Dade Phelan has maintained 365 days of secrecy over impeachment costs... ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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There are 47 days until the General Election and 117 days until the Texas Legislature convenes. This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

BUT FIRST... Don't forget that nominations are due by 5 p.m. tomorrow (9/19) for the 2024 Conservative Leader Awards.

Clean Rolls a Key Component of Trustworthy Elections

In a new analysis, Daniel Greer describes the importance of accurate and clean voter rolls as an essential component of trustworthy elections.
Republicans have long advocated for voter rolls that exclude dead voters and non-citizens. Democrats, on the other hand, have a long history of fighting such efforts.
Last month, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that more than a million ineligible voters have been removed from the Texas voter rolls since 2021. More than 6,500 were noncitizens, of whom 1,930 had voting histories.

365 Days of Secrecy

On September 18, 2023, just two days after the Senate acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for a full audit of the impeachment’s expenses. As Brandon Waltens reports, House Speaker Dade Phelan still refuses to release the records.
In a letter to state auditor Lisa Collier last year, Patrick asked for all expenditures incurred by the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate from March 1, 2023, through October 15, 2023. The Senate quickly provided receipts showing they spent $435,000 during the two months of preparation and the trial itself.
Open records requests have revealed the House has spent at least $4.3 million for the impeachment, including money given to a public relations firm before and after the trial.
That price tag alone well exceeds the $3.3 million cost of the settlement the Attorney General’s office reached with a group of former employees who claimed they were fired unfairly to avoid further litigation. Phelan said that the settlement—which was not approved by the House—was the impetus for their impeachment of Paxton.
To prosecute their case, the House hired prominent Houston attorneys Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin to lead the prosecution. They reportedly charged the taxpayers $500 an hour each, along with a group of other outside lawyers—all paid hourly—providing legal assistance.
"Dade Phelan desperately wants to conceal from Texas taxpayers how much of their money he wasted in his attempt to remove me from office and deprive voters of the leadership they elected. He hired a huge team of expensive lawyers to wage their phony impeachment war against me and failed. He wants to hide the true cost of his stunt, but the public deserves transparency." – Ken Paxton

CATCH UP ON THE STORY...

Zero Elective Abortions Performed in Texas Since August 2022

Since the implementation of Texas’ trigger law and the overturning of Roe v Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court, there have been zero elective abortions performed in the state of Texas. Emily Medeiros reviews new data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages were excluded from the definition of abortion, and thus, medical procedures to handle either instance would not be subject to the law.
Texas Right to Life President John Seago told Texas Scorecard that the abortion industry has changed tactics in light of the pro-life laws in many states. For example, he said, there has been a rise in abortion pills being mailed into the state.
"The biggest threat to the anti-abortion movement right now is apathy and complacency." – John Seago

A&M-Central Texas To Spotlight Faculty Research on 'Transgender' Veterans

Texas A&M University-Central Texas is presenting a faculty spotlight program this week on sociology professor Michelle Dietert’s research on sexuality and "transgender" veterans. Valerie Muñoz has the details.
Dietert’s areas of research interest at A&M's Central Texas campus include "The Military Experiences of Transgender Individuals." She has a history of advancing the transgender ideology through the lens of the military. She penned an article for the Journal of Homosexuality entitled "Transgender Military Experiences: From Obama to Trump."
She is also credited with starting the "Gay Straight Alliance" at the A&M Central Texas campus.

U.S. House Votes to Hold WHO in Check

With one exception, all of Texas’ Republican congressional delegation voted in favor of legislation limiting the World Health Organization's influence in the United States. Debra McClure reports that the measure—H.R. 1425—is designed to assert U.S. autonomy from the international agency.
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger was the only Texas Republican who did not vote for the measure; she missed the vote entirely. The measure passed 219-199 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Texas Republican Nathaniel Moran cosponsored H.R. 1425. He described WHO's influence on U.S. pandemic policies as "troubling."
In May, Gov. Greg Abbott joined 23 Republican governors in a letter to President Biden opposing the administration’s consideration of what they described as an unconstitutional "Pandemic Agreement." Such an agreement, various experts have asserted, would give the WHO power to restrict Americans’ rights and freedoms, undermining state authority and the role of elected officials.