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Good morning, 

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, March 13, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Dade Phelan Doubles Down on Meme Regulation

• Former House Speaker Dade Phelan isn’t backing down from his controversial push to regulate political memes and altered images. Despite criticism that his legislation is an infringement on the First Amendment rights of citizens, Phelan told a House committee yesterday that the measure's penalties should be even stronger. Brandon Waltens has the details.
   
• During the hearing, Phelan (R–Beaumont) insisted that his legislation addressed artificial intelligence in political advertising. But as critics have pointed out, the legislation doesn’t distinguish between AI-generated content and simple Photoshop edits—meaning it could criminalize even rudimentary image manipulation in political speech.
        
• Phelan claimed his legislation would not apply to social media posts. Yet, at the same hearing, the general counsel for the Texas Ethics Commission admitted that social media posts could indeed fall under the bill’s jurisdiction. Last year, the TEC imposed a rule allowing itself to regulate social media posts of citizens in certain circumstances.
       
• “Despite Phelan’s attempts to regulate speech and humor, he’s still a joke in the eyes of Texas conservatives.” – David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth Action

Senators Pass Measures Clamping Down on AI-Generated Porn

• Luca Cacciatore reports that members of the Texas Senate unanimously approved two measures yesterday that define and penalize the distribution of sexually explicit content generated by artificial intelligence.
     
• One measure focuses on material that appears to depict children in explicit circumstances, while the other strengthens the definitions of what constitutes the non-consensual distribution of AI deepfakes of adults.
      
• State Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) said explicit AI material is being used “to groom and abuse children.”

Lawmakers Challenge Gambling Lobby Amid Lottery Scandal

• A group of lawmakers is calling on House leadership to skip all attempts by the gambling lobby to expand gambling in the state of Texas during the 2025 legislative session. Daniel Greer has the story.
   
• State Rep. Keresa Richardson (R-McKinney) posted a joint letter signed by 14 Republican colleagues urging State Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) to resist pressure from gambling proponents during the 2025 session. This comes at the same time as a spiraling scandal engulfs the Texas Lottery Commission following a wave of electoral losses for gambling supporters.
       
• It is worth noting that 11 of those signing Richardson's letter are freshmen who unseated incumbents favoring gambling expansion. 
      
• Despite these setbacks, the gambling industry—led by heavyweights like Las Vegas Sands, which operates casinos in China (not Vegas)—has poured millions into an army of lobbyists and a blitz of virtual ads aimed at swaying lawmakers and public opinion.

Lawmaker Grills School Board Association on Lobbying, Parental Rights, and DEI

• State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) wants lawmakers to conduct an investigation into the Texas Association of School Boards, accusing the group of using taxpayer dollars to push left-wing policies in public schools. His comments came during a hearing of the Delivering on Government Efficiency Committee (DOGE) in the Texas House.

Elementary School Teacher Charged for Having Child Assault Videos

• A physical education teacher in La Porte Independent School District is facing felony charges after admitting he downloaded hundreds of images and videos of very young children being sexually assaulted. Erin Anderson reports that district officials did not believe that any La Porte ISD students were involved.
      
• Kody Caleb Smith has been charged with three counts of possessing child pornography videos depicting sexual assaults of minors, a first-degree felony punishable by 25 years to life in prison. 
       
• According to a complaint filed on March 5, a year-long investigation involving the Houston Police Department and Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led investigators to execute a search warrant at Smith’s Seabrook residence on January 29 and question the teacher.
      
• Reportedly, Smith admitted to investigators that he had downloaded and viewed about 200 files of child sexual abuse material over the past three years using the social media app Kik. While he has been charged, Smith has not yet been arrested.

Harris County District Attorney: ‘Nuisance’ Crimes Will Not Be Prosecuted

• Harris County District Attorney's office will refer “nuisance” criminal cases to mental health service providers rather than prosecution, reports Joseph Trimmer. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said his office will refer some individuals to mental health services instead of prosecuting them criminally.
     
• Teare hopes 15 to 25 percent of offenders redirected to mental health services will receive the help needed to stop committing crimes, allowing police to focus on more serious offenders.

Texas Congressman Wants to Block Federal Gun Control During Emergencies

• U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Victoria) has introduced legislation preventing the federal government from using national emergencies as a pretext for unconstitutional gun control measures. As Debra McClure writes, he filed his legislation in response to the Biden administration surgeon general declaring firearm violence a “public health crisis.”
        
• Last month, President Donald Trump issued an executive order preventing the federal government from infringing on Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms.
         
• “We saw during COVID how government agencies exploited emergency powers to strip Americans of their freedoms—including attempts to use public health declarations as a tool for sweeping mandates and restrictions.” – Michael Cloud

Quote-Unquote

"No power on earth has a right to take our property from us without our consent."

– John Jay​

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