Good morning,

An increasing number of people have been talking about a new round of mandates and even lockdowns related to COVID. In today's One Click Survey, we want to know what you would do in that situation.

But first, here is the Texas Minute for Monday, Sept. 4, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Brandon Waltens will be running point on the Texas Minute for the rest of the week while I'm focused on a special project. Be nice to him! You can still catch me on the daily Texas Minute podcast.

Federal Judge: Adults Have 1st Amendment Right To Perform Sexually Explicit Shows In Front of Children

• A U.S. District Judge, appointed by Ronald Reagan, ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union and other drag show supporters late last week. As Emily Medeiros reports, the ruling grants a temporary restraining order against new legislation restricting sexual performances in front of minors.
         
• U.S. District Judge David Hittner claims that the new law could cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs, and so he seeks to “preserve the status quo” until the court makes a final decision on injunctive relief.
      

• The decision is expected to be appealed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General.

Federal Judge to Block New Law Keeping Explicit Materials Out of Texas Schools

• Another U.S. District Judge, this one appointed by Donald Trump, said he would soon issue a preliminary junction blocking House Bill 900 from taking effect on September 1. That is the law prohibiting sexually explicit materials from Texas' school libraries. Katy Marshall has those details.
         
• Judge Alan Albright's decision came in response to a lawsuit filed in July alleging that the law is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.
      

• The decision is expected to be appealed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General.

House Leadership Attacks Lawmaker For Exposing Obstruction in Austin

• After calling out specific members of the legislature for failure to pass conservative priorities, State Rep. Brian Harrison of Midlothian has been the subject of social media attacks from members of House leadership. Brandon Waltens has the story.

       
• During an interview last week, Harrison named Speaker Dade Phelan, State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R–Lubbock), and State Rep. Todd Hunter (R–Corpus Christi) for their roles in killing certain pieces of conservative legislation, including a ban on Chinese ownership of Texas land and ending COVID vaccine mandates.
         
• Rather than address Harrison’s charges head-on, however, Burrows has taken to attacking Harrison’s background as the former chief of staff to the United States Department of Health and Human Services during the Trump administration.
       
• Burrows has been joined in his attacks by State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), who decided to mock Harrison’s background as a former dog breeder. Other members like State Reps. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) and Cole Hefner (R-Mt. Pleasant) have also engaged with the social media posts going after Harrison.
        
• Members of the Texas Freedom Caucus—of which Harrison is currently a member—have largely been silent on the leadership’s barrage.
       
• “My constituents— 200,000 Texans that I’m honored to support—not only do they deserve, but they are demanding bold, conservative leadership from their elected officials who are not too afraid to tell them the truth. They want to know what’s going on behind their backs in Austin,” said Harrison.

Nearly 800 New Laws Have Taken Effect

• While several pieces of Republican priority legislation have been delayed due to lawsuits, 774 new laws went into effect in Texas on Friday.

      
• A new corporate welfare program, “Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation Act,” is now in place. It is a new statewide economic incentive program replacing the state’s controversial Chapter 313 program, which ended after lawmakers declined to renew it two years ago.
       
• A law banning child gender mutilation procedures is now in effect despite legal opposition in state court. The same goes for legislation providing regulatory certainty for businesses, which had been confronting an increasingly hostile patchwork of contradictory local regulations.
       
• As Sydnie Henry reports, none of those new laws provide for significant border security. Only six of the new laws are even tangentially related to the ongoing border crisis.

New Law Requires Texas Schools to Hire Security Guards

• With the 2023-2024 school year already underway, a new law will soon require Texas school districts and charter schools to hire at least one armed security guard for every campus.

     
• The new law requires schools to provide training to an armed security officer employed by the district using state funds.
     
• The district’s board of trustees will determine the appropriate number of armed security officers for each school. However, the law stipulates that at least one armed guard must be in every school during regular school hours.
       
• The measure also requires school district leadership to meet regularly with their law enforcement counterparts to discuss any emergency preparedness and action plans needed to keep students safe.

Embattled Tarrant Appraisal District Chief Resigns

•  Tarrant County’s scandal-plagued Chief Appraiser Jeff Law has resigned, sparing the Tarrant Appraisal District’s board of directors a vote to fire him. As Erin Anderson reports, the appraisal district is responsible for setting the value of properties for taxing purposes.
      
• Law submitted his resignation on September 1, just days after the Tarrant County Commissioners Court and Mansfield City Council unanimously approved resolutions calling for the appraisal board to replace him.
      
• “The new Chief Appraiser must be pro-taxpayer.” – Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare

Impeachment Preview in the Katy Christian Magazine

•  Our friends at the Katy Christian Magazine have a preview of the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton that begins tomorrow in the Texas Senate.
         
• The magazine's publisher, Joseph Menslage, provides a summary of the action so far and the people involved.

STARTING TOMORROW: Daily Coverage of Paxton Impeachment Trial

• As the impeachment trial kicks off this week, Texas Scorecard will be covering it gavel-to-gavel. Not only will our reporters be present, but we will live-stream the proceedings on our Apple TV and Roku apps.
        
• Meanwhile, to make sure you are updated, The Headline with Brandon Waltens will now run each weekday at 5 p.m. featuring a recap of the trial and other news. Remember, that new version of The Headline starts tomorrow.
        
• Besides getting The Headline on our TV apps, you can find it on the Texas Scorecard YouTube channel, social media sites (such as X and Facebook), and your favorite podcasting platform.

Have You Watched The Texas Heist?

ONE CLICK SURVEY

There are increasing rumblings that a new round of COVID-related lockdowns and mandates could be approaching. Will you comply with these? 

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!