In fact, medical research suggests alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous to our health than cannabis.
Read 8 tweets
6 Apr
3 years ago I almost slipped into a coma and died. I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

I paid $684 for my first 30-day supply of insulin. Some pay $1000+ a month. Many die without it.

Today I introduced legislation to cap the price of insulin at $50 a month. #txlege
I haven’t shared this story publicly before.

In May 2018, I was a healthy 28-year-old running for the Texas House. I decided to walk the entire length of my district and hold town halls along the way.

I hike Big Bend every year, so I wasn’t concerned about a 25 mile walk...
But halfway through the walk, I began feeling nauseous and fatigued.

Before the town hall in Hutto, I vomited in the bathroom.

This article quotes me telling the crowd “I am going to sit down because I am a little tired." bit.ly/39IzF4n
Read 21 tweets
29 Mar
I’m sorry my prayer offended you, Rep. Stickland.

Love feels blasphemous when you’ve been taught a religion of hate.
Equality feels blasphemous when you’ve been taught a religion of supremacy.

Freedom feels blasphemous when you’ve been taught a religion of control.

Peace feels blasphemous when you’ve been taught a religion of violence.
The true blasphemy is using the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth to exclude others.

Christianity is a way of living in radical fellowship; it’s not a members-only club.

Christ taught love not rules.
Read 4 tweets
17 Mar
Texas Republicans hearing about a 15% COVID hospitalization rate.

Texas Republicans hearing about a 0.0001% voter fraud rate.
Republican leaders thought mandating masks and winterizing power plants were overreactions to rare occurrences, but now they’ll risk disenfranchising millions of Texans to address voter fraud that’s virtually nonexistent.
According to the House Chronicle, indicted Texas AG @KenPaxtonTX spent 22,000 hours looking for voter fraud and only found 16 cases of false addresses on registration forms.

Out of 17M registered voters in Texas.
Read 5 tweets
11 Mar
When I was a public school teacher, I struggled to make ends meet.

My coworkers drove Ubers at night and sold their blood plasma for extra money.

Today I filed a bill mandating a minimum salary of $70,000 for every teacher in Texas. #txlege
Our teachers have endured a global pandemic, an economic collapse, and a deadly winter storm.

They held our communities together through these historic crises.

Teachers had our backs. Now we must have theirs.
Last session, my colleagues and I passed House Bill 3, which gave almost every Texas teacher a long overdue raise. Unfortunately it was only a $3k bump on average.

This bill, HB 3580, can finish the job.
Read 9 tweets

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