Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, June 7, 2023. 

– Brandon Waltens 

Patrick Challenges Abbott to a Debate

• With the temperature increasing on the ongoing battle between state leaders on how to best distribute property tax relief funds, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is challenging Gov. Greg Abbott to a public debate to sort it out. 
   

• While property tax relief was a legislative priority of Abbott, the House and Senate have been at odds all year on their approach to property tax relief. While the House advocated for stronger appraisal caps, the Senate has supported an increase to the homestead exemption.
   

• Abbott, meanwhile, has increasingly embraced a plan to use the money to help buy down—or “compress”—local school property taxes.
   

• At a press conference yesterday, Patrick blasted the proposal and argued that a homestead exemption increase would ensure more property tax relief goes to homeowners rather than businesses.
   

• Going even further, Patrick challenged Abbott to a 45-minute Lincoln-Douglas debate on the issue next week. Abbott deflected the invitation and said it was up to the House and Senate to reach an agreement.
   

• The battling proposals have created an interesting divide. Abbott’s plan has received support from groups like the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, and the Huffines Liberty Foundation. 
   

• Others, like Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi, have argued Abbott is not serious about property tax elimination, especially when more money could have been allocated to property tax relief in the budget this session, and prefer the Senate plan to benefit young and working-class families. 
   

Abbott Signs Ban on Child Gender Mutilation Procedures into Law

• After a measure to ban child gender mutilation procedures in Texas passed the House and Senate, Gov. Greg Abbott has officially signed the legislation, the final step before it goes into effect later this year. Emily Wilkerson has the story. 
   

• Senate Bill 14 by State Sen. Donna Campbell (R–New Braunfels) would protect children from being chemically castrated by puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and from receiving mutilative surgeries to “transition” them.
   

• The bill also prohibits the use of public money to be indirectly or directly granted, paid, or distributed to any healthcare provider, medical school, or hospital that performs gender mutilation surgeries or provides hormone blockers to minors.
   

• The Senate passed the bill in early April, but it was quickly derailed in the House by two points of order, which Speaker Dade Phelan upheld, causing it to be delayed. However, in early May, the House finally passed the legislation, ultimately sending it to Abbott for his signature.
   

• The law will go into effect on September 1. 

Prosper ISD Faces Another Federal Lawsuit

• Prosper Independent School District is facing another federal lawsuit, this time for failing to accommodate a student’s disabilities. Erin Anderson has the details. 
   
• The district and its superintendent, Holly Ferguson, are already defendants in a federal suit alleging Prosper ISD failed to protect two elementary school girls from months of sexual abuse by a bus driver and then covered up the crimes.
   
• Prosper ISD’s latest legal troubles center around Jocelyn Spence, a student athlete who just graduated from Rock Hill High School.
   
• Jocelyn’s parents, Jamie and Greg Spence, say they are “disgusted and saddened” that local high school staff discriminated against their learning-disabled daughter in apparent violation of federal civil rights laws and district policies.
   
• But the Spences are even more disturbed by how Prosper ISD administrators responded, and failed to respond, to their complaints.

Nikki Haley to Fundraise in Texas

• As presidential announcements continue rolling out, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is planning a fundraising trip, during which she will visit three Texas cities in three days. 
   
• A recent poll of Texas Republican voters shows that only 3 percent say they support Haley for president, down two points from last month.
   
• In an attempt to gain more traction for her campaign, Haley has garnered the support of many high-profile Texans, including former President George W. Bush White House Counsel Harriet Miers and attorney Cynthia Picket-Stevenson. 
   
• Haley has tied herself to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R–San Antonio) and has called him the “Border King,” despite Gonzales being censured by the Republican Party of Texas for violating its principles.  
   
• Gonzales was among some Republicans who failed to join other GOP members in supporting the Border Safety and Security Act of 2023, which called for the secretary of Homeland Security to prevent illegal aliens from entering the country.

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