TEXAS – As the 87th legislative session continues, most Texans who want to make their voices heard on bills have to testify in person or submit it in writing electronically.
Giving testimony over videoconference will only be an option for people invited to speak by committee chairs.
But one woman says that due to her age and her disability, testifying in person during a pandemic is too great a risk.
Growing up with muscular dystrophy, Nancy Crowther says she was, "…pretty much isolated. Not everything was accessible to people in wheelchairs.”
When she started her freshman year at UT Austin, other students with disabilities introduced her to the world of advocacy work.
“I came from a one-wheelchair town, you know, and I was like, what's this advocacy stuff? And it's like, 'Well you fight for your rights.' And people with disabilities have to do that because there aren't a lot of rights we have," said Crowther.
She spent most of her decades-long career working on accessible transportation for people with disabilities.
Since she retired, she’s become a full-time volunteer activist.
“I see the strength in numbers, I see the advocacy. And to this day we're still fighting. You know, for rights, and community living and access," said Crowther.
She has also testified at every Texas legislative session since 1985.
“We go to offices; we have position papers; we give them testimony; we go into hearings. We as a group are very, you know, formidable. They know when we're at the Capitol," said Crowther.
Last legislative session, she fought for increased pay and benefits for personal attendants, who allow people with disabilities like herself to live in their own homes in the community.
“Last session was when my attendant got a raise of 11 cents an hour. And now, the base wage for attendants is $8.11. Who makes that?" said Crowther. "These are people who, in my world and in a lot of people's worlds, they are the arms and legs. They are the backbone.”
But this session might be the first since 1985 that she won’t be at the Capitol.
“I’ve been out of this house… maybe 10 times since last March," said Crowther. "I cannot get infected. I will die because my lungs are already compromised.”
In the Texas House, only people invited by committee chairs will be able to give testimony via videoconference.
Everyone else who wants to participate in public comment can either submit it in writing online or testify in person.
“We wanted to start with a foundation and really be positive and try to be innovative and really try to get folks different ways to provide input to committees," said Rep. Todd Hunter, a Republican who represents the state's 32nd district in the Texas House, and also helped craft the House rules for the 87th legislative session. "Can we expand and improve? The answer's yes, and I'm sure we will.”
The House is not requiring a negative COVID-19 test to attend committee hearings, and Crowther hasn’t been able to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
She says testifying in person is too risky for her and she doesn’t understand why testifying via videoconference isn’t an option for public comment.
“I’m angry. I'm angry knowing that the opportunity for testimony, one, has been cut off, and two, that there's a reasonable technology out there to allow for testimony, and they're refusing to use it," said Crowther.
Hunter says that members of the public are free to reach out to committee chairs to request an invitation to testify via videoconference.
But whether they extend the invitation or not is entirely up to committee chairs.
“We've really given the discretion and the authority on the operation to the committee themselves and the chairs of the committees," said Hunter.
Crowther says it feels like just another barrier to equal access.
“It just amazes me, I thought it'd all be over once the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed – nope, we're still fighting. And it's sad that we have to keep doing that, but I guess that's what keeps us young," said Crowther.