Greetings Citizen Advocates!

Well, election day is just around the corner, and I think we’ve left it all on the field.  I’ve been impressed with the number of TTP activists I’ve seen block walking, phone banking, poll greeting and poll working.  It makes my little heart happy!  So, kudos to all of you who have worked so hard to bring success to this election.  One of the best and most important things we do as activists is vote, and help good candidates get elected.  THANK YOU!

Happening at the Capitol

There are still interim hearings going on at the Capitol.  Several coming up in the next 2 weeks for the Senate Committees.  The House seems to be asleep.  Here’s a rundown – if there’s a topic that interests you or if you’re able to get to Austin to testify, please take advantage.  If you can’t go to Austin to testify, you can call or email the members of the Committee.  Remember, Interim hearings are about collecting information and studying ways to make legislation better or write new legislation next session.  The Senators need to hear from us.

Thursday Nov 7^th, 10 AM – Local Government Committee

·         Housing Affordability

·         Additional Property Tax relief and reform

**I’m going to do my best to attend this one, to let Senator Bettencourt know what I think of their previous property tax (non) relief.       

Monday, Nov 11^th, 9 AM – Sub Committee on Higher Education

·         Faculty Senates

·         Stopping DEI to strengthen the Texas workforce

·         Improving K12-College pathways

Wednesday, Nov 13, 9 AM – Health & Human Services Committee

·         Protecting vulnerable Texans in emergencies

Thursday, Nov 14^th, 10 AM – Natural Resources & Economic Development Committee

·         Enhancing Workforce Productivity

If you wish to contact the members of the Committee, you can find their names here.  Click on the member’s name to see phone # or mailing address.  Remember you can email any Senator with [email protected].

If you plan to attend a hearing, just click on the highlighted link in the committee names above, to see specifics, and room numbers.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!

We are getting very excited about the upcoming legislative session, and we have big plans to get folks engaged with state government.  We will have numerous opportunities for you to take part in our citizen advocate activities at the Capitol.  I hope you will join us for one or more of the events we’ve planned.  We’ll be there every Tuesday during session, and other days as the schedule demands.  And….. this year we have a special opportunity for you to join in.

We’re very pleased to announce that TTP will partner with Texas Gun Rights (TXGR) to sponsor “free” bus trips to the Capitol during session. 

There will be one bus per month departing from a different TTP Satellite location each month.  We hope to engage activists from all different parts of the state.  While at the Capitol, we will work on moving TXGR’s and TTP’s legislative priorities, and work to stop bad legislation.  This might involve handing out position papers and legislative priority lists, testifying at hearings, talking to legislators or staff, writing notes to committee members – whatever it takes.  There will be a ticket link to sign up for the bus trips, with detailed information about departure place/time etc.  In general, we will try to have the bus arrive in Austin by 10 AM, and depart for home around 4 PM.  Of course, actual departure times will vary depending on the distance to be traveled.  On days when there isn’t a bus, we encourage you to come to the Capitol anyway – get together with others and car pool (we reimburse 20 cents a mile for car pools), or come by yourself, and meet others there.  I’ll always be there (or I’ll have a designated person to stand in for me).  During session, all our plans will be in the Fran’s Friday messages, and also posted in the Citizen Advocates chat group in Facebook. So make sure you're on the email list, and look for updates every Friday!

Watch for details coming soon, but for now, please mark you calendars for these important dates at the Capitol. (Note - these dates are subject to change)

Tuesday Jan. 14 – Opening Day of Session:  Bus trip from Beaumont area, with stopover in Katy

Tuesday Jan 21 – TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Tuesday Jan 28 – Texan.News legislative Kickoff.  This is a paid event but very worthwhile. (Note – I will be attending this workshop, so we will NOT being doing Citizen Advocate work that day)

Tuesday Feb. 4 – Bus trip from Dallas with stopover in Waco

Tuesday Feb. 11 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol with mini training on Legislative Process

Tuesday Feb 18 – TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol & Texans for Vaccine Choice Rally & Birthday

Tuesday Feb. 25 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Monday Mar 3 – TRUE TEXAN DAY AT THE CAPITOL!  A very fun day with special events just for True Texas Project peeps.

Tuesday Mar 4 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Tuesday Mar 11 – Bus trip from Frisco with stopover in Waxahachie

Tuesday Mar 18 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol with mini training on Using the TLO

Tuesday Mar 25 – True Texas KIDS at the Capitol.  A special day to introduce kids to citizen activism

Tuesday Apr 1 - Bus trip from Grapevine with stopover in Burleson

Tuesday April 8 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Tuesday April 15 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol with mini training on How to Testify

Tuesday April 22 – TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Tuesday April 29 – TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Tuesday May 6 – Bus trip from Cypress with stopover in Brenham

Tuesday May 13 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol with mini training on effective communication with elected representatives

Tuesday May 20 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Tuesday May 27 - TTP Citizen Activists at the Capitol

Wednesday June 2 – Sine Die (session ends)

So, hop on the bus, Gus!  Or organize a carpool, or get yourself there some other way!  It’s fun, it’s educational, it’s productive, and…. IT WORKS!  We’ve developed a reputation for having the boots on the ground at the Capitol, and they all know we mean business.

Update on Non Citizens Voting

Our last Friday Message was 10/11/24 regarding a directive from Secretary of State's office to allow people with temporary IDs to have a regular ballot.  That message went out early Friday morning, and later that afternoon, the SOS put a new statement, reversing the first one.  People with temporary ID's are supposed to be offered provisional ballots unless they provide proof of citizenship.

It's good that the SOS reversed her directive, but it doesn't solve the problem.  It is also indicative of the confusion coming from the SOS on election rules and waivers.  The following Wednesday, I attended a Senate State Affairs committee hearing where the topic was discussed at length.  Here are some basic facts about non citizens registering and/or voting.

• It is illegal for non citizens to vote
• When registering to vote, it is against Federal law to require proof of citizenship.  Meaning States cannot require proof of citizenship for federal elections.
• States can (and some do) require proof of citizenship for State/local elections, but that means that they basically have to keep 2 voter rolls.  One for national elections and one for state.  This has been done successfully in Arizona, but it means that they have 2 separate poll books.  One for state and one for national. A representative from Arizona testified at the hearing, explaining how it's done.
• 85% of voter registrations come from DPS, where the person is asked the citizenship question.  The non citizens with legal resident status are supposed to be given "temporary" licenses or IDs.
• 15% of voter registrations come in paper form through the mail or in person.  In this case there is no proof of citizenship or even asking the person about citizenship.  The SOS office validates that it's a real person, but does not verify citizenship on these paper applications.
• Christina Adkins, from SOS Office of Elections testified that from Sep 2021 to Aug 2024, 581 people who had registered to vote admitted that they were not citizens and were removed (usually because of a jury summons).  But 6,000 non citizens were identified through DPS information.
• According to the representative from Ken Paxton's office, the best solution to all of this is for Congress to pass the SAVE act.  Of course, with a Democrat controlled Senate, that's not going to happen.  Fingers crossed for a Republican Controlled Senate next year!

Probably the best thing we can do for now to address this problem, is make sure Republicans win next Tuesday, and convince Congress to pass the SAVE Act.  I can tell you that all Senators on this committee appeared to me to be completely dedicated to making sure that non citizens do not vote in our elections.  Requiring proof of citizenship to register and changing the election process would require legislation, and they all seemed open to that.  We'll be keeping our eyes on any legislation that addresses this issue as bill filing begins.

That's all I have for this week!  Be sure to mark your calendars for our legislative activities in 2025.  And VOTE (if you haven't already)!

Stay Engaged!

Fran Rhodes, President