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We think we've squashed the gremlins that were displaying incorrect lawmaker information at the bottom of each day's email. I cannot guarantee you'll always like who is listed, but—hopefully—the information is correct!

This is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

ICE Agents No Longer Under Biden-era Restrictions

• President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has repealed several memos by former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that limited the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Will Biagini has the story.
       
• One of the most significant was from 2021. It had expanded the list of places, called “protected areas,” where ICE agents were restricted from enforcing immigration policy. Mayorkas expanded it to include schools, universities, and healthcare institutions. This week, the Trump administration changed those guidelines to state that officers should use “discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense.”
      
• Current ICE agents believe that rescinding Mayorkas’ orders will give them more freedom to enforce immigration law and go after illegal aliens who try to evade capture by hiding behind schools and churches.
      
• Yesterday, Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed that ICE agents have been sent out to begin the deportation process. “Our teams are out there as of today,” he said on Fox News. “We gave them the direction to prioritize public threats that we’re looking for.”

Legislation Expands Prosecutorial Power of the Attorney General

• Emily Medeiros reports on new legislation filed in the Texas Senate that would give the attorney general additional prosecutorial powers in certain cases.
       
• The measure by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) would give power to the attorney general to prosecute crimes related to elections, abortion, and abuse of office when local prosecutors fail to act. It also amends the election code by changing the attorney general’s role from discretionary—“may prosecute”—to mandatory—“shall prosecute”—for election-related offenses.
        
• In recent years, local Democrat district attorneys have adopted highly politicized policies in which they refuse to prosecute any cases in their jurisdiction dealing with subject matters on which they disagree with the state's Republican majority.

Public Utility Commission Yet To Begin Rulemaking for Energy Reliability Laws

• A new report finds that the Public Utility Commission of Texas has not yet initiated the rulemaking process for energy reliability statutes outlined by lawmakers in 2023. Luca Cacciatore has details from the Sunset Advisory Commission's compliance report on the PUC and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
       
• For example, ERCOT is required under law to issue a mandate by December 1, 2027, that requires operators to back up their energy commitments. A "firming requirement" essentially targets unreliable energy sources like wind and solar by ensuring they can reliably deliver the power they claim.
       
• The PUC does not expect to begin the rulemaking process until later in 2025.
       
• Jason Isaac, founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute, slammed the PUC for not yet taking action. "Texans deserve action now, not years of inaction and planning." 
      
• On the other hand, the delays don't bother Bill Peacock of the Energy Alliance. He has warned that the firming requirement could mean higher energy prices for Texas ratepayers.

Texas Racing Commission Faces Continued Scrutiny

• A state auditor’s report from last summer has revealed ongoing financial mismanagement at the Texas Racing Commission, an agency that Daniel Greer reports is already under legislative scrutiny.
       
• An audit of the commission’s Horse Industry Escrow Account found that over $3 million in expenditures lacked proper documentation, making it impossible to determine how the funds were used.
   
• Legislation passed in 2019 sweeps sales tax revenues from horse-related items into an escrow account used to supplement race purses. Yet it turns out that money from that slush fund is being sent to out-of-state breeders rather than support Texans.
       
• The audit also found that escrow account funds were used for unallowable purposes, including $7,856 in lodging expenses.
       
• Currently, four tracks are operating in the state: Gillespie County Fair & Festivals, Lone Star Park, Retama Park, and Sam Houston Race Park.

West Texas Teacher Charged with Sexual Assault of a Child

• A teacher and coach from the Robert Lee Independent School District has been arrested for sexually assaulting a child. As Erin Anderson reports, the abuse allegedly took place over a four-year period.
      
• Justin Wade Esquell, 49, has been at the Robert Lee ISD since 2014. The district's superintendent has not yet responded to a request for comment on Esquell’s arrest or whether the alleged victim was a student in the district.
     
• Esquell previously worked as a football coach and athletic director at Water Valley ISD in Tom Green County. He is the fifth Texas school employee arrested this month for sexually assaulting a child.

COMMENTARY

Scarborough: What Did Texans Go to Austin on January 14 To See?

• In a new commentary, Pastor Rick Scarborough of Recover America explains the tragic significance of a Texas Democrat proposing marriage to his lover during the swearing-in ceremony on the House floor. 

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– Calvin Coolidge​

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