Good morning,

With a special session of the legislature set to begin one week from today on "school choice," the One Click Survey asks you to forecast the outcome.

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, October 2, 2023

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Sets Oct. 9 for the Third Special Session of 2023

• In a letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan obtained by several media entities over the weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott warned he will bring lawmakers into a 30-day special legislative session starting the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 9, 2023.
      

• Abbott has teased for months that he would call the session to address school choice. Recently, Abbott has indicated the agenda would also include matters related to the Colony Ridge housing development outside Houston that targets illegal aliens.
     
• “For planning purposes, and so you can notify your respective members, Special Session #3 will start October 9, 2023, at 1 p.m. I will issue a formal proclamation prior to the start of Special Session #3,” wrote Abbott.

New York and Texas Clash Over Border Crisis

• With the border crisis worsening, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she “will not be taking advice” from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on the influx of illegal aliens in her state. As Katy Marshall reports, Hochul has attacked Abbott's practice of bussing illegal aliens to liberal enclaves like New York City. 

      
• While speaking at the Manhattan Institute in New York City last week, Abbott refuted her claims about his illegal alien busing program. He then pointed to the death of a 1-year-old in a New York City daycare from fentanyl inhalation. 
     
• “Every state in America now is a border state. Every community is a border community. In addition to the migrants, whether they be in New York City or wherever, fentanyl is pouring all across this country,” said Abbott, who encouraged Hochul to put pressure on the Biden administration.
       
• Hochul later slammed Abbott for his comments. She pushed blame for the border crisis on Republicans. “Let me be clear, I will not be taking advice from Greg Abbott,” she added.
       
• Meanwhile, the nation of  Costa Rica declared a state of emergency due to a wave of illegal aliens crossing through their country. Nearly 85,000 traveled through the county last month headed to the United States.

Travis County Attorney Says DPS Troopers Increase Her Workload

• With officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety supplementing the Austin police amid a staffing shortage in the state's capital city, Sydnie Henry reports that Travis County Attorney Delia Garza is upset by the backlog being created. 
      

• According to the County Attorney’s office, DPS has tripled the number of misdemeanor charges filed in 2023 compared with those filed in 2022. The largest category of misdemeanor charges filed by DPS was for DWIs, followed by possession of marijuana.

     
• More than 800 officers have left the APD in the last six years, and there are some 300 openings available right now on the city's police force.

Biden Administration Funds Texas Group Distributing Crack Pipes

• A Texas-based drug recovery group is allegedly distributing crack pipes using federal grant money from the Biden Administration.
       

• The Recovery Alliance of El Paso claims to help those struggling with alcohol and drug addictions using “harm reduction” strategies, including providing them with fentanyl test strips, Narcan, and “smoke kits.” They also, reportedly, include crack pipes.

         
• This is not the first time the Biden administration has been caught funding entities distributing drug use paraphernalia. After facing public outrage last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced organizations would not be allowed to purchase or distribute crack pipes using federal grants.
       
• A report from the Dallas Express raises questions about the legality of the El Paso group's actions under state law.

County Restricts Abortion Trafficking on Its Highways

• Cochran County Commissioners voted unanimously late last week to adopt an ordinance outlawing abortion and abortion trafficking within the unincorporated area of Cochran County. Emily Medeiros has the story.

     
• The commissioners' ordinance prohibits the killing of an unborn child via abortion within the unincorporated part of the county and restricts access to its highways and airport for anyone seeking to traffic pregnant women for abortions across state lines. Cochran County sits on the border with New Mexico. Across the state line from Cochran County, New Mexico's Lea County and Roosevelt County were the first two counties in America to pass “Sanctuary County for the Unborn” ordinances.
         
• Two other Texas counties have adopted similar ordinances.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Education freedom is a long-standing priority of the Republican Party of Texas. While supported by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and the Senate, proposals for "school choice" have died repeatedly in the Texas House despite having a GOP majority.

Do you believe lawmakers will pass a comprehensive "school choice" plan in the upcoming special session?

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