Like many involved in Republican politics in Texas the last twenty years, I’ve supported and worked with Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) often during the last twenty years. In an ironic twist, I’m now forced to oppose two of TLR’s signature bills this session. Policy outcomes are my guidepost, so I have no choice but to oppose these bad policies. Case in point is Rep. Jeff Leach’s trucking bill, HB 4688.
Currently, the law allows several dozen critical facts to be told to a jury when a semi-truck driver crashes into someone. Evidence that can be currently admitted includes:
- Whether the semi-truck driver could read or write English;
- Whether the semi-truck driver is using a foreign commercial license, CDLs from Cuba, Mexico and other nations now appear to be commonplace on Texas’ roads;
- Whether the semi-truck driver is a known alcoholic, drug user, or has a severe psychological disorder.
For the most part, we read the above and say, “Of course, a jury should hear these facts when a semi-truck driver hurts or kills someone on Texas’ roads.” But hold on to your seatbelts, Leach is close to passing a law that would keep juries from hearing this information, and another 30 or so pieces of evidence. He’s doing so at the urging of TLR and TLR’s new entity, the Lone Star Economic Alliance (LSEA).
As an aside, it’s not uncommon to discard one named entity when it becomes toxic, so that may be why LSEA was recently launched. We know both TLR and LSEA have the same president, Lee Parsley, and are run from the same office, per LSEA’s website, clipped here:
After much outcry from Republicans, Mr. Leach edited his bill, though his changes are little more than window dressing, as his desired outcomes are clear. He wants to limit what a jury hears, even if those limits defy common sense. For example, whether or not the semi-truck driver speaks English, is a drug user, an alcoholic, or driving on a foreign CDL. Mr. Leach and TLR/LSEA simply don’t want the jury to learn any of these facts after a semi-truck driver crashes into you.
In another ironic twist, President Trump signed an Executive Order this week mandating all semi-truck drivers in America adhere to “Common Sense Rules of the Road,” including that they be proficient in English. Our President signed this Executive Order just days after Mr. Leach bullied his fellow Republicans to vote move his trucking bill out of the committee he chairs and toward the House floor. Did those Republicans know they were protecting drivers who cannot read or speak English? What say you now, Reps. Dyson, Landgraf, LaHood, Hayes, Schofield?
Rep. Leach’s bill could also block evidence that the semi-truck driver who hurt or killed your spouse in a crash was also a human trafficker at the time of the crash.
That’s right…now Leach’s bill—which is promoted by the TLR/LSEA team (and their dozens of lobbyists)—keeps juries from learning that the foreign semi-truck driver who ran a red light and killed a woman and her child was also trafficking a dozen teenagers in the trailer of the semi-truck when he crashed into them.
Still, Republican House members, led by Rep. Leach, appear poised to pass a bill that not only bars admission of the driver’s habitual drug use, alcoholism, use of a foreign CDL, no CDL, refusal to take a drug test after the crash, driving more than 11 hours in a day, but also MANY more pieces of common sense evidence from coming before a jury.
Each reader may see for themselves, as page 5 of Leach’s revised bill, CSHB 4688, seeks to protect trucking companies at all costs, including barring admission of a section 383 which includes “severe forms of trafficking in persons” which is defined as “sex trafficking….in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age.”
Sadly, Rep. Leach and the most powerful lobbying entity in Texas appear committed to passing this trucking bill, no matter the harms. I’m writing this because Rep. Leach is unwilling to listen to those with opposing views (he’s refusing to speak to me, for example).
I fear that in the haste of a busy legislative session, other House members will follow Leach and the powerful lobbyists associated with this bill and vote it into law without learning the bill’s harms: protecting some of the most evil in our society. In fact, I doubt Omni Hotels, ABC Home & Commercial Services, IBC Bank, Amazon, Loves, AirBnB, Triple A, and the companies listed as supporters agree with limiting liability for sex traffickers.
Instead, I suspect their names are being used as “supporters” of an organization and or a filed bill that no one has thoughtfully reviewed for the unintended consequences. Please alert these companies of this harm. See a link to the dozens of companies listed as LSEA members promoting the House and Senate versions here: Lone Star Economic Alliance
What else can you do? After calling these companies, call your state representative immediately and tell them to protect Texans, not foreign truck drivers. Tell them to STOP Leach’s trucking bill!
We’ll see if they listen. And what Governor Abbott does if the bill lands on his desk. It’s a crazy time; we’ll know in a few weeks.
