Abbott OKs Ten Commandments, vetoes food program

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom in Texas and vetoed a $60 million budget appropriation that would have provided food for about 4 million of the state’s poorest children.

Those measures were among the 1,155 bills Abbott signed into law from the 89th Texas Legislature and 28 vetoes he issued before the midnight June 22 deadline.

On June 21, Abbott signed SB 10, which requires each public-school classroom to display a poster at least 16 by 20 inches with prescribed wording of the Ten Commandments.

The state-approved language is an abridged version of Exodus 20:2-17 from the King James Version of the Bible.

Proponents of the bill noted the language included in the bill replicates the words inscribed in a monument near the Texas Capitol, which withstood a Supreme Court challenge in 2005.

Opponents of the legislation pointed out Jews, Catholics and Protestants number the commandments differently, and their wording varies. So, the required language favors the Protestant approach as the state-sanctioned version, they insisted.

Lawsuit looming

The Texas House of Representatives voted to approve an amended version of the bill that requires the Texas Attorney General to defend school districts in any lawsuits sparked by the classroom Ten Commandments displays.

At least one lawsuit already has been promised. After lawmakers approved the final version of the bill March 28, a coalition of civil liberties groups—including Americans United for Separation of Church and State—pledged to sue if Abbott signed it into law.

Soon after the last-minute flurry of bill signings and vetoes, media attention focused primarily on Abbott’s veto of SB 3. The bill would have banned consumable products containing THC, the principal psychoactive element of cannabis.

The governor maintained the ban—a legislative priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick—would be subject to constitutional challenges.

Instead, Abbott called a special legislative session beginning July 21, instructing lawmakers to find a way to strictly regulate the hemp derivative rather than ban it outright.

Vetoed funds for summer food program

In an action that attracted less notice, Abbott vetoed a $60 million appropriation that would have provided funds for Texas to administer the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program.

Currently, 37 other states participate in the USDA program that helps reduce food insecurity by providing low-income families access to food when their children are out of school.

Eligible families receive a preloaded EBT card with $40 a month per eligible child to purchase food from approved grocery stores.

In his line-item veto of the appropriation, Abbott cited “significant uncertainty regarding the federal matching rates for this and similar programs.”

 “Once there is more clarity about the long-term ramifications for creating such a program, the Legislature can reconsider funding this item,” Abbott stated.

Celia Cole, director of Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks, said her organization was “deeply disappointed” in the governor’s decision.

“This program would have provided critical nutrition support to children during the summer months when school meals are unavailable and food insecurity often peaks,” Cole stated.

“While we recognize that federal matching rates for SNAP remain uncertain due to the budget reconciliation bill currently being negotiated by Congress, this decision comes at a time when nearly 1 in 4 children in Texas already face food insecurity. Families across our state are struggling to put food on the table, and Summer EBT is a proven tool to help bridge that gap.

“We urge Congress to ensure that states are not burdened with unsustainable costs when implementing federal nutrition programs like Summer EBT and SNAP. We also call on federal lawmakers to reject proposals included in the budget reconciliation bill that would shift the financial burden of SNAP benefits or more administrative expenses onto states like Texas.”

Could have provided food for 4 million children

Jeremy Everett, founding executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, called news of the governor’s action “a gut punch.”

While the program would have cost the state $60 million, it would have produced a positive $450 million impact on Texas communities, he noted.

“Those are resources that would have been spent in local grocery stores, benefiting local communities and helping Texas farmers,” Everett said.

More importantly, it would have provided additional low-cost meals for up to 4 million children in the state’s most impoverished households, he insisted.

“These are families who already have the deck stacked against them,” he said.

Everett pointed to clear evidence linking nutritious meals to children’s improved educational outcomes and their long-term health and flourishing.

“Anything we can do to invest in our kids pays off in dividends down the road,” Everett said.

Budgets reveal values, he observed.

“Texas is at its best when we are investing in our lowest-income households, giving them opportunities to become self-sustaining and giving their children the opportunity to thrive as God intended,” Everett said.