Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, May 25, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Texas House Seeks To Overturn A.G. Election

• The House Committee on General Investigating could be poised to recommend that their colleagues censure or impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was re-elected by Texas voters just last year. As Brandon Waltens reports, a committee hearing rehashing old allegations dismissed by voters was held one day after Paxton called on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign due to alleged drunkenness on the floor of the House.

       

• At the public hearing yesterday morning, the committee heard testimony from a group of four investigators they had secretly appointed back in March. They presented nothing that had not been alleged against Paxton by his political opponents many times in the past.

       

• The main focus of the investigator’s report, however, was a settlement reached with four former employees of the Office of the Attorney General who say they were fired unfairly.
         

• In October 2020, eight of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s top aides accused him of bribery and abuse of office. After being terminated from employment, four of the employees filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Paxton, where they alleged that Paxton did political favors for a real estate developer and donor by having his office intervene in a legal dispute with the federal government.
       

• Earlier this year, Paxton appeared ready to settle with the employees. The settlement would require the legislature's consent, which has been given many times in similar situations to various elected officials – but the House is refusing in this case.
       

• All these charges had been made against Paxton by his 2022 primary and general election opponents and were overwhelmingly rejected by voters. 
           

• “It is not surprising that a committee appointed by liberal Speaker Dade Phelan would seek to disenfranchise Texas voters and sabotage my work as attorney general,” said Paxton. “The false testimony of highly partisan Democrat lawyers with the goal of manipulating and misleading the public is reprehensible. Every allegation is easily disproved, and I look forward to continuing my fight for conservative Texas values.”
       

• Under Speaker Dade Phelan, the House GOP caucus has spent the session killing conservative priorities, and now they want to end the session by taking out the most effective state attorney general in the nation fighting the Biden administration. Good luck explaining that record back home.

Meanwhile, In The House GOP Caucus... 

• More videos have emerged of House Speaker Dade Phelan seemingly impaired or intoxicated while conducting the business of the House. Independent journalist Greg Price released the clips on Twitter yesterday afternoon.
   
• "I have obtained over 6 minutes of Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan being either drunk or having mini strokes while presiding over the Texas House of Reps." – Greg Price

DPS Investigates Women Who Complained About Man in Capitol Restroom

• At the urging of Travis County District Attorney José Garza, the Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a group of women who complained online about a man’s presence in a female restroom at the Capitol.
      
• On May 12, as the Texas House was set to consider Senate Bill 14 to ban child gender mutilation, the legislation drew crowds from both sides of the issue. On one side were moms in red shirts, and on the other side were radical transgender activists.
       
• A man calling himself Nova Martin entered the ladies’ restroom near the House chamber, drawing objections from women in the facilities. As the women confronted Martin, one woman took a picture of him – fully clothed in a woman’s outfit and a bright wig, washing his hands at the sink, with his face concealed. This photo was then posted to Facebook, and from there shared on Twitter with the women complaining that they should not be forced to use Capitol facilities with a biological male.
        
• Martin describes himself as “America’s favorite transwoman feminist lesbian druidess poet.”
      

• Rather than investigate the man for violating the women's sense of safety, DPS is investigating the group of women who complained. DPS briefly detained one woman, seized her cell phone, and are attempting to question others.
     

• The Texas Department of Public Safety operates under the authority of Gov. Greg Abbott.

Voters In Texas Don't Have To Be Citizens?!

• A proposed constitutional amendment requiring a person to be a U.S. citizen to vote in Texas elections has died in the House. Emily Wilkerson reports the measure only received 88 House votes, falling short of the 100 out of 150 votes needed to adopt it.
       
• Fifty-four Democrats voted “present” after the floor debate, unwilling to cast a vote "for" or "against."
      
• The measure cleared the two-thirds threshold required of constitutional amendments when it passed the Texas Senate. Authored by Brian Birdwell (R–Granbury), Senate Joint Resolution 35 would have amended Article VI of the Texas Constitution to prohibit persons who are not citizens of the United States from voting in Texas elections.
      
• Ballotpedia reports that seven states forbid non-citizens from voting in state and local elections. Meanwhile, local jurisdictions in California, Maryland, and Vermont do allow non-citizens to vote in their elections.

Border Legislation Doesn’t Change the Current Paradigm

• In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Texas Senate passed landmark border security legislation but still failed to include provisions for the state to repel illegal border-crossers. While the measures mark an improvement from the status quo, Sydnie Henry reports that border security experts say not enough is being done.
       

• According to State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R–Granbury), the Senate’s committee substitute to House Bill 7 “will enhance border security operations, provide more tools to law enforcement and prosecutors, and increase the safety of our border regions in Texas.”
      
• But according to Chris Russo, president of  Texans for Strong Borders: “The new mission scope is very much a continuation of Operation Lone Star, which has done little to reduce the number of illegal crossings into our state.”
        
• The version of the legislation that passed the House would have required the new Texas Border Force to get permission from local counties before operating in the region. The Senate removed that provision.

Lawmakers Support Plan to Keep Sexually Explicit Books Out of Schools

• Both chambers of the Texas Legislature have adopted and advanced to the governor a parent-backed measure keeping sexually explicit books out of schools. Erin Anderson has the story.
        
• Authored by State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), House Bill 900 sets up state-level standards designed to keep inappropriate sexual content out of all Texas school libraries and classrooms. Patterson proposed the legislation in response to parents frustrated by months of local school officials dismissing their concerns and ignoring requests to remove sexually explicit materials.
         
• The measure places the burden on vendors to rate and label books based on sexual content. Vendors that fail to comply cannot sell books to Texas schools.
       
• It now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott. He can sign or veto the bill; otherwise, it becomes effective as law on Sept. 1.

Central Texas Church Promotes Gender Confusion In Children

• Living Word Lutheran Church will be hosting an “Affirming Afternoon” for families with gender-confused children in the Central Texas town of Buda. Soli Rice has the details.
      
• The free event is intended for children with "gender dysphoria" and their parents but is open to anyone regardless of age.
     
• The church's program will include lessons for parents on how to be more “accepting” and “affirming” of gender confusion in their children or their children’s friends.

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