Good morning!

When lawmakers convene in early January to start the 87th Session of the Texas Legislature, should they increase or cut their own tax-funded office budgets? That is the subject of today’s One Click Survey.

But first, here is the Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, December 15, 2020
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• Thinking you might just show up at the Texas Capitol when lawmakers convene on Jan. 12, 2021? Think again.
   
• A new memorandum provided to Texas Scorecard outlines the rules and procedures for the opening day of the legislative session in the Texas House, giving potential foresight into what the 140-day session could look like: coronavirus tests, mandated masks, reduced seating, and all. Brandon Waltens reports everyone attending the opening day ceremonies — whether members-elect, family, media, or the general public — will be asked to take a COVID-19 screening test before entering the Texas Capitol.
     
• Notably, the House memo states there will be a “limited number of seats available in the gallery for members of the public.” The process of assigning those seats is “forthcoming.”

• Texas’ delegates to the Electoral College met in the state capitol yesterday to officially give the Lone Star State’s 38 presidential electoral votes to President Donald Trump.
     
• That isn’t the only business they performed, however. The electors also passed a resolution calling on the state legislatures of Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania to appoint their own electors in the wake of election fraud. The Texas electors’ resolution also condemned the lack of action from the U.S. Supreme Court on the election lawsuit brought by Texas General Ken Paxton.

• Here’s something amusing by celebrated Christian author and national radio show host Eric Metaxes. It is a good example of effectively using humor and good cheer to make some incredibly serious points.

• Citizens in Fredericksburg are enjoying a victory after fighting city hall over an “Orwellian” coronavirus mandate violation reporting program that sought to turn neighbor against neighbor. Business owners and everyday citizens showed up en masse to voice their opposition at a city council meeting last week.
      
• “This Orwellian tool is an online hotline neighbors can use to turn in their neighbors they believe are not complying with the mandates,” said local activist Tonya Benson, imploring the council and mayor to take action and take down the reporting tool.
        

• “I’ve always heard that you can’t beat city hall, but the citizens of Fredericksburg just did,” said Matt Long, a leader of the Fredericksburg Tea Party and local radio host. “Our voices can and do make a difference.”

• Plano City Council passed an ordinance requiring council members to recuse themselves from votes that could benefit donors who contributed more than $1,000 to their political campaigns. Erin Anderson has the details.
      
• The ordinance took effect immediately and applies to both cash and in-kind contributions from individuals or political action committees. 
      
• Opponents, including Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere, said it was unfair to impose the ordinance ahead of their 2021 election season. In the 2017 elections, more than half of LaRosiliere’s donations came from individuals and PACs with ties to developers or their financiers, apartment projects, and other special interests from outside Plano.

• Following a year in which state government mandates have caused millions of people to be tossed from work, and thousands of businesses to be permanently shuttered, some Texas legislators want to increase the size of their office budgets. One GOP lawmaker says the move would allow them to hire more or better staff, who would in turn help save money. Others see it as tone-deaf in the real world of suffering taxpayers and budget shortfalls.
        
• Such a move would happen in the first days of the legislative session as part of lawmakers’ “housekeeping” and “rules” debates – and long before any consideration is given to tax cuts, restraints on executive overreach, or banning taxpayer-funded lobbying.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Should state lawmakers increase their office budgets in 2021, or cut their office spending?