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Texas lawmakers will consider restricting minors' access to social media. In this week's One Click Survey, we want to know what you think.

This is the Texas Minute for Inauguration Day—Monday, January 20, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Dan Patrick Names Senate Committee Chairs

• On Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced his Texas Senate committee appointments—upholding a promise not to give chairmanships to Democrats. Luca Cacciatore has the details.
     
• “No Democrat Chairs” is a legislative priority of the Texas GOP, which maintains that the majority party should control each chamber’s committees.
     
• Patrick’s announcement came two days after senators voted on their permanent rules for the 89th Legislature, defining the structure of the Senate's standing committees for this session.
      
• Meanwhile, the House has yet to vote on its rules, much less assign committees.

Online Lottery Ticket Vendor Partners With Uber

• Despite state law prohibiting the online sales of lottery tickets, an Uber passenger in Texas recently received a free lottery ticket offer from Lotto.com on the ride-sharing app after completing a ride. As Daniel Greer reports, the Texas Sunset Commission recently issued a report critical of the Lottery Commission's staff for abusing their power and exceeding state law.
         
• Texas lawmakers are currently contemplating reining in the rogue commission and the proliferation of online gambling through so-called courier companies.
       
• Lotto.com sells lottery tickets, including scratch tickets, online and accepts credit card payments—practices not legal in Texas. The Uber customer who reported the advertisement to Texas Scorecard said they have no history of gambling or lottery participation and were surprised by the offer.
       
• The top 20 percent of lottery players—dominated by uneducated, low-income minorities—account for up to 80 percent of lottery sales.

Morgan Luttrell Introduces Legislation to Combat Human Trafficking

• Republican U.S. Rep. Morgan Luttrell has introduced legislation to provide additional federal funding for state and local law enforcement authorities to help combat human sex trafficking. Debra McClure has more information.
      
• There are believed to be more than 300,000 individuals being trafficked in and through Texas. The state ranks second in the nation for trafficking.
     
• "Human traffickers cannot be allowed to terrorize and exploit our communities any longer." – Morgan Luttrell

Texas Joins Multi-state Lawsuit Over Gas Water Heater Regulation

• Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined a legal challenge against the outgoing Biden administration’s recent regulation targeting gas-powered water heaters. As Sydnie Henry reports, 17 other states are also involved in the lawsuit.
   
• On December 26, 2024, the Department of Energy issued a rule prohibiting the sale of non-condensing instantaneous natural gas water heaters. Paxton and a coalition of attorneys general from multiple states contest the move is unlawful.
     
• The lawsuit—led by Georgia, Kansas, and Tennessee—argues that this regulation disproportionately affects seniors and low-income households by limiting market options and potentially forcing consumers to use products that may require more energy for the same performance.
       
• “Until the final second of Biden’s tenure in Washington, I will defend Texas from the chronic lawlessness of his Administration.” — Ken Paxton

Another Texas Teacher, Coach Arrested for Sexually Assaulting a Child

• A Central Texas teacher and coach was arrested Wednesday for sexually assaulting a student. The incident was first reported to the Bartlett Independent School District in August but, as Erin Anderson reports, is only now being publicly acknowledged by officials.
      
• Charles Eugene Poling was arrested last week by the Bartlett Police Department and charged with sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between educator and student. Poling was a teacher and assistant football coach in Bartlett Independent School District. He was reportedly placed on administrative leave when the allegations surfaced.
          
• Poling taught at multiple Texas school districts over the past several years, including Tarkington ISD (2022), La Pryor ISD (2020-2021), Spring Branch ISD (2019), and Dimmitt ISD (2015-2018).

REAL TEXANS

Bonnie Wallace of Llano

Quote-Unquote

"Officeholders are the agents of the people, not their masters."

– Grover Cleveland​

One Click Survey

Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing TikTok for allowing its algorithms to make explicit content available to children. Earlier this month, a joint committee of the Texas Senate and House heard about the negative psychological impact social media is having on children.

It has been proposed that Texas prohibit social media access to children. At what age should state law allow children to access social media?
 

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