Good morning,

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants hospitals to report information related to the cost of providing medical care to illegal aliens. In today's One Click Survey, I want to know if you think taxpayer-funded schools should be required to provide the same information.

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, August 12, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

State Fair of Texas to Ban Firearms

• All firearms will be prohibited at this year’s State Fair of Texas, a decision that has drawn criticism from gun rights advocates. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• The ban even applies to individuals with Texas-issued licenses to carry.
     
• Previously, licensed individuals were permitted to carry firearms at the fair. However, last year, three people were injured in a shooting at the fair’s food court. The shooter, Cameron Turner, did not possess a license and was breaking the law.
       
• Chris McNutt, president of Texas Gun Rights, criticized the new policy, stating that it endangers attendees. 
      
• "This is yet another feel-good measure that does nothing to enhance safety. The data consistently shows that ‘gun-free zones’ are dangerous, with 94 percent of mass shootings occurring in these areas. By enforcing this policy, they are essentially asking fairgoers to compromise their safety and become easy targets." – Chris McNutt

Texas DPS Captures Paisa Gang Member

• Will Biagini reports that a 40-year-old illegal alien working for a drug trafficking organization was arrested last week by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Jesus Alejandro of Mexico was apprehended along with two teenage smugglers near Sullivan City.
      
• Reportedly, the three men were spotted guiding a group of illegal aliens across the Rio Grande in a river transport vehicle.

Harris County Commissioners Vote to 'Revive' Program

• Despite a lawsuit by Attorney General Ken Paxton and a Texas Supreme Court stay order, the Harris County commissioners voted to revive Uplift Harris, the controversial guaranteed income pilot program. Ian Camacho has the story.
      
• Originally, the county voted to give $500 monthly for 18 months to 1,928 low-income Harris County households selected by lottery. Paxton sued the county on state constitutional grounds, with the Texas Supreme Court issuing an order putting the program on hold.
     
• Harris County commissioners were funding the project with unspent federal aid money designated for COVID-19. They claim that under federal requirements, the funds will be lost if not committed to Uplift Harris by December 31, 2024.
      
• A three-year study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that guaranteed basic income recipients were actually harmed by the programs.

Texas House Committee Meets on School Choice Today

• Members of the Texas House Committee on Public Education will meet today at the Capitol to discuss how other states have implemented school choice. As Debra McClure reports, the House leadership blocked a proposal in 2023 that passed the Senate and was supported by Gov. Greg Abbott.
   
• Recent polling finds nearly two-thirds of Texans are in suport of a school choice program. Abbott has made the issue his top priority for 2025. "During the upcoming legislative session, we’re going to work to make school choice a reality," he posted to social media last week.
     
• The Republican Party of Texas has long had school choice as a legislative priority. A majority of House Republicans supported the 2023 proposal, but 21 of Speaker Dade Phelan's closest allies voted with Democrats to kill it.

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Quote-Unquote

"To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

– Theodore Roosevelt​

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state's Health and Human Services Commission to begin collecting data from hospitals on the costs of treating illegal aliens.

Should Gov. Abbott also require Texas' taxpayer-funded schools to collect and report the immigration status of students to the state?

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