Good morning,

Nearly a third of the Texas House GOP Caucus seem eager to maintain the power-sharing relationship with Democrats despite opposition from Republican primary voters and the party itself. In today's One Click Survey, we ask what you think of that arrangement.

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, June 17, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

House Leadership’s New Pledge Ignores a Ban on Democrat Chairs

• A group of House Republicans is attempting to steer the political conversation away from ending the practice of giving chairmanships to Democrats by signing onto a series of watered-down GOP priorities that conspicuously omit a ban on the practice. Brandon Waltens has the details.
       
• With 10 planks, the "Texas Conservative Commitment" largely mirrors the legislative priorities passed by delegates to the Republican Party of Texas convention last month but with notably softer language and a few glaring omissions. Chief among those? Banning the practice of Republicans appointing Democrats to chair legislative committees.
        
• Earlier this month, 46 current and incoming members signed a pledge to vote only for a Speaker of the House who does not put Democrats in leadership positions. Tellingly, a majority of the "Commitment" signers have been either in support of Democrat chairs or silent on the issue.
        
• Former Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi noted Friday that there are 26 House members who signed the "Commitment" but have not pledged to stop enabling Democrats. 
        
• “While it is always encouraging to see lawmakers work together to advance conservative policies, the ‘Texas Conservative Commitment’ is clearly designed to advance alternative policies in lieu of the Texas GOP Legislative Priorities. Most frustratingly, this commitment is silent on the issue of Democrat chairs, which members of Speaker Dade Phelan’s leadership team are trying to protect.” – Texas GOP Chairman Abraham George

RELATED NEWS

• According to members with knowledge of a meeting planned for tomorrow, Patterson is rushing forward so the current policy committee will do the voting. Of the 16 current committee members, two were booted from office by voters in the GOP primary: Glenn Rogers and Ernest Bailes. A third committee member, Doc Anderson, did not seek re-election.
       
• Caucus members have also asserted that Patterson knows he is unlikely to be asked to chair the policy committee for the 2025-2026 legislative biennium.

Is a Mystery Algorithm Revealing Texans’ Voting Choices?

• When Texans vote, they expect the transparency of elections will not extend to violating the secrecy of their ballots. But as Daniel Greer reports, recent developments have brought this into question.
      
• During a recent hearing in the Texas House Elections Committee, lawmakers probed the Secretary of State’s office following reports suggesting that ballot secrecy might be compromised.
        
• Christina Adkins, Elections Director at the Secretary of State’s office, explained that some individuals claim to unmask votes using an undisclosed algorithm.
       
• The “algorithm” has not been reviewed by the Secretary of State or Attorney General’s office, but it was a focal point of the hearing. State Reps. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) and Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) expressed strong concerns and a desire to address this issue urgently.
      
• Other testimony offered during the hearing highlighted that the true problem might not be a top-secret algorithm but rather a methodical process of elimination. Given the fragmented nature of weeks-long early countywide polling, it’s possible in low-turnout scenarios to triangulate a ballot belonging to a specific individual.
       
• Christine Welborn with Advancing Integrity said the state must proceed carefully to address this issue. “On the one hand, the secrecy of the ballot must be maintained, but legislation to increase transparency over the past several legislative sessions needn’t be a victim to this effort.”

US Supreme Court Ruling Changes Nothing in Texas Abortion Policy

• The Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously last week that pro-life plaintiffs lacked standing in the case to limit access to abortion pills. As Will Biagini reports, the ruling effectively changes nothing about abortion policy in Texas or the United States. 

      
• The Court found that pro-life advocates did not have the legal right to sue the Food and Drug Administration over its approval of mifepristone and subsequent lifting of restrictions on obtaining the abortifacient. Mifepristone is one of the most common chemical abortion pills—reportedly utilized in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in 2023. 
     
• Rather than focus on the merits of the case, SCOTUS focused on the plaintiffs, saying they were the wrong parties to bring the case.
      
• “However, even a total Pro-Life victory in this case would not stop foreign doctors who are mailing abortion pills from other countries directly to women in Texas and other states,” said John Seago, the president of Texas Right to Life. He explains that the bigger problem are foreign actors illicitly transporting abortion pills from overseas via the mail.

Dallas City Council Condemns Border Security Legislation in Resolution

• Dallas City Council members have approved a resolution condemning Texas’ landmark border security law, with only three council members voting against the measure. Emily Medeiros has the story.
   
• At issue is a new state law that simultaneously criminalizes illegal entry into the state of Texas and empowers law enforcement to arrest illegal aliens. The measure was supposed to take effect in March, but a federal court—in response to a lawsuit from the Biden administration—has temporarily blocked it.
      
• Speaking about the resolution, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said he is “very sensitive to the fact our immigrant community is fearful.”
       
• Only Mayor Eric Johnson and Councilmembers Paul Ridley and Cara Mendelsohn voted against the city resolution. Mendelsohn called it a “political performance.”
      
• “Like most Texans, I could care less what the City Council of Dallas thinks. The lawlessness that they promote in their own city tells me how much they care for the safety of their own citizens, let alone other Texans.” – Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith

RELATED NEWS

Texas Supreme Court Extends Pause on Harris County Program

• Harris County’s controversial guaranteed basic income pilot program Uplift Harris planned to send a $500 monthly stipend to low-income families with no strings attached. Charles Blain reports that the Texas Supreme Court is keeping the Democrat program on hold.

     
• The county planned to use $20.5 million of unspent federal COVID money to fund the pilot program.
      
• “Harris County’s guaranteed income scheme is a clear and flagrant violation of the Texas Constitution. SCOTX has stepped in and put a stop to this abuse of power and unlawful use of taxpayer money while the case continues.” – Attorney General Ken Paxton

Quote-Unquote

"Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."

– Daniel Webster​

Today in History

On June 17, 1885, the yet-to-be assembled Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor. There were 350 pieces packed in more than 200 crates for the ocean voyage from France.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

On Friday, 43 Republican members of the Texas House signed on to the "Texas Commitment" promising action on policy items that have been ignored by the GOP-dominated legislature for years. Of those Republicans, it is reported that 26 still support allowing Democrats to hold committee chairmanships in the chamber.

Should Democrats be appointed to chair committees overseeing state policy in the GOP-dominated House?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!