Good morning,

Yesterday, we asked readers about lawmakers collecting thousands of dollars in "per diem" expenses even while not at the Capitol. You'll find their reactions at the conclusion of today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan
Tuesday, July 11, 2023

Patrick, Senate Largely Victorious in Property Tax Relief Deal

• An agreement has been reached between the leaders of the Texas House and Senate on property tax relief, signaling a likely end to the standoff that has lasted since the Legislature convened at the beginning of the year. Brandon Waltens has the details.

      

• While the legislation had yet to be filed when the agreement was announced yesterday, the broad terms of the deal appear to follow a proposal put forward by Lt. Gov. Patrick and the Senate with a focus on increasing the homestead exemption to $100,000.

       

• Speaker Dade Phelan and the House had previously advocated for stronger appraisal caps, before pivoting toward a plan to use the entire budgeted amount for rate compression only – that is, lowering the property tax rate.

       
• The announced plan includes the enlarged homestead exemption, puts $7 billion toward rate compression, and includes a three-year pilot program for what is being called a “20% circuit breaker” appraisal cap on non-homesteaded properties under $5 million in value.
      

• Gov. Greg Abbott, who had repeatedly supported using all the money for compression, said he would sign the legislation when it reaches his desk.
       

• Some fiscal analysts, like Tim Hardin of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, criticized the agreement for being too small and failing to address a plan to ultimately eliminate school property taxes altogether.
      

• "Who won? Did Phelan win? Did Patrick win? All we know is taxpayers lose..." – Tim Hardin

Abbott Replaces Interim Attorney General

• With Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton still suspended from office while awaiting his impeachment trial in the Senate, Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed a new interim attorney general—his second since Paxton’s impeachment in May.

        
• The first appointee was John Scott, put in place shortly after Paxton's impeachment by the Texas House. It was revealed last week by Texas Scorecard that Scott's Fort Worth-based law firm had agreed earlier this year to represent scandal-plagued La Joya ISD in their challenge against a takeover by the Texas Education Agency.
       
• Abbott announced yesterday that his deputy chief of staff, Angela Colmenero, would take over the post this coming Friday, July 14.

Wealthy Bureaucrats and Struggling Taxpayers

• In the first of a two-part investigative series, Robert Montoya explores the growing divide between two Texases: one for those in government, and one for citizens.
       
• “There’s no doubt that an elite few are getting rich off the taxpayer teat,” said James Quintero of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
       
• Economist Vance Ginn said the median household income in Texas is $67,404. The city manager of Dallas was paid $410,000 in 2022.
      
• The commissioner for the Texas Department of Insurance makes $217,000, with 16 deputy commissioners receiving a combined $2.6 million in salary.
       
• While part 1 of the series focuses on state and local governments, part 2 – which will be released later today – explores the budgets and salaries in public education.

Kayaking Company Sues State Over Border Buoy Barriers

• An Eagle Pass business owner has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Greg Abbott, the State of Texas, and the Department of Public Safety for the Operation Lone Star border buoy initiative. Valerie Muñoz reports the lawsuit was filed in Travis County.

       
• Epi’s Canoe & Kayak Team owner Jesse Fuentes claims media coverage and installation of the buoy barrier have led to the cancellation of kayak events and will cause long-term “imminent and irreparable harm” to his business.
      
• Fuentes is also a member of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition, an organization founded to oppose border wall measures.
      
• “We will see you in court. And don’t think the Travis Co. Court will be the end of it. This is going to the Supreme Court. Texas has a constitutional right to secure our border.” – Greg Abbott

Virginia Deploys Support Troops to the Texas-Mexico Border

• In response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s request for border aid, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has deployed National Guard troops to assist with the worsening Texas-Mexico border crisis. Soli Rice reports Youngkin is the latest in a growing list of GOP governors to step up where the federal government has refused to act.

      
• When the request was first sent, Florida and Idaho Govs. Ron DeSantis and Brad Little were the first to announce their plans and send aid. Just days later, Govs. Jim Justice of West Virginia, Henry McMaster of South Carolina, and Youngkin announced their planned aid.
      
• “Someone called for help, and we are going to go help them,” said Youngkin. “That’s what this is all about. I firmly believe this is a worthy mission.”

State Sen. Gutierrez Enters DEM Contest To Challenge Ted Cruz

• Hoping to challenge U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in November 2024, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez will first have to challenge U.S. Rep. Colin Allred for the Democrats' nomination. Emily Medeiros has the story.
        
• Gutierrez will be running with a legislative record that includes gun restrictions and legalized abortion.
      
• Cruz's campaign responded to Gutierrez's announcement by noting Texans will "get to watch Colin Allred and Roland Gutierrez slug it out for who can be the most radical leftist in the state."

Y'All Answered

Members of the Texas Legislature famously earn $600 per month, but with some added benefits – like a pension tied to the salary of full-time state district judges – that few mention back home. They also get paid $221 per day for expenses when in Austin... or just because the legislative session is going on.

This means lawmakers stand to collect $6,630 each month of a special session – even though many of them are not at the Capitol for the full 30 days.

Yesterday, we asked readers if they thought it should be considered theft for lawmakers to collect the full 30 days of special session per diem cash without having been present at the Capitol. More than 96 percent of readers responded "yes," while 3.8 percent said "no."

Here is a small sampling of the comments from my inbox...

• “No work, no per diem. Punch a time clock with biometric verification in and out. When trust and position is abused, strong measures are required to remind them of who they work for. It ain't the lobbyists.” – Mary Casper
      

• “I do not believe it is ‘theft.’ It is certainly a sweet deal and self-serving as a minimum. Getting paid for special sessions, which are required because they did not do their job during the regular session, is a disincentive. I would suggest a better approach would be to collect $221/day as a penalty for every day there is a special session.” – Bob McCleskey
      

• “When the Democrats fled Texas to D.C., they were paid for the regular session plus all the special sessions they missed. Before I retired, if I missed work, I didn’t get paid. Why are these people so SPECIAL they don't even show up for work but still get paid?” – Danny Lee
     

• “If they are not working, they should NOT get paid. They also need to remember who they represent —the people from their district, NOT their own interests.” – Debra Davis
     

• “If that’s what the law currently states, then no, it is not theft. Maybe the law should be changed so that the taxpayers will not be bilked in a similar circumstance in the future.” – Dirk P DeKoch
      

• “The ultimate slap in the face of the taxpayers: Do nothing and get paid anyway.” – Alan Smith
      

• “Special sessions are the equivalent of having to stay after school to complete the work that should have been done during school hours.” – Thomas Camardo
      

• “No work, no pay. PERIOD!” – Mary Matthews
     

• “I’m on a fixed income, so it would be wonderful if I could get paid for just breathing but doing nothing else!!” – Hamila Hobson
      

• “If these so-called lawmakers are not present & not voting, they should not get paid! Maybe if there were not so many ‘perks,’ there would be less abuse.“ – Susan Ivison
      

• “I know from my work experience if I did not show up to punch the timecard, I would not get paid. Pull that too many times, I would get fired. Seems our legislators have forgotten they are public servants.” – John Newberry, Sr
     

• “If state lawmakers cannot do their jobs during the regular session, they should be paying the citizens of Texas $221 per day for their ineptitude.” – Terry Fokas
      

• “There’s no excuse for the excessive absences, five-day weekends, and general lack of representation of our priorities. There should have been no need for a special session; a lot of work should have (and could have) been done in the regular session.” – Karen Lane
      

• “In the real world, that would be grounds for instant dismissal!” – Arthur McLean
      

• “Who else gets paid regardless of if they show up for work or not? No one.” – Dana Krasinski
      

• “They are like most politicians, they only think about their hard-earned graft money. They are not doing the people’s work.” – Danny Thomspon
      

• “Since they did not get the job done during the regular session, they should not be paid at all to be called into a special session. Maybe this would give them a reason to get things done during the regular session.” – Eddie Oberreither
      

• “The House has become a sham, voting against the Republican ideals, impeaching our AG, hiring an outrageous attorney at taxpayers’ expense, drinking alcohol on the job, not showing up for work but collecting more income for a job that should have been completed during the session. These are a travesty to the people who voted them into office and believed in them.” – Barbara McClure
      

• “Sure they are stealing. Most are not representatives, they are parasites that are destroying their hosts.” – Brett Holman
      

• “Funny, when I don't show up for work or don't perform my job, I don't get paid.” – Arthur Potter
      

• “These crooks should get paid like the rest of us. If I don’t go to work, I don’t get paid.” – Dell Huddleston
      

• “When I want to offer testimony during a legislative hearing, I have to be physically present at the Texas State Capitol in order to register for an opportunity to testify for two minutes. Requiring the same presence at the Capital for a $200 pay boost doesn't seem too much to ask of our legislators.” – John Bolgiano
      

• “Paying people while they are NOT working is one of the biggest reasons our economy is in the situation it currently finds itself.” – Charles Busbey
      

• “Lawmakers should be entitled to receive per diem only on those days that they are physically absent overnight from their homes on official state business.” – Ken Marx
     

• “My employer does not use taxpayer dollars to pay my salary and I’m only allowed paid time off when I have earned it!” – Cindy Kelley
     

• “When reports of this first came out, I asked my House rep to address this specific issue. No response. You’d think she’d answer to those who enabled her to represent us. Why we tolerate abuses of our tax dollars is beyond me. When will Texans get recall power?” – Mark Juelg

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.