Good morning –

Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to award a $295 million contract to a shadowy company for a constitutionally dubious “contact tracing” program is raising questions from many Texans... even while most lawmakers are sitting silent.

Here is today's Texas Minute. 

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, June 2, 2020
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• OK, so not every member of the Texas Legislature is sitting silent. State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) and Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) have sent Gov. Abbott separate letters expressing frustration with the $295 million contract he awarded to New York-founded MTX Group, which recently opened an office in Frisco. The company doesn’t have much of a track record, and its president appears to have either inflated or misrepresented his educational background. 
      
• In his letter, Rep. Tinderholt points to the incongruities in the businesses the governor is allowing to open compared to those he is keeping shut. “I am baffled that in a state run by a majority of Republicans we are picking winners and losers in every single industry.”
      
• Tinderholt added that he believes Abbott’s contact tracing program represents a “gross invasion of personal liberty and privacy” that will potentially violate “medical privacy laws.” 
      
• Have questions or concerns about the $295 million contract Gov. Abbott awarded to MTX Group? Make sure the governor and your legislators – both the state representative and the state senator – hear from you. All of their phone numbers are noted below, or can be found online.
       
• Eighty days have passed since Gov. Greg Abbott first issued an emergency declaration over fears of the Chinese coronavirus. Since then, he has used the twice-renewed declaration to order businesses to close, require Texans to stay in their homes, ban large gatherings, and more. Now, State Rep. Mike Lang (R-Granbury) wants the legislature convened into a special session to review the disaster declarations. Brandon Waltens has the full story.
   
• Specifically, Rep. Lang takes aim at the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 and Section 418 of the Texas Government Code, which the governor has used to justify his unilateral response during the past two and a half months, and says he is drafting legislation to “bring it up to constitutional standards.” 
     
• Unemployment claims in Texas brought on by Gov. Abbott’s closure of the state economy are now between 2.4 million and 2.89 million, according to the latest data from the Texas Workforce Commission. The Texas economy remains approximately 50 percent closed; many of the businesses allowed open by Gov. Abbott are operating between 25 and 75 percent of their capacity.
   
• Not surprisingly, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced yesterday sales tax revenues have plummeted 13 percent compared to last year’s collections – and the steepest year-over-year decline since 2010. Cary Cheshire has the details. This has deep ramifications for the state’s current budget, and the 2021 legislative session.
     
• Grassroots leaders have called for Gov. Greg Abbott and state lawmakers to get ahead of this by moving to reduce spending and prioritize tax relief immediately, but no significant action has been taken.
   
• The ACLU and its Texas chapter have withdrawn their lawsuit against seven Texas towns that had declared themselves sanctuaries for the unborn and adopted ordinances outlawing abortion within their city limits.

• Violence swept across the country over the weekend, with far-left groups taking advantage of the outrage at the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. In a new commentary, Metroplex attorney Warren Norred takes a deeper look at the circumstances leading up to Mr. Floyd’s death.  
   
• With Texas’ John Ratcliffe departing Congress to serve as the Director of National Intelligence, Cary Cheshire reports on what Republican leaders in the 4th Congressional District are saying about the kind of candidate they’re looking for as a replacement on the November ballot.
   
• “We need a smart and intelligent candidate that supports and defends the Constitution of the United States first and foremost.” – Marion County GOP Chairman Scott Stebins
      
• Because Ratcliffe had already obtained the 2020 Republican Party nomination in the March Primary, the election of a new candidate falls on those officials. Cheshire explained last week the rarely-used process, set forth in state law.
   
• The CD4 race is a good reminder of why citizens must be involved in all levels of government – especially local government and even party politics – if they wish to maximize their voice.
   
• Records from the U.S. Senate have revealed lobbyist-turned-congressional candidate Josh Winegarner lobbied to keep the now-eliminated NAFTA, and opposed the Trump administration on country of origin labeling standards. Thomas Warren reports Winegarner is currently locked in a heated Republican primary runoff against Dr. Ronny Jackson, former Physician to the President and retired Navy rear admiral. Jackson has earned the endorsement of President Trump in the contest.