Good morning, 

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Brandon Waltens 

Tuesday, July 7, 2020
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• Abbott's latest executive order implementing a statewide mask mandate is not going over well with state lawmakers, some of whom are calling for a special session in response to the string of unilateral executive orders coming from the governor’s office over the past several months.
   
• “It’s time for the executive overreach, confusing contradictions, and fear to end. Call a Special Session of the 86th Legislature immediately.” –State Rep. Mike Lang (R–Granbury)
   
• “I urge Governor Abbott to convene a special session to allow the legislature to pass legislation and hold hearings regarding the COVID-19 response. It should not be the sole responsibility of one person to manage all of the issues related to a disaster that has no end in sight.” –State Sen. Charles Perry (R–Lubbock)
   
• “It is past the time for the Texas legislative body [to] be involved in creating, changing or adding laws to ensure that the liberties guaranteed by the Texas Constitution are protected and that the best possible policies for all Texans are enacted.” –State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood)
   
• “[Gov. Abbott] put down your scepter. Pick up a pen. Call a special session of the legislature. Stop trampling the Constitution.” –State Rep. Matt Schaefer (R–Tyler)
   
• “We need a special session now so legislators can pass laws, not Abbott.” –State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington)
   
• “Unless the Governor is willing to call a special session, as I and other legislators have requested, he bears the responsibility for all outcomes." –State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg) 

• The frustration isn't just limited to state lawmakers, as the Ector County GOP in Odessa has officially censured Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, citing constitutional overreach in his executive orders.
   
• Matt Stringer reports Republican grassroots leaders in Ector County met in Odessa on Saturday, the Fourth of July, and passed a resolution calling for Gov. Greg Abbott to be censured under Texas GOP’s Rule 44.
   
• The censure resolution passed by the party’s elected executive committee cites numerous violations of core principles of the party platform, as well as the United States and Texas Constitutions, by Abbott via his recent executive actions.
   
• “On this day 244 years ago, our founding fathers fought for their independence, from a foe that issued mandates and collected excessive taxes. The Ector County Republican Executive Board decided it would be a fitting day for us to send a clear message to Governor Abbott. A message that we will no longer sit quietly while he overreaches his authority again, again, and again. He does this while ignoring the platform of the Republican Party. The very party whose grassroots voted him into office. So, on this 4th of July, Independence Day we, the Ector County Republican Executive Board, formally voted to censure Gov. Abbott." –Ector County GOP Resolution

• According to Austin Mayor Steve Adler, if you disobey his shutdown orders, you’re “selfish.” Unless he agrees with your cause—in which case, he’ll praise you and even join you.
   
• Jacob Asmussen writes that the Austin mayor was photographed at a march downtown in a protest following the death of George Floyd, in the middle of a sprawling crowd of thousands. In one picture, Adler was in the thick of the marchers, surrounded closely on all sides by the crowd.
   
• Meanwhile, however, Adler has also called those protesting shutdown orders "selfish" and has publicly said he is considering another shutdown.

• In a Texas Scorecard commentary, Chris Fails exposes the Democrat donations made by board members of the organization Associated Republicans of Texas.
   
•  Since 2015, ART’s board has donated almost half a million dollars to Democrats up and down the ballot in Texas—$456,752.68, to be exact. High-profile names include Beto O’Rourke, Colin Allred, Royce West, Gene Wu, and Jose Menedez. All of these Democrats are known for being anti-gun extremists.
   
• Fails concludes that Republicans across the spectrum should be skeptical about “Republicans” endorsed by the Associated Republicans of Texas.

As a reminder, Michael Quinn Sullivan is focused on a special project, but feel free to hit me up with any questions, tips, comments, or concerns!

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