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Good morning!

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, May 8, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Abbott Presses Lawmakers for Bail Reform: ‘Citizens or Criminals?’

• Gov. Greg Abbott is turning up the pressure on House lawmakers to pass one of his key priorities: bail reform. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• The governor hosted a roundtable in Austin yesterday with law enforcement officials, policy leaders, and victims of violent crime to advocate for a proposed constitutional amendment to strengthen Texas’ bail system. Abbott's proposal has three main tenets:

1. Require judges to deny bail for those accused of violent crimes—such as murder, rape, and human trafficking—unless there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant will appear in court and will not pose a danger to the public.
2. Mandate that judges who grant bail to violent offenders provide a written, public explanation of their decisions.
3. Allow prosecutors to appeal judges’ bail decisions that may endanger public safety.

• The Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 1 by a vote of 28-2 in mid-February. It has been sitting in the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence for nearly two months without action.
      
• “Every member of the Texas House has one question to answer. Are they going to vote to protect the citizens they represent—or the criminals who kill them?” – Greg Abbott

Advocates Warn Time Is Running Out for 'Parental Bill of Rights'

• Legislation that would overhaul how Texas public schools interact with parents is in danger of dying in the House, even after clearing the Senate nearly two months ago and earning the public backing of Gov. Greg Abbott. Less than four weeks remain in the legislative session.
      
• Senate Bill 12, dubbed the “Parental Bill of Rights,” passed the Senate on March 19. However, House Speaker Dustin Burrows waited more than a month to refer the legislation to the Public Education Committee. Since then, the committee has not scheduled it for a hearing. 
      
• The wide-ranging proposal by State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe) would ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from pre-K through 12th grade, prohibit school employees from promoting or requiring “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) efforts, and require schools to obtain written parental consent before providing medical or psychological services to students. It would also strengthen parents’ access to their children’s educational records.
       
• In a post on X earlier this week, Abbott urged lawmakers to advance the measure. Despite that, the House leadership has not acted to advance the legislation.

RELATED NEWS

• Advocates call Senate Bill 13 “a vital fix” to the 2023 READER Act, which isn’t working as intended due to legal challenges, unclear definitions, and a lack of enforcement. This new legislation passed out of the Senate in mid-March with bipartisan support, but it did not get a hearing in the House until this week.

College Professors Argue Against Higher Education Reform

• Several college professors testified against a proposed reform that would end “shared governance” in higher education and create new oversight for curriculum standards. Adam Cahn has the story.

       
• By way of background, “shared governance” describes a system in which universities’ boards of regents share power with the faculty. It has come under scrutiny after repeated revelations of left-wing ideology being pushed by university faculty through that governance model. The state constitution gives oversight of state colleges and universities exclusively to the gubernatorially appointed regents.
      
• During a House hearing on Senate legislation that would limit the decision-making power of faculty senates and place them in strictly advisory roles, university employees spoke out against reform. They derided the legislation's impact on “academic freedom,” claimed it would beget “censorship,” and accused legislators of “politicizing higher education.”
       
• A representative from Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Scholars worried the proposed measure would “dismantle” instructors' ability to push LGBT themes and queer theory at the state's public universities.
     
• Yes, good; that is exactly the point. No more taxpayer financing of this nonsense!

What Happened In May’s School District Elections?

• Below you will find a complete lineup of Texas Scorecard's shows and podcasts.

Houston To Continue Race-Based City Contracting Program

• Joseph Trimmer reports that Houston’s City Council voted 12-3 to continue a program prioritizing certain contractors for city contracts based on the business owner’s race or sex.
     

• In Houston, the content of your character and the value of your work are of far less value than the color of your skin.

Paxton Nabs Frio County Officials & Election Workers in Vote-Harvest Ring

• Six people, including five public officials, have been indicted and arrested for election crimes related to a vote-harvesting scheme in Frio County, located just southwest of San Antonio. Ian Camacho reports that the case dates back to late 2022.
     
• Under the Election Code, vote harvesting is when someone is paid to obtain votes through coercion, intimidation, forgery, or theft of mail-in ballots.

Quote-Unquote

"One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their just rights."

– President James Polk​

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