Good morning, 

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Brandon Waltens 

Thursday, June 25, 2020
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• Robert Montoya reports that this November, the Dallas Independent School District will ask voters to approve a shocking $3.7 billion bond—on top of their outstanding $2.5 billion debt, which they haven’t finished using yet. They propose spending $40 million of this not in the classroom, but to support Democrat policies.
   
• During a meeting earlier this week, two of the suggested priorities to use this taxpayer-backed debt on were “Access to Public Benefits” and “Immigration Services”—items that have nothing to do with education.
   
• This is being proposed during a time when millions of Texans are unemployed due to the government-mandated economic shutdown in response to the Chinese coronavirus.

• Tarrant County’s public health director reported this week that deaths from the virus are falling in Texas’ third-most populous county.
   

• At Tuesday’s meeting of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, Public Health Director Dr. Vinny Taneja said that over the weekend, there were over 444 cases in a day (the highest reported spike in a single day), and over 1,630 cases reported last week (the “highest week reporting so far”).
   

• However, he also said, “COVID-19 deaths are trending down.” 
   

• In response to the latest information, the Republican-majority Tarrant commissioners court declined to follow Democrat County Judges Clay Jenkins of Dallas County and Lina Hidalgo of Harris County in issuing a new mask mandate.
   

• "I will beg and plead with you to wear a mask, but I will not require it. I won't even attempt to require it as long as our hospitals are ok." – Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley​

• Two neighboring cities are taking very different paths on budgets and property taxes. In a Texas Scorecard commentary, Michael Swirsky compares the actions of Bryan and College Station.
   
• Swirsky writes that College Station has demonstrated a good start to addressing the virus’ effect on local revenue through budget mitigation strategies that saved the city $5.3 million.
   
• In contrast, however, the City of Bryan's response has been less than stellar. At a time when many people are struggling to provide for their families, the Bryan City Council declared they were exempt from a state law in order to essentially make it easier for them to raise property taxes.

• Meanwhile, Jacob Asmussen reports the City of Austin is encouraging businesses to call 911 on customers who refuse to wear face masks.  
   
• This week, Democrat Mayor Steve Adler enacted a new decree, ordering all businesses—including retail, offices, and apartments—to require everyone inside over 6 years old to wear a mask. Adler also “encourages” restaurants to keep an activity log of all customers, collecting their contact information and tracking where they go in the building.
   
• Punishments for business owners who don’t comply? The city can fine you $1,000 per day, and if you do not track customers, Austin Public Health can “publicly release, without limitation and at its discretion,” the name of your business if they deem it a place of coronavirus infection—a blacklist of disobedient businesses, essentially.

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