Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Since he got the snakes out of Ireland, maybe St. Patrick could do something about the Wuhan coronavirus?

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

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The Trump Administration yesterday afternoon asked Americans to do work and school from home, and avoid gathering in groups of more than 10.

Responding to concerns from parents and teachers, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced he has eliminated the requirement that students take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STARR) tests this year. Brandon Waltens has the story [[link removed]].

Abbott also said his office is evaluating how to approach the upcoming primary runoff and municipal elections scheduled for May. Last night he announced he would delay calling a special election to fill the unexpired term of State Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin), who recently announced his resignation from office to take a job at the University of Houston.

The cities of Houston and Dallas are ordering the closure of all restaurants for dine-in service; other cities are expected to follow suit fairly quickly.

One of the largest political gatherings in the world—the Republican Party of Texas’ state convention—could be pushed back from mid-May to mid-July due to concerns from the Wuhan Coronavirus, according to party chairman James Dickey. The move won’t be finalized [[link removed]] until the April 4 meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee.

It is already apparent that the fiscal impact of the coronavirus shut down will be immense – for individuals, businesses, and governments. At every level of government, elected officials and bureaucrats spend every dollar they can get from the taxpayers, and often even more than that. That behavior only makes economic downturns and emergencies even worse for everyone. Legislators, school boards, and city councils must start making cuts to spending now.

With the state’s economy and citizens’ everyday life thrown into flux by the coronavirus, government officials must cut non-essential spending indefinitely.

Diane Trautman, the Democrat in charge of elections in Harris County, said it’s time to “move on” from Super Tuesday voting problems caused by her mistakes. Erin Anderson has the details [[link removed]].

Maybe Harris County Elections Administrator Trautman should just move on?

President Donald Trump’s announcement that interest on all federally held student loan debt for what is expected to be the remainder of 2020 could result in the average student loan-holding Texan saving $1,000 or more over the next year. Cary Cheshire has the details [[link removed]].

Texas Scorecard has begun a series of interviews with candidates in runoff elections for the Texas House. Yesterday Jacob Asmussen visited with Jennifer Fleck who is seeking the Republican nomination in House District 47 in a runoff against Justin Berry. You can watch their conversation [[link removed]] on our website.

The HD47 runoff originally looked to pit Fleck against former Austin City Councilman Don Zimmerman, but The Texan reports [[link removed]] final numbers showed Berry with a one-vote lead for second place. In a statement, Zimmerman said he would not seek a recount, citing the $20,000 cost and Fleck’s “respectable lead.” He also endorsed her candidacy.

In a new commentary [[link removed]], Jackie Schlegel – the mother of a special-needs child – writes that having compassion for others and taking responsibility for our own health and well-being should be our response to every health crises. Gov. Abbott [[link removed]] and other politicians [[link removed]\] are moving to offer waivers for various regulations that impede the movement of goods and services.

“We need [Texas] legislators next session to examine every regulation that was waived during the crisis and ask ‘If we didn’t need it then, do we really need it now?’” – Tony McDonald [[link removed]]

Meanwhile, political analyst Derek Ryan has suggested [[link removed]] what might be the best form of economic incentive: “Instead of cutting interest rates to zero, how about we just cancel April 15th for everyone? Everyone gets their money back for last year.”

And finally... Attorney General Ken Paxton has set up a hotline [[link removed]] for folks to report coronavirus price gouging (see Matt Rinaldi’s recent commentary [[link removed]] commentary on the subject). I regret to inform you that your property tax notice doesn’t qualify; your local governments are allowed to gouge you at their pleasure. Today In History

On March 17, 461, the Christian missionary Saint Patrick ​died in Ireland.

Born to a wealthy Roman family, Patrick was captured and sold into slavery at 16. After six years, he was able to get home to England.

But after studying for the priesthood, he returned to Ireland where he spent 40 years preaching the gospel of Jesus.

Quote-Unquote

“Christ with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit, Christ when I stand, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”

– St. Patrick

Team Spotlight

Buddy Kipp

Director of Communications

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?

A: Meeting the folks who have become involved in their community by accident or because they felt like someone had to be the one to step up.

Q: What is your favorite Texas destination?

A: Minute Maid Park.

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​ Michael Quinn Sullivan

CEO, Empower Texans

Texas Scorecard & Texans for Fiscal Responsibility

​www.EmpowerTexans.com

www.TexasScorecard.com

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PO Box 36875 | Houston, TX 77236 The Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day that we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is produced on week days and distributed at 6 a.m. (though I'll probably take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

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