Here we are - 5 days into the 3rd Called Special Session, and I wanted to give you an update:

The session includes 6 issues covering school choice & teacher pay; border issues; and medical freedom issues.

So far, 81 Senate bills have been filed for this special session. The Senate got right to work on opening day, assigning bills to committees and scheduling public hearings on SB1, SB2, SB4, SB7 and SB11. All 5 of these bills, which address the issues on the call, were voted favorably out of committee this week and all 5 were passed finally by the Senate on Thursday.

So far, 151 House bills have been filed for this special session. The House gaveled in on Oct 9, passed HR10 (support for Israel), then gaveled out. They came into session for a short time on Wednesday 10/11, and again on Thursday 10/12. A whole list of Resolutions and Concurring Resolutions and 7 actual bills were read on first reading and referred to committees. As of today, no committee hearings have been scheduled in the House and they are not set to convene again until Monday.

Speaker Phelan did find time in his very busy schedule to silence Rep Tony Tinderholt on his attempt to move to vacate the chair. Here's a brief description of what happened from our journalist friend, Bonnie Lyons:

An attempt by Representative Tony Tinderholt of District 94 to clarify House rules, with the intention of presenting a motion to vacate the chair was shot down by Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, as the House gaveled in again for the third special session. Clearly prepared for the inquiry, Phelan read from a statement saying that he was declining to respond to hypothetical questions, based on historical precedent. Tinderholt challenged the ruling saying that he’d been in the legislature for 10 years and they’d always been able to do inquiries for things they would like to do. But Phelan insisted it was not a proper inquiry. Further, Phelan charged that, in light of Tinderholt’s history, he would no longer entertain further inquiries from him on the House floor without going to Phelan to clear them first. With that, Phelan again adjourned, pending reading and referral of bills from committees at 3 pm Monday. No committees have yet met in the House.

So - Rep Tinderholt can no longer make inquiries on the House floor without getting Speaker Phelan's approval first? What is this, third grade? Free speech doesn't seem to exist in Dade Phelan's House. This move not only silences Rep. Tinderholt, but every citizen of the district he represents. See the exchange and Rep. Tinderholt's Facebook comments here:

Tony Tinderholt

WHAT'S NEXT?

Things move pretty fast in a special session (unless you're the Texas House), so we are limited in how much influence we can have in person, because of the schedule. I am planning to be at the Capitol on Tuesday the 17th and Tuesday the 25th. Those are probably the only two days I'll be able to be there this session. Anyone who would like to join me can meet me in the Rotunda at 9:00 am. If there are hearings, we'll testify. If not, we'll visit lawmakers offices to try to influence the priority bills.

During these fast paced legislative times, when it's difficult to be in Austin at the right time, it becomes especially important to use alternative methods of contacting our Senators and Representatives. For the Senators, the only option is contacting them via phone, email or mail. For House bills, I expect (but don't know for sure yet) that there will be an on-line comment option for the bills heard in committee. We need to take full advantage of that! When you make an on-line comment, it becomes part of the official record of the committee, and part of the committee journal. I have no idea if the committee members read all the on-line comments, but it's almost as effective as being there to testify in person.

If you don't know how to access to the on-line comments for House bills, the link is always posted at the bottom of the Committee Hearing announcement. You just click on the link, and then fill in the blanks and make your comment.

You can also contact members of the committees of both chambers to express your opinions. Their phone numbers are on their member pages on the TLO, and emails are:

1) Try to keep up with the bills that make it to committee hearings and offer comments to the committee by phone, email, or on line comment. (Remember from Citizen Advocate Training how to set bill alerts in the TLO?)

2) Watch the TLO for daily House and Senate floor votes, and contact your own representatives and senators to express your opinions.

4) Join me at the Capitol on Oct. 17th and 25th to do whatever we can in person.

5) Contact Speaker Phelan's office and tell him what you think of his attempt to silence Rep. Tony Tinderholt!

As always, thanks for your dedication to grassroots activism. We truly can make a difference when we work together! Feel free to reach out if you have questions about any of this, and I'll try to answer them.

PS: One of our leadership team members replied to my message last week saying: "It's hard to stay engaged because I'm already married!" 🤣🤣