Action Alerts
Lower Property Tax Rates for Texans With Disabilities
Last year, school finance reform passed by the Texas Legislature reduced local school property taxes for most homeowners. Left out of the reduction were homeowners with disabilities and senior citizens whose property taxes had been frozen. HB5 and HJR1 have been filed to correct this unfair situation. The legislation has been designated an emergency item and will move quickly. Advocates should contact their state representatives and senators to support HB5 and HJR1 _*as filed and without amendment.
It is Time for Texas to accept the ADA!
The Case: King Miller, an associate dean and professor, was diagnosed as being legally blind in 1999 due to a degenerative eye condition. King Miller sought high contrast tape to be placed on stairs. Texas Tech officials refused reasonable accommodations. King Miller brought suit against the university.
State of Texas Position:
- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, acting as Tech's attorney, filed a brief in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans arguing that Tech has sovereign immunity from the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and could not be held accountable for acts of discrimination based on disability.
- August 16, 2005: The 5th Circuit Court rules in favor of people with disabilities, declaring the State of Texas may not claim sovereign immunity from the ADA in Miller et al. v. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
- Texas Tech and the State have 90 days to appeal.
- Contact Texas Tech University and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
- Ask them to accept this decision and drop any further appeals.
| Addresses: | |
| Chancellor David Smith Texas Tech University 124 Administration Building Lubbock, TX 79409-0012 |
The Honorable Greg Abbott Attorney General P.O. Box 12548 Austin, TX 78711 |
Use the sample language below and mail a letter!
Dear Chancellor Smith and Attorney General Abbott:
I support the decision of the 5t Circuit Court. I ask you to waive any
further appeals and renounce the state sovereign immunity defense to the
ADA. Let us move on to the merits of each case.
Miller Case Heard in Louisiana Court of Appeals
On May 23, 2005, the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans (whose jurisdiction includes all people in the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi; and by legal precedent all Americans in the remaining 47 states) herd oral arguments by the State of Texas Attorney General office on behalf of employer Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the plaintiffs’ attorneys, the Dept. of Justice attorneys on behalf of the plaintiff, and possibly some of the two dozen national and regional advocacy groups who wrote "friend of the court " briefs in support of persons with disabilities.
The Texas State Attorney General Abott has asked the federal court system to grant the State of Texas total immunity from all disability discrimination law suits brought by citizens with a disability even when such actions are documented. The State of Texas Attorney General’s legal view is that the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives the State and state agencies immunity from all federal laws such as the ADA and Rehabilitation laws. State agencies include schools, universities, state hospitals & clinics and many others.
The U.S. Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas has ruled that disabled state employees have the right to sue the state for discriminatory actions. The State of Texas argues that it and agencies of the state are immune. The ruling in this case will set a precedent and standard for future discrimination cases. The outcome affects all Americans—those with current disabilities, those returning with war related disabilities, children, newborn babies, and aging grandparents.
