Good morning,

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Dan Patrick Labels Dade Phelan a 'RINORAD'

• Still months away from the next legislative session, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is taking aim at House Speaker Dade Phelan. Brandon Waltens has the details.
       
• Patrick is accusing Phelan of falsely taking credit for property tax relief that included a homestead exemption increase last year. During the 2023 legislative session, the two chambers were at odds throughout the year on their approaches to property tax relief. While the House pushed for stronger appraisal caps, the Senate advocated for an increase in the homestead exemption. No agreement was reached until a second special session, during which a plan was passed that included the homestead exemption increase.
       
• In a social media post, Patrick asserts that Phelan is now using newspaper commentaries to "cover up his multiple attempts to kill the bill."
       
• Patrick described Phelan as a "𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐃 (𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲, 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐀 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭)" who is "known for killing massive conservative legislation."
       
• "I understand the DWD (Done with Dade) group is growing within the House. His only path to remain Speaker is for all or a large majority of Democrats to vote for him. Let’s not forget that he won his recent primary runoff by about 300 votes because Democrats crossed over in big numbers and took the Republican primary from the voters of East Texas. Dade Phelan is the ultimate #RINORAD." – Dan Patrick

RELATED NEWS

• "Change at the top is needed to better align with the priorities of our Members and the people of Texas. Now is the time to set aside the battles that have divided us and focus on what we can achieve together." – David Cook
     
• The other two challengers are Tom Oliverson (R-Cypress) and Shelby Slawson (R-Stephenville).

Border Patrol Flies Illegal Aliens to Texas

• With the city of San Diego, California, being overrun, a local official there is claiming that illegal aliens are being flown to McAllen, Texas, on the taxpayers’ dime. Will Biagini reports the flights are allegedly being coordinated by the U.S. Border Patrol.
      
• San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told Texas Scorecard after individuals illegally cross the border into San Diego, they surrender to Border Patrol and are taken to a processing center. Due to California’s status as a sanctuary state, Desmond said processing facilities are at maximum capacity and can no longer handle the influx.
       
• “Because of that, Border Patrol agents are flying migrants to other places in the country—predominantly to Texas,” said Desmond.

Paxton Warns Counties Over Controversial Voter Registration Funding

• Attorney General Ken Paxton has warned the Bexar and Harris County Commissioners Courts that he will sue them should they fund a third-party organization “targeting” voter registrations.
         
• Ian Camacho reports the warning came just before the Bexar County commissioners were preparing to discuss the award of a $392,700 contract "to print and mail State Voter Registration Forms, with postage-paid return envelopes, to unregistered voters in locations based on targeting agreed to by the County." The order was to be placed with Civic Government Solutions, LLC, a front group for Civitech, a heavily partisan Democrat voter registration organization.
        
• Citing his 2020 Texas Supreme Court victory over Harris County, Paxton told Bexar County officials that they lack the authority to print and mail voter registration applications.
       
• "It is unlawful and reckless for counties to use taxpayer dollars to indiscriminately send voter registration forms with no consideration of the recipients’ eligibility and without any statutory authority to do so," said Paxton. "I urge you to abandon this proposal. If you do not, I will see you in court."
       
• Bexar County commissioners ignored Paxton's warning and approved the registration push at their meeting yesterday.

Texas Halts Birth Certificate Sex Changes

• The Texas Department of State Health Services will no longer amend birth certificates for gender-confused individuals. The DSHS website previously provided instructions on how to use court orders to alter the sex listed on a birth certificate.
     
• Those instructions have now been removed, and DSHS will only accept changes for clerical or hospital errors. This policy change follows the Texas Department of Public Safety’s recent announcement that they will no longer process sex changes on driver’s licenses. 
      
• Legislation prohibiting sex changes on birth certificates passed the Texas Senate in 2023 but did not receive a committee hearing in the House.

Lawmaker Wants to Push School Start to September

• State Rep. Jared Patterson (R–Frisco) wants a later start to the school year, arguing the change will save energy and money, protect the power grid, and make life better for students. Erin Anderson has the story.
    
• According to Patterson, starting school in September instead of August would allow school districts to avoid having to cool campus buildings during the hottest weeks of summer when power demand and prices are high.

TTU Health Sciences Center Suspends Employee for ‘Antisemitic’ Posts

• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center acted swiftly to suspend an employee following unearthed screenshots of him expressing antisemitic comments. Robert Montoya has the report.
   
• Numerous examples of antisemitic behavior by Rudy Meixell, a now-suspended librarian at the Health Sciences Center, were brought forward by the social media group Stop Antisemitism. (Many of the inflammatory posts use profane language.)
      
• Meixell has now locked up his account on the social media platform 𝕏.
      
• In a published statement, the TTU Health Sciences Center noted Meixell’s statements were in opposition to its values. "We take the First Amendment’s application to public universities seriously; however, we are also committed to providing a safe learning and working environment that is free from harassment, including antisemitic harassment, and will not tolerate behavior that crosses the line into harassment and interferes with or limits the ability of an individual to participate in the educational activities of TTUHSC."

Quote-Unquote

"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy."

– John Jay​

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