TTP Citizen Advocates:

Are you as mad as I am about over reaching government bureaucracies that poke their fingers into every aspect of your life, squash your free speech, and regulate you to death?  Well, it's time to not just get mad - it's time to DO SOMETHING!

I was not planning to do a Friday message this week.  Then on Wednesday, two things happened.  First, I read  this article in the Texas Scorecard about the Texas Ethics Commission targeting citizens social media accounts, and second, Julie and I got about a dozen inquiries about a social media post about voter ID which is totally false.  Then I got mad!  Now I'm doing something about it and urging you all to do something too.

TEXAS ETHICS COMMISSION

A new rule being considered by the TEC would threaten the social media posts of individuals and groups like TTP,  squashing political speech, and threatening people with costly enforcement. (please read the article linked in the first paragraph for details)

"At their March 20 meeting, the commission unanimously moved to consider amending the rule at an upcoming meeting to include a requirement that the person or group posting the political message online “did not post or re-post the political advertising in return for consideration.”

Like so many other government processes, the ethics commission is set up to stifle citizen involvement, punish those who try to comply, and frustrate the rest of the people into giving up.  Per attorney Tony McDonald, "They are now trying to establish even greater power for themselves, using a law that has long been declared unconstitutional to target Texans who speak on social media websites and spend less than $100 to do so. It’s those citizens, McDonald says, that are the target of this latest proposal."

That would be US!  You, me, TTP, all of us.

A little more digging, and a little help from our friends revealed that all members of the current Ethics Commission are serving expired terms! Texas Constitution requires the TEC appointments to be four by the Governor, two by the Lt Governor, and 2 by the Speaker of the House. Tex. Cons. Art III Sec 24a.  All 8 of the current commission members' terms have expired!

So what to do about it?  First of all, be aware that the TEC is under sunset rules by the legislature.  The Texas Ethics Commission is currently under Sunset Review for the 2024-2025 Review Cycle - 89th Legislative Session. That gives us some time to work on legislators to bring the TEC under control, or let it sink into the sunset.  We'll work on this at the Capitol during the 89th Session, but don't wait!  Start right now, talking to your legislators.

ACTION #!

Contact your House Reps and Senators and tell them they must bring the TEC under control, appoint new members, and provide oversight to the commission's actions to protect citizens right to free speech.  Find your representatives and their contact information here.  Call, write, question them at Town Halls, whatever you have to do to get through to them.

ACTION #2

Contact the individual members of the Texas Ethics Commission and pressure them to leave private citizens and non profit groups alone.  They did not set a timeline for final approval of the new rule, but it could be as soon as their June meeting.

Here are the names of the Commissioners found on their website.  Contact information for the Commission is:

Phone Numbers:
   Main Number: 512-463-5800
   TDD: 1-800-735-2989

Mailing Address:
   P.O. Box 12070
   Austin, TX, 78711-2070

Physical Address:
   Sam Houston Bldg.
   201 East 14th St., 10th Floor
   Austin, TX 78701

Email Addresses:

 General Information and Legal Helpline:
   [email protected]

To quote Tony McDonald (again):  "Citizens should call their legislators and ask why they allow secret speech police to turn them into criminals for not having a lawyer over their shoulder every time they post something online,”

CHECK BEFORE YOU SHARE:

Social Media is probably the worst and best thing to ever happen to Citizen Advocacy.  On the one hand - it's so easy to share information, get people enthused and engaged and make things happen.  On the other hand it's a messy swamp of bad information, often aimed at getting people worked up about something that is nothing, which distracts us from paying attention to the real threats.  (like the Texas Ethics Commission!).

This week, there was a gateway pundit article going around about voter registration in 3 states showing "huge" increased numbers without photo ID.  I'm not going to link it and give them clicks, but the headline is  "EXTREMELY CONCERNING:  RECORD SHOWS VOTER REGISTRATION WITHOUT PHOTO ID SURGES IN THREE KEY SWING STATES - ARIZONA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND TEXAS."

Two things wrong with that headline. 

One - photo ID is not required to register to vote.  ID is only required to actually vote.  You can literally download the registration application, fill it out and mail it in without any verification of identity.  The form asks for a drivers license number or SS number, but no photo ID. 

Two - Texas is not a "swing" state.  Texas is still pretty solidly in the "R" column. The Republican presidential candidate won the election in Texas every year going back to Reagan in 1980.

And a third thing wrong with their article is the numbers quoted for new registrations in TX.  The  Secretary of State put out a statement on their "X" account about this wrong information.  The article claimed 1.2 new registrations taken this year.  Secretary Nelson says the actual number is 57,711, which is less than the same time period in 2022 and 202.

So, please check the facts before you share!  At True Texas Project, we try to bring truth to the discussion, but sometimes it's a challenge!

ACTION ITEM:

Tell all your friends that are sharing the voter registration article that it's just wrong.  Note: many are sharing screenshots from the article with the sensational parts, not the whole article.  Even worse!

IN OTHER HAPPY NEWS:

Did you know that as a result of the Tax Relief bill passed last year, voters now have the opportunity to elect 3 members to each County Appraisal District Board?  This will not solve all of the appraisal problems, but it does expand accountability by having Board members who are elected by the voters, and can be UN-elected by the voters too.

This election will take place on May 4th along with the other municipal elections.  To find out who is running, it should be posted on your County Elections website, or contact your County Commissioners and County Judge.

Be sure you know who's running in your county and pick the best person to represent the taxpayers, instead of representing the taxing entities.

Thanks for reading my Friday Message.  Reach out if you have questions - that's why we're here.

Stay Engaged!

Fran Rhodes, President