Key Accomplishments

Disaster Recovery

• August 2021: Construction begins on the last of 569 public housing units in Galveston — replacing one-for-one units destroyed by Hurricane Ike — in compliance with our 2010 Conciliation Agreement over Hurricane Ike and Dolly federal disaster recovery funds.
• August 2020: Worked with partners Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER), Houston Organizing Movement for Equity (HOME), and Bayou City Waterkeeper to create a Community Flood Resilience Task force, approved by the Harris County Commissioners Court, that works with Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and other county departments to ensure equity in flood infrastructure.
• 2019: Worked with partners HOME and CEER to include, for the first time, equity language in Harris County’s $2.5 billion flood bond and a new formula for prioritizing projects that includes equity markers like the social vulnerability index, to help prioritize the most vulnerable and underserved areas.
• October 2017: Held a town hall meeting in Beaumont with the United Way and Catholic Social Services to provide disaster survivors with information about the disaster recovery process and their legal rights.
• 2017: Helped pass SB 499, adopting the Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act, which gives family members additional rights in the partition process and gives judges more discretion to consider factors like wealth preservation and how long the property has been in the family when deciding on partition.
• 2015: Published the report Lessons from Texas: 10 Years of Disaster Recovery Examined, evaluating disaster recovery in Texas and the failings of the American disaster recovery system. 
• 2014: With our partners Texas Housers and Texas Organizing Project (TOP), reached an agreement with the City of Houston to target disaster recovery funds, including housing funds and $26 million in infrastructure funds for drainage, to three selected Community Revitalization Areas in neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Ike.
• 2013: Our advocacy with local partners for rebuilding public housing in the City of Orange resulted in a plan to rebuild and move several developments to higher opportunity areas with less crime, better schools, and less vulnerability to disasters.
• 2011: In partnership with colonia residents, organizing groups, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, obtained $14 million for drainage in the colonias, which suffered the worst Hurricane Dolly flooding and had hazardous standing water for weeks after the storm.
• 2010: Used our Conciliation Agreement with the State to support TOP in obtaining an agreement with the Mayor of Houston that moved $30 million in disaster recovery funds to repairing single family homes damaged by Hurricane Ike.
• May 2010: Signed a HUD-approved Conciliation Agreement with the State — the result of two fair housing administrative complaints with our partner Texas Housers — in which the State agreed to comply with Fair Housing laws in allocating more than $3 billion in disaster recovery funds, and assuring historically underserved communities would get their fair share of the funds. As a result of this Conciliation Agreement, millions of dollars have flowed to these communities. 
• 2010: Settled Ridgely v. FEMA, a class action Texas Appleseed co-counseled, challenging FEMA’s denial of housing and other disaster assistance, and its procedures for collecting overpayments. FEMA agreed to pay over $2.6 million into a settlement fund.
• 2009: Helped pass HB 2450, allowing low-income families without clear titles to their home to qualify for disaster assistance with alternative documentation of ownership.
• April 2009: Convinced the state housing agency to change its policy on clear title as a requirement for disaster recovery benefits, largely allowing low-income disaster victims and people of color affected by disasters to rebuild their homes.
• 2008: Successfully advocated for policy and program changes, including rewriting the application, in the Rita homeowner assistance program that made the program more accessible and navigable for low-income homeowners. 
• 2006: Co-counseled Watson, et al. v. FEMA, a class-action suit to prevent FEMA from cutting off emergency housing assistance and rendering homeless more than 50,000 low-income evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. FEMA extended their deadline for housing assistance by almost a full year.
• 2006: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FEMA developed a policy making benefit applications and other critical information more easily accessible to hurricane disaster victims who are deaf and hearing impaired, based on advocacy by Texas Appleseed and other organizations.
• 2006: Organized FEMA Appeals Clinics with Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, Lone Star Legal Aid, and the City of Houston, for evacuees appealing denial of FEMA benefits. More than 14 clinics were held across the city, serving more than 500 clients.
• 2006: Co-sponsored a Hurricane Housing Forum in Houston that provided information and assistance to over 800 Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
• August 2006: Obtained $1 million of relief for Katrina evacuees in Houston who could not afford utility deposits. With the City of Houston, Office of Public Utility Counsel, Texas Ratepayers Organization to Save Energy, and Texas Legal Services Center, we filed a petition to the Public Utility Commission of Texas to waive utility service deposits for evacuees, which resulted in major electric providers in Houston voluntarily donating almost $500,000 for utility deposits to social service agencies and allowing some hurricane victims to make special payment arrangements.
• August 2006: Published A Continuing Storm: The On-Going Struggles of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees, a comprehensive study of the status of more than one million Katrina evacuees in six cities across the country, in collaboration with national Appleseed and pro bono law firms.

Fair Housing

• 2021: Our letter on behalf of coalition partners urging TxDOT not to finalize its plans for the expansion of I-45 in Houston and Harris County because of their disproportionate adverse impact on people of color in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was accepted as an administrative complaint by the Federal Highway Administration. The FHWA has asked TxDOT not to move forward with any I-45 related activity until its civil rights investigation is complete.
• 2019: Texas Appleseed data on cross programmatic issues like access to fair  financial services is included in the Austin Regional Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI). The AI examined barriers to housing choice — from housing discrimination to access to transportation — and committed the region to a plan to overcome those barriers.
• 2017: Worked with community partners in the Rio Grande Valley to challenge Hidalgo County’s Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) for failing to address a number of fair housing issues. HUD asked the County to revise its AFH in accordance with our challenge. Unfortunately, HUD withdrew the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule that required HUD to approve AFHs in 2018 before Hidalgo County was due to submit its revised AFH.
• 2014: Successfully opposed a state-subsidized project to rehabilitate an assisted development on the fence line of the largest refinery in North America. Tenants were moved to other developments further from environmental hazards.
• 2011: Worked with the State of Texas and partner Texas Housers to ensure the State’s Phase 1 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice for disaster areas complied with civil rights requirements and was approved by HUD.

• Legislative gains
• 2023: SB 2105 creates a new requirement for data brokers to register with the state and to implement an information security program with safeguards to protect personal data. Data brokers currently collect and sell individual data with almost no oversight or limitations. By requiring registration, the bill establishes transparency and is an important step towards giving Texans more control over their personal data. This bill helps vulnerable adults and survivors of domestic violence, as it offers a step towards protection from use of this data for financial abuse.
• 2023: HB 4 establishes the state's first comprehensive data privacy protections. It provides Texas residents the right to know, access, correct, and delete personal data held by covered businesses, as well as opt out of the collection and sale of personal data. Texas Appleseed successfully advocated for enhanced consumer protections in the bill, including stronger enforcement rights and the creation of a guide to assist Texans in understanding and utilizing their data privacy rights.
• 2021: Successfully advocated for HB 3529, which builds on important changes from the 2019 legislative session that updated the criminal definition of identity theft to include debts incurred through coercion. This bill streamlines Texas law to ensure access to remedies under Chapter 521 of the Business and Commerce Code for victims of coerced debt. Chapter 521 enables victims to be declared victims of identity theft in state district court, based on the facts surrounding a particular debt. Once a person has such a declaration from a court, it can be used as a defense in a debt collection lawsuit to remove coerced debts from a credit report and to stop other collection efforts. This expansion is essential for survivors of domestic violence, as they often face pushback from credit bureaus and debt collectors even when they have a police report alleging identity theft. It also helps survivors of domestic violence who may not feel comfortable going to the police because of fear or intimidation.
• 2019: Successfully advocated to ensure state oversight of online consumer lending through an amendment to Sunset Bill HB 1442, which reauthorized the Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC).
• 2019: Helped lead efforts to ensure the passage of HB 2697, which expands the definition of identity theft to include debts incurred through coercion (coerced debt), creating a pathway to financial recovery for victims of financial abuse.
• 2019: Advocated for passage of HB 996 that closes a loophole in Texas law to protect people against “zombie debts.” The new protections include stopping lawsuits when the statute of limitations has expired (typically debts more than four years old in Texas) and prohibiting a person’s payment for an old debt from re-starting the litigation clock.
• 2019: Supported passage of HB 2524, which tightens a loophole in Texas law that allowed rent-to-own businesses to use criminal charges to collect on defaulted debts. These abuses by rent-to-own businesses led to hefty fines and jail time for Texans.
• 2017: Helped lead efforts to pass SB 1911, which expands access to self-help resources in all state and county courts for Texans who don't have legal representation.
• 2017: Worked with a group of stakeholders to support passage of HB 3921, creating clearer standards and accountability for financial institutions and securities brokers to identify and report financial abuse of vulnerable adults.
• 2011: Advocated, as part of a broad coalition, for HB 2594 and HB 2592, which created basic licensing, data reporting standards and consumer disclosures for payday and auto title loan businesses in Texas. 
• Payday & auto title lending reform
• 2011-current: More than 10 million Texas residents now protected from abusive payday and auto title lending through strong laws in 45 Texas cities. Worked with cities, faith and community organizations to support passage of these local ordinances. A 2019 analysis showed that the ordinance has beneficial local impacts, including reducing all of the following: refinances, new loans, vehicle repossessions, and fees. 
• 2011: Helped secure passage of “first step” reform legislation to license payday and auto title lenders and bring greater transparency to this multi-million dollar industry in Texas.
• Lower-cost consumer loan alternatives
• 2016: Developed a resource for city governments to build on the important local payday and auto title loan ordinance work. This resource features case studies of successful efforts to expand access to low-cost, small-dollar loan options that enhance the financial wellbeing of communities. 
• 2012: Published a report on more affordable small-dollar loan alternatives to payday and auto title loans ripe for expansion in Texas.
• Preventing financial abuse and upholding consumer rights
• 2019: Produced Abuse by Credit: The Problem of Coerced Debt in Texas, a first-of-its-kind study examining the growing problem of identity theft within abusive relationships. Following the report, the State of Texas passed HB 2697, which expands the definition of identity theft to include debts incurred through coercion.
• 2018: Examined the auto insurance market in Texas and produced the report, Out of Alignment: Women & Discrimination in the Texas Auto Insurance Market. The report documents pricing discrimination in Texas based on gender and marital status, revealing that unmarried women and widows often pay the highest average prices for this legally mandated insurance product.
• 2018: Published a toolkit, My Debt Collection Rights in Texas, to inform Texans of their rights in the debt collection process. The toolkit features videos, forms and interactive information to help Texans through all aspects of the debt collection process — from spotting scams and other deceptive practices to guidance to how to engage in the court process if they are sued.
• 2017: Launched a comprehensive online and printed toolkit, with partner AARP Texas, consisting of five guides that are tailored to the needs of different fiduciary/supporter capacities who manage money or property for someone who is unable to do so themselves. Available in English and Spanish at www.ProtectTheirMoneyTx.org.
• Safeguards on remitting money abroad
• U.S. families who send money oversees are now protected with remittance rules, assuring they know the true cost of sending the money and have full disclosures.
• 2013: Texas Appleseed research, in collaboration with the national Appleseed office, helped to inform the final remittance rules adopted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
• 2003: Led an initiative to pass Texas’ 2003 landmark law to protect consumers who “remit” or wire funds internationally — providing the model for far-reaching remittance protections contained in federal financial regulatory reform legislation passed in July 2010.
• Texas Fair Lending Alliance
• 2012-current: Helped build a new and expanding broad-based coalition to push for rate and fee reductions on payday & auto title loans for consumers who, all too often, become trapped in a cycle of debt while trying to repay these loans.
• Financial literacy
• 2005-2008: Created and distributed more than 500,000 English and Spanish language financial education brochures to help underserved communities learn how to open a bank account, build credit, and make safe loans.
• Shared our work around financial literacy for recent immigrants with countries around the world, who learned from our work and replicated our brochures.
• FDIC Texas New Alliance Task Force
• 2004-2005: Partnered with the FDIC and Federal Reserve to launch this Task Force based on a successful FDIC model in Chicago. The Task Force brought together financial institutions, regulators and community organizations to address the banking needs of immigrant communities. This initiative evolved into the Texas Alliance for Economic Inclusion, part of the national FDIC effort to improve financial inclusion of underserved communities.

Legislative gains

• 2023: SB 1612 was part of a civil fees clean-up effort and abolished the remaining juvenile court fees levied against youth and their families. Now, justice-involved youth and their families can focus on rehabilitation instead of worrying about paying burdensome court fees.
• 2023: Successfully advocated for HB 3186, which requires local governments to adopt a diversion plan for youth charged with fine-only offenses in municipal and justice courts. Currently, municipal and justice courts can only order diversion strategies after a case has been convicted or deferred, whereas this new law allows diversion at the front end of a case.
• 2023: Our advocacy over the years and during this legislative session helped lead to HB 1819 becoming law, which abolished a local government’s ability to enact a juvenile curfew ordinance that targets youth and can subject them to a criminal record and high court fees, all without appointed counsel. Now, vulnerable youth, including those who may be homeless or fleeing abuse, cannot be punished for simply being in a public space at certain hours.   
• 2021: Texas Appleseed advocated for SB 41, which abolished many juvenile fees. Juvenile fees exacerbate racial-ethnic disparities, increase youth recidivism, and generally cost more money than jurisdictions can collect. The bill was led by the Office of Court Administration and informed by our advocacy, as well as the research of the Berkeley Policy Advocacy Clinic.
• 2015: Supported passage of SB 1630, which required TJJD to develop a regionalization plan and diversion program focused on keeping children closer to home in lieu of commitment to a state secure facility.
• 2011: Texas Appleseed supported passage of SB 653, which merged the Texas Youth Commission and Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and created the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The bill prioritized community-based care closer to a youth’s home in the language describing the new agency’s purpose.
• 2011: No child under 12 can be criminally prosecuted in adult court for Class C Misdemeanors after legislation supported by Texas Appleseed passed.
• 2008-2013: In coalition with other advocacy partners, legislative advocacy helped spur closure of multiple state secure facilities, resulting in a more than a 70% reduction in the number of youth in state secure lockups, principally by supporting budget initiatives focused on reallocating funds away from state secure lockups and into local juvenile probation services. Texas Appleseed’s work on this continues with an effort to close the remaining facilities.

Shackling

• 2022-2023: Due in part to Texas Appleseed's advocacy, the Supreme Court of Texas issued a rule ending the indiscriminate shackling of young people in juvenile hearings. The rule took effect on June 1, 2023. Before the rule’s issuance, children across Texas were routinely shackled at their wrists and ankles when appearing before a judge, even when charged with low-level offenses or having no previous criminal history. With the rule, youth will only be shackled in hearings if the court finds they are a risk to themselves or others, or if they are a flight risk. Legal experts and youth justice advocates agree that this practice can be traumatizing, developmentally harmful, and have a chilling effect on due process. It also runs counter to the presumption of innocence inherent to our justice system.
• 2018-2021: Texas Appleseed convinced some courts to stop shackling all youth and worked with policymakers at the Texas legislature, who passed a bill asking the Supreme Court, in conjunction with the Children’s Commission, to provide guidance around the shackling of juveniles in courts and ensure uniformity throughout the state. In response, the Children’s Commission worked with stakeholders, including Texas Appleseed, to examine current shackling practices and concluded a rule was needed to ensure youth’s due process rights are applied consistently throughout the state.

State secure juvenile facilities

• 2021: The U.S. Department of Justice announced its investigation into Texas’ five state secure juvenile justice facilities run by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD). Texas Appleseed and Disability Rights Texas filed a complaint with the DOJ in 2020 urging the investigation based on unconstitutional conditions and grievous violations of children’s constitutional rights.
• 2012: Texas Appleseed, Advocacy, Inc. (now Disability Rights Texas), the Center for Public Representation, and the National Center for Youth Law filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice urging the Department to investigate unconstitutional conditions and failure to provide required mental health services, advocacy that helped spur a legislative initiative in 2013 focused on closing a remote, condition-plagued state secure facility used by the TJJD to house children with significant mental health issues. 
• 2007: Successfully settled a lawsuit alleging that the Texas Youth Commission violated the Administrative Procedure Act by adopting an emergency administrative rule related to use of pepper spray in state secure juvenile facilities. The emergency rule resulted in a dramatic increase in pepper spray use. The settlement resulted in a rewrite of the rules related to use of force, and allowed Texas Appleseed and Advocacy, Inc. (now Disability Rights Texas) access to the facilities to interview youth.  

Juvenile curfew ordinances

• 2023: Our advocacy at the local level contributed to the movement that led to the successful passage of legislation eliminating juvenile curfews statewide. Now, vulnerable youth, including those who may be homeless or fleeing abuse, cannot be punished for simply being in a public space at certain hours.   
• 2018-2019: Texas Appleseed continued to advocate for abolishing the curfew ordinances in Houston and Dallas, leading to some gains such as weakening the enforcement provisions and including more protections for young people.
• 2018: Texas Appleseed successfully advocated for the decriminalization of the San Antonio juvenile curfew ordinance, along with youth and other groups. The San Antonio City Council changed its youth curfew ordinance on May 31, and the new ordinance went into effect June 4. The curfew had criminalized youth who were out during certain hours. Youth ages 10 to 16 could be sent to adult criminal court without an attorney, faced fines up to $500, and could end up with a criminal record. Now, youth experiencing homelessness, youth who work late hours, and other young people won’t be saddled with tickets, court time, or a criminal record simply because they are out during certain hours. By decriminalizing the curfew, the City is supporting young people and utilizing non-law enforcement interventions to help youth, including through a Re-engagement Center, staffed by Municipal Court caseworkers, where various treatments and aid can be provided, from addressing mental health needs to helping human trafficking victims.
• 2017: With the tremendous efforts of young people and parents, Texas Appleseed successfully advocated for the expiration of the Austin juvenile curfew ordinance. The ordinance, in effect for over 20 years, created a Class C misdemeanor to punish youth who were not in school or who were out at night between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Despite evidence that curfew laws harm youth and do not reduce juvenile crime, kids as young as 10 years old were subject to appear in adult criminal court without an attorney, could face fines of up to $500, and could end up with a criminal record. After achieving an early victory in ending the daytime curfew, Texas Appleseed helped lead a 29-member workgroup, convened by the Austin City Council, and teamed with city officials to find more appropriate solutions for youth than ticketing. The City Council sided with youth and families and voted to let the ordinance expire.