Good morning,

With the current special session ending tomorrow, we asked readers if they thought the governor should keep calling lawmakers back. Below, you can find out how they answered.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, December 5, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

80th Day: Phelan Still Refuses to Release Impeachment Costs

• It has been 80 days since the Texas House was instructed to provide their expenses in the impeachment trial against Attorney General Ken Paxton, but Speaker Dade Phelan has yet to comply. Brandon Waltens has the story.

        
• An audit of both chambers’ expenses was requested after the trial by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. He asked for all expenditures incurred by the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate, and the Office of the Attorney General from March 1, 2023, through October 15, 2023.
     

• While the Senate and the Office of the Attorney General have provided those numbers, the House has yet to do so.
        

• The House hired prominent Houston attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin to lead the prosecution, at the cost of $500 an hour to taxpayers, along with a group of other lawyers providing legal assistance. Many suspect Phelan and the chamber's other leaders are embarrassed by how much was spent. 
       

• "If the House doesn’t turn over all records relating to the total cost of the trial for them by December 31, 2023, I will take it to the next level. I can assure our taxpayers I will get to the bottom of this." – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick
       

• "It’s been 80 days since Dade Phelan has refused to release those figures. Dade Phelan has embarrassed himself, his Republican colleagues, and the state of Texas. It’s time for him to release the figures and resign." – Attorney General Ken Paxton
           

• “The lieutenant governor and multiple members (me included) have demanded to know what was spent on this witch hunt. This will turn out to be one of the biggest embarrassments of Dade’s political career. He owes Texas an apology for the grief it has caused.” – State Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands)

Abbott Warns of Chinese Nationals Crossing Southwest Border

• A record-breaking number of Chinese nationals have been encountered at the southwest border, something Gov. Greg Abbott describes as an “existential threat” to the United States. Emily Medeiros has the details.
       
• According to the latest numbers released, border patrol agents encountered 4,261 Chinese nationals in October—a massive increase from just 430 encounters in October 2022. 

Lawmaker Blasts Texas Democrats for ‘Siding With Hamas’

• After the Texas Democrat Party called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, a Republican member of the Texas House is calling for all Democrats to be removed from the chamber’s leadership.

       
• A resolution passed by the State Democrat Executive Committee during their meeting Saturday called for an “immediate ceasefire” and encourages “all parties to cease hostilities and prioritize the protection of civilian lives.” The resolution comes nearly two months after Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israeli civilians, killing more than 1,200 people.
      
• State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) said the Democrats' resolution amounts to “siding with Hamas.” He wants House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) to remove any Democrat from leadership positions in the chamber unless they disavow the party's position.
       
• Yesterday, Harrison filed a resolution to remove every Democrat committee chair in the Texas House. His co-authors include State Reps. Nate Schatzline (R–Ft Worth), Steve Toth (R–The Woodlands), and Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington).

Sheila Jackson Lee Gives Voters Wrong Election Date in TV Ad

• With just days left in the Houston mayoral runoff election, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is telling her supporters to head to the polls.
       
• Just not on the correct day.
       

• Her campaign issued a television ad over the weekend telling voters to cast their ballots “on or before December 7.” The election is, in fact, on December 9. Early voting ends on December 5, meaning polls will be closed on the seventh. 

       
• Remember, Sheila Jackson Lee also thought the Apollo missions landed on Mars...

Dallas County Judge Criticizes New Border Security Legislation

• Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is the latest Democrat county judge to condemn a new state law criminalizing illegal entry into Texas from a foreign country. Jenkins claims the new law will make Dallas County less safe. 

     
• As Will Biagini reports, Senate Bill 4 allows for the arrest and prosecution of people who illegally cross the border into the state. Jenkins believes the law could cause overcrowding in the county jails.
      
• The House sponsor of the measure, State Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro), disputes Jenkins’ claims, saying the Dallas Democrat is misrepresenting the nature of the law.
       
• Jenkins is not the first Democrat county judge to criticize the new legislation. Last month, several others urged the Biden administration to intervene against SB 4. 

Abbott Endorses Against Another Phelan Ally

• Gov. Greg Abbott is keeping the endorsements rolling, yesterday announcing his support for Marc LaHood for Texas House in the GOP primary against incumbent Steve Allison (R-San Antonio).
       
• Allison has amassed one of the most liberal voting records among his Republican colleagues. He has been a loyal supporter of House Speaker Dade Phelan, and opposed Gov. Abbott's push for school choice.
     
• Allison is now the third incumbent Republican Abbott has endorsed against, joining State Reps. Hugh Shine (Temple) and Glenn Rogers (Graford).

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Quote-Unquote

"Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."

– Thomas Jefferson​

Y'All Answered

Having reached the constitutional maximum of 30 days, the current special session of the Texas Legislature ends tomorrow. It was called by Gov. Greg Abbott specifically to enact "school choice" legislation favored by more than 85 percent of Texas GOP primary voters. The measure was passed by the Texas Senate but killed in the House.

For yesterday's One Click Survey, we asked readers if Gov. Abbott should call yet another special session on the issue, focus on defeating the opponents in the primary election, do both... or neither.

"Do both" (another special and defeat opponents) garnered support from 48.9 percent of readers, followed by "another special session" (22.7%) and "focus on defeating opponents" (21.5%). There were 6.9 percent of readers who selected "neither."

Here is a sampling of the readers' responses...

• “Another special session should be called to keep the spotlight on this issue. It can add fuel to efforts to get the opponents primaried.” – Tom Bartel
     

• “Call another special session, and continue to do so until the “ESA” is passed while also working to defeat their opponents. Seriously, they should be able to do both!” – Hamila Hobson
     

• “Since Dade Phelan obviously has no intention of actually doing his job, working to defeat him and ALL of the RINO’s would be the appropriate action.” – Samuel Morgan
     

• “They’re wasting my time, so keep wasting theirs.” – Corey Mayo
     

• “I voted neither because I feel the border is the most important issue at hand. What we have passed does nothing to stop the invasion....only adds to the cost of housing the lawbreakers in our jails.” – Lamoyne Priddy
     

• “It is time to fund the true needs of public schools and let vouchers go for a while. Quit holding hostage most of the great teachers and staff that bust their butt daily to better the kids they serve.” – Matthew Howard
     

• “Call another special session and continue to expose these RINOs. The more we see that people like Glenn Rogers don't even bother going to work, the better it is for anyone who chooses to run against them.” – Carole Elston
     

• “The key to passing Republican priorities is to divest ourselves of Dade Phelan and his dozen or so lieutenants. But that alone will not solve the Texas House problem. Republicans must also take enough additional seats from Democrats that no left-wing Republican can build a majority with Democrats and a few fellow lefty Republicans to steal the speakership from the Republican Party.” – Chris Breaux
      

• “I said both, but really, I think it's time for Abbott to step down (certainly not run again). The current situation is largely due to his own inability to take a firm stance and back it up with action.” – Cindy Armstrong
      

• “Not calling another special session lets legislators off the hook, like a parent giving up because a child pitches a fit.  If Gov. Abbott is serious, he'll keep them there until it passes, no matter how many special sessions it takes.” – Carol Spencer
     

• “The current Legislature is full of political posturing buffoons!  It is past time to clean house.” – Roger Taylor
      

• “Call another session and narrow the criteria to just an ESA with nothing else added.” – Patrick Devine
      

• “Education savings accounts are really not that important to me, to be honest. I homeschooled for 15 years without government money and will for the next 13 without government help.” – Cathy Blake
      

• “Texas needs meaningful school choice legislation. Texas’ government schools will only get better due to any competition with private and home schools. Citizens are entitled to have that choice. Legislators should continue to work on it and continue to expose those who won’t get the job done.” – Gene Glass
      

• “Seeing how a lot of our school systems are woke now, homeschoolers should be getting compensated for homeschooling their children due to the fact that our public schools are no longer doing the job properly.” – Dennis Krause
       

• “Abbott needs to keep calling Special Sessions until it gets done.” – Sam Bridges
      

• "Calling another special session is pouring good money after bad into the buffoons in Austin! It's time to clean house and get our state back in order!" – O. Machelle Morris
       

• “Gov Abbott needs to do both, but not just with School Choice. We still need to be pushing legislation preventing bad actors like China from owning land in Texas. We need to follow what Arkansas and its Governor are doing. If we don’t, Texas will cease to be Texas.” – Landon Capozzi 
      

• “Abbott should do both. Allow the RINO house members to continue to expose their party disloyalty, so we all know who to vote out. And lead the campaign to vote these RINO traitors out of our Texas House.” – Steve Crevier
      

• “Texas can not afford treasonous RINOs obstructing the will of the people.” – Mike Phillips
      

• "Too much time & money have been wasted on special sessions.  Each called session makes Abbott look less & less in control." –Cynthia Jackson 
           

• “Not only should Abbott call another special session to address the unresolved issues, he should specifically call for the House to elect another Speaker.....and call for the investigation of Phelan by both the House and Senate Ethics Committees.” – Jason Kerr
       

• “Focus on defeating the RINOs! If you call them back for another session, we would be wasting money and possibly get a poor piece of legislation. Primary the RINOs with no more than one conservative challenger for each of them.” – Jim Hughes
      

• "Calling another special session is a waste of taxpayer money.  Governor Abbott needs to quit playing politics and start doing what the Texas constitution requires, which is to fund public education adequately." – Rhayma Keith
       

• "I feel that school choice is an important issue and SHOULD have been passed this year. However, I do not want to punish the Senators, who have consistently passed good school choice legislation in every session, by making them work through the holidays. Additionally, I have no confidence that Phelan and his Democrat/RINO cohorts would allow legitimate school choice legislation to pass in yet another special session.  Republicans should concentrate on getting rid of him and the others who repeatedly side with the Democrats and THEIR priorities at the expense of Republican priorities." – Deborah Frank
       

• “Until new leadership is elected in the Texas House, this government is dysfunctional!” – Michael Edinburgh
       

• “Phelan and his phony Republicans will continue to take the pay for special sessions, but will either not show up or obstruct any attempt to actually accomplish anything.  Normally, I would say make them stay until they get the work done, but they have shown they have no intention of doing their jobs, so there is no point in another special session.” – B.D. Marshall

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