Good morning –

Whatever position you take on the school choice movement, Thursday's budget debate in the Texas House is going to be revealing.

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

POLL: Trump Support Surges Among Texas Republicans

• New polling reveals the indictment of former President Donald Trump by a New York district attorney may be helping his chances at re-election in 2024.

      
• According to a poll commissioned by the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, 52 percent of Republican primary voters said they would vote for Donald Trump in the Republican primary election. That is up nine points from February.
   

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earned the second most support, with 20 percent of Republicans saying he was their first choice for president – that's down 7 percent from last month. Other candidates polled received support in the low single digits.

Senate Blocks Medical Mandates, Future Shutdowns

• State and local government entities will no longer have the power to restrict personal freedoms as they did during the height of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic scare under legislation endorsed by the Texas Senate. Soli Rice reports the reform legislation passed the Senate 20-10, but has an uncertain path in the Texas House.
      

• Beginning with the excuse of the COVID pandemic, state and local governments around the country have continued chipping away at personal freedoms under the guise of protecting personal health.
      
• To prevent future power grabs, State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) filed Senate Bill 29, with the other 18 Republican state senators signing on as co-authors. The issue was designated as a priority for both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott.

GOP Speaker Pro Tem Moves To Block Abbott's School Choice Push

• As the Republican-led Texas House stalls on conservative priorities, State Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) has signed on to a Democrat's proposal intended to block the implementation of school choice. Katy Marshall has the details.
       

• Ahead of Thursday's debate on the biennial budget, members of the Texas House have filed amendments for debate that would alter the proposed use of taxpayer dollars. One such amendment has been introduced – and passed – for several sessions running that blocks Texas from paying for school choice programs, including vouchers, education savings accounts, and tax credit scholarships.
      

• Geren’s public opposition to school choice is notable, as he was appointed by House Speaker Dade Phelan to serve as the speaker pro tempore—the No. 2 position in the chamber.
      

• Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and the Republican Party of Texas have all named school choice as legislative priorities.

ANALYSIS: ‘Education Freedom’ Faces House Test

• No issue has been more widely supported for so long, yet left completely ignored by the Texas Legislature, than that of “school choice” and “education freedom.”

     
• In previous years, without a serious push on school choice, members of the Texas House have biennially engaged in the ritualistic sacrifice of “school choice” to appease the gods of government growth and public education. They had nothing to fear.
       
• This year, with an active proposal on the table and the governor heavily promoting results, the situation is more dicey for lawmakers.
      

• School choice opponents have privately expressed frustration with the budget amendment being filed because, in 2023, there is still two months of session to fight it off an active proposal. They worry (correctly) this budget amendment might paint targets on their weak GOP allies at which Abbott and others can shoot ... for two months … and potentially flip.
      

• History says the good money is against education freedom in 2023, but history has never had the fight in Texas aligned quite like this.
     

• Republican House members will have to decide what they fear more: Abbott, Patrick, and the GOP base… or the Democrat-supporting teacher unions.

Despite Senate Opposition, House Advances Crony Gambling Proposal

• Even with the odds against them in the Senate, Brandon Waltens reports legislation to expand gambling in Texas is rolling through the House.
         

• Gambling proposals presented by House lawmakers include two facets: casino gambling and online sports betting. This week, the House State Affairs Committee rolled the dice on both.
      

• While supporters of the legislation claim gambling would bring in additional revenue to state government, opponents have highlighted the financial and social cost of such ventures. The Republican Party of Texas platform opposes any expansion of gambling, including legalized casino gambling and sports betting. 
      

• The casino measure would create a new state agency charged with picking eight regional monopoly enterprises run by out-of-state corporations aligned with labor unions.
     

• Cronyism... Government monopolies... Labor unions... What could go wrong?!
      

• During a recent appearance on The Mark Davis Show, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the bill does not have support among Senate Republicans.
      

• “Unless I have 15 to 16 Republicans, meaning it’s a Republican-driven bill because we’re a Republican-driven state, I’m not bringing a bill to the floor,” explained Patrick. “I need Republican consensus; otherwise, it’s a Democrat bill."

UPDATE: Senate Moves To Rein in Radical District Attorneys

• District attorneys who refuse to enforce state laws would face penalties from the state under legislation adopted by the Senate. Sydnie Henry reports all the chamber's Republicans and two Democrats voted for a measure that will bar prosecuting attorneys from limiting or prohibiting the enforcement of any criminal offense – whether they do so by adopting and enforcing actual policies, or simply by demonstrating by pattern or practice.
     

• It now goes to the Texas House.

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