Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Gov. Abbott Makes 4th Special Session Official

• As the third special session of the Texas Legislature came to an end yesterday, Gov. Greg Abbott immediately called lawmakers into a fourth last night. As Brandon Waltens reports, the agenda is strikingly familiar.
        
• The governor wants lawmakers to work on school choice and border security. Both issues are widely popular with voters and taxpayers in Texas, but lawmakers have had trouble getting substantive measures to the governor's desk. 

House Unveils Latest School Choice Plan

• A new "school choice" plan has been put forward by the Texas House that includes a limited education savings account program, teacher bonuses and pay raises, and additional funding for school districts. Emily Medeiros has the details.
       

• Under the plan authored by Public Education Committee Chairman Brad Buckley (R-Saledo), any child will be able to apply for an ESA of approximately $10,500. A child who is homeschooled will qualify for $1,000.

     
• The program will be limited by funds allocated by the legislature every two years. ESAs will be awarded based on family income levels.
       
• Students who accept an ESA will be required to take a state assessment test or a national norm-reference test. Those who do not perform satisfactorily on the assessment two years in a row will be disqualified from the program.
      

• The plan also includes teacher pay raises. In year one, full-time teachers, nurses, counselors, and librarians will get a $4,000 bonus, while part-time employees will receive $2,000. In year two, the pay increases will be set by local districts using an increase in the state's basic funding allotment. 

Statewide Propositions Pass... Except One

• With varying levels of support, Texas voters approved 13 of the 14 constitutional propositions. Sydnie Henry covered the election story.
       
• Proposition 4, increasing the homestead exemption to $100,000 valuation, passed with close to 85 percent.
        
• The only one to lose was Proposition 13, increasing the mandatory retirement age for state justices and judges. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the idea of increasing the age for judges to serve on the bench. 

HD 2 Special Election Goes to Runoff

• A special election to fill the unexpired term in Texas House District 2 is headed to a runoff. Six candidates—five Republicans and one Democrat—were vying for the East Texas seat formerly held by Bryan Slaton.
   
• Leading the returns were Republicans Brent Money and Jill Dutton. The Democrat finished in fourth place. 
   
• It will be up to the governor to set the runoff, but the winner will not be selected in time to participate in the current special session.

Paxton Files Suit Against Former Employees

• Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting back against a group of former employees in court who have alleged they were fired unfairly. Their allegations were the basis for the rushed impeachment of Paxton by the House, which was then dismissed by the Texas Senate.

       
• Earlier this year, the Office of the Attorney General and the so-called “whistleblowers” reached a settlement for $3.3 million to avoid a costly court battle. The Texas House refused to approve the settlement.
      
• During the impeachment trial, the former employees undermined their own accusations. For example, Ryan Vassar admitted to having no evidence when reporting Paxton to the FBI. Another, David Maxwell, said he made claims to House investigators that he didn’t actually know were true.
       
• The attorney general's lawsuit is seeking a temporary restraining order enjoining the former employees from pursuing further litigation on the case they had agreed to settle.

Speech Regulators Fight Disclosure

• The state agency charged with policing political speech wants to keep their records secret even from lawmakers. This week, the Texas Ethics Commission is asking the state’s attorney general just how accountable it is to the legislature. 

         
• At issue are the sworn complaints made to the commission, which are exempt from the state's Public Information Act. However, the TEC argues that its enabling statute exempts them from laws allowing the legislature to oversee and investigate state agencies.
         
• Constitutionally, the TEC exists to set the "per diem" lawmakers receive and consider increases to lawmakers' salaries. Since being approved by voters in the early 1990s, the TEC has grown into a shadowy agency with designs on regulating the political speech of all citizens. 
       
• This is an agency that has declared, in public, that “constitutional issues don’t matter.” It has been named the least transparent in the nation, and its staff have asserted that due process rights do not apply in its proceedings.  

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.