Good morning!

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, May 18, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

House Would Put $16 Billion Toward Property Tax Relief

• Later today, the Texas House is slated to debate a revised property tax relief proposal that, in essence, combines the differing proposals originally passed by the Senate and the House. Brandon Waltens has the details. 
   

• Since the beginning of the session, the House and Senate have been at odds on how to deliver property tax relief.

      

• The proposal originally passed by the Senate would increase the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000 and allow seniors or disabled adults to get an additional $30,000. Meanwhile, the House’s original version limited how much the taxable value of a property can increase each year by lowering the appraisal cap from 10 percent to 5 percent. Both versions offered around $12 billion in new property tax relief.
       

• The new House proposal increases the homestead exemption to $100,000 while lowering the appraisal cap to 5 percent. An independent analysis by Texans for Fiscal Responsibility finds $16 billion in new tax relief.
      

• “It’s a great victory for taxpayers everywhere that the House has increased the Senate’s property tax relief package to $16 billion in new relief. They are now about $4 billion away from giving Texas the largest property tax cut in history,” said Tim Hardin, the president of TFR.
      

• While House Speaker Dade Phelan has claimed the plan provides "$21 billion" in property tax relief, Hardin explains that this “fuzzy math” was created by counting previously existing property tax relief passed in 2019.
       

• Any compromise between the House and Senate must move quickly. The legislative session ends on May 29.

Florida and Idaho Respond to Abbott’s Request for Border Assistance

• Following the expiration of Title 42, Gov. Greg Abbott sent letters to governors across the nation, requesting assistance in handling Texas’ border crisis. Soli Rice reports Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Brad Little of Idaho have agreed to send help.

     
• "In the federal government’s absence, we, as Governors, must band together to combat President Biden’s ongoing border crisis and ensure the safety and security that all Americans deserve," wrote Abbott.
      
• DeSantis has committed to sending 1,100 personnel, including National Guard soldiers, law enforcement, and other first responders as well as vehicles and other equipment.
      
• “Idaho is proud to support Gov. Abbott alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis in response to the ongoing border crisis,” stated Little on social media. “We are stepping up to protect our communities and our nation!”

Texas Hospital Resumes Sterilizing and Mutilating Children

• A new report finds that the largest children’s hospital in Texas—and the United States—has restarted medical interventions for gender-confused children only three days after announcing they would stop the practice. Katy Marshall has the details.
       
• Investigative journalist Christopher Rufo has found internal records from Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, revealing that the institution continued performing child gender mutilation surgeries.
   
• In March, the hospital claimed they were halting these procedures after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a legal opinion explaining that the medical treatments—including providing minors with sterilizing cross-sex hormones and surgically removing their healthy body parts—classify as child abuse.
      
• Video has also emerged of Baylor College of Medicine ethics professor Claire Horner explaining how parental rights block “gender-affirming care” efforts. “The biggest hang-ups are going to be … the parental rights issue,” said Horner.
      
• Yes, parental rights are such an inconvenience to those who want to sterilize and mutilate mentally ill children. There is a special ring of hell reserved for doctors who take advantage of mentally ill children in the name of cashing insurance checks and creating victims dependent on lifelong medical intervention.

Senate Advances Effort Reining In Local Regulations

• Legislation to roll back a “patchwork” of county and municipal ordinances in multiple areas of policy is one step closer to the governor’s desk after being adopted by the Texas Senate. Emily Wilkerson explains that the measure passed out of the House last month.

        

• State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) described the measure as “a lifeline for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and job creators in Texas who need consistency and certainty to invest, expand and grow.”

       
• The legislation (House Bill 2127) effectively repeals any local ordinance that conflicts with state law and prohibits any attempt to enact or enforce such an ordinance. It also allows anyone adversely affected by a potential violation of this law to bring legal action against the city or county that committed the violation.

House Approves ‘Save Women’s Sports’ Measure

• House lawmakers gave tentative approval yesterday to legislation protecting women’s collegiate athletics from men masquerading as women. Sydnie Henry has the story.

        
• Senate Bill 15, authored by State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R–Galveston), extends the current ban on boys competing in girls’ public school sports teams to include Texas' public colleges and universities.
           
• Sponsoring the legislation in the House was Valoree Swanson (R-Spring), who highlighted the physical differences between men and women in supporting the effort. She pointed to well-publicized cases of college women being forced to compete against – and share showers and locker rooms with – biological men. 
      
• Some Democrats tried to derail the legislation, such as John Bucy (D-Austin) complaining that there is “no evidence” it is an issue. 
      

• In their reckless embrace of transgender lunacy, a great many Democrats have made themselves scientifically and biologically illiterate. 

      
• Ultimately, the legislation was approved by a vote of 93-49 – with a half-dozen Democrats in support.

Senate Committee Considers Effort To Police Big Tech

• Members of the Senate State Affairs Committee heard testimony this week about legislation requiring social media companies to verify users are at least 18 years of age when signing up or have the consent of their parents or guardians to do so. Darrell Frost reports one witness described efforts to keep children safe as “a David vs. Goliath fight.”
       
• The legislation was passed out of the House by a vote of 125-20 in late April. It has not yet been scheduled for a vote by the Senate.
       
• As Texas Scorecard reported in December of last year, minors active on social media have been shown to be at greater risk of developing mental health problems, engaging in self-harm, and committing suicide. 

Support Texas Scorecard?

Will you make a special, tax-deductible contribution to support the mission and work of Texas Scorecard? We don’t take government grants or corporate sponsorships, and we don’t put our content behind a paywall. Your support makes Texas Scorecard possible!

Directory of Your U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

This information is automatically inserted based on the mailing address you provide to us. If you'd like to update your contact information, please visit our subscriber portal.