Good morning!

Do you care about your federal tax burden? If so, pay special attention to the important note you’ll find after the Number of the Day about the tax implications of year-end giving.

It is 2020, after all, so of course things are different. But, in this case, it’s good news!

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, December 22, 2020
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• Speaking of 2020... With just nine days left in the year, what one word would you use to describe it? Let us know. I’ll send the results of this survey early next week.

• Before the legislative session starts, grassroots activists have forced lawmakers to reopen the Texas Capitol. It has been closed to the public since March due to concerns over the Chinese coronavirus.
      
• Brandon Waltens reports Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and outgoing Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced the Capitol would be reopened on January 4. The announcement comes after the Republican Party of Texas’ executive committee passed a resolution demanding the Capitol reopen without restriction for the upcoming legislative session.
      
• The statement contained no details on possible restrictions, except to note “each chamber will vote upon their respective rules and protocols at the start of the legislative session.”
       
• Lawmakers have reportedly considered (behind closed doors) a variety of restrictions on public access to the Capitol, including mandatory masks, temperature checks, and COVID testing before entering the building, and limiting capacity in the galleries and committee rooms. 
       
• The Texas Capitol must be more open than any restaurant or business. As the Constitution reminds us, there should be no law, mandate, rule, or restriction in any way limiting the “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

• State Rep. Drew Springer (R–Muenster) is headed to the Texas Senate after winning a special runoff election on Saturday. He faced political newcomer and fellow Republican Shelley Luther in one of the state’s most unusual races in recent memory. Erin Anderson has the race results.
   
• The special election was called by Gov. Greg Abbott in late August to be held in late September, giving candidates less than a week to file. After the first round election, in which Luther emerged in a close first place, the runoff election was set for three months later.
     
• Springer, with the backing of the Austin political establishment, took 56 percent of the vote in the low-turnout election to represent SD 30. The district includes Archer, Clay, Cooke, Erath, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Wichita, Wise, Young, and parts of Collin and Denton counties.

• Springer’s win means there will be a vacancy in the House seat he currently holds when the Legislature convenes on Jan. 12. The governor must call a special election to fill it.

• Texas Right to Life is highlighting the abortion industry’s gruesomely perverse take on Christmas. The state’s oldest and largest prolife group is pointing to an abortion advocate’s social media post of a Christmas tree adorned with the tools used by abortionists to dismember babies in the womb with a still-beating heart.
      
• You might recall that last year a pro-abortion group distributed Christmas candles with the message “Abortions are magical.”

• Texas Scorecard sent open records requests to highly populated Texas cities—Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston—asking for “all citations and/or warnings issued to any individual, business, and/or non-profit entity for violation of COVID-19 related ordinances.”
        
• Robert Montoya reports that in November the City of Austin led the pack, followed by Fort Worth and Dallas. Houston and San Antonio, meanwhile, reported finding no citations.
      
• Since March, Gov. Greg Abbott has decreed statewide shutdowns, closed bars, set occupancy limits, temporarily banned families from being with their loved ones in nursing homes, and issued a statewide mask mandate while allowing local officials to fine businesses for not enforcing mask wearing within their establishments.
      
• Republican Party of Texas Chair Allen West has also spoken out against the imposition of coronavirus mandates by Gov. Abbott and local officials, with the party itself calling for the Texas Legislature to address “executive overreach” in the 87th legislative session.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Now that a coronavirus vaccine is being administered, do you think mask mandates should remain in force?

End-Of-Year Giving

As you know, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress on March 27, 2020. Among other things, the legislation included provisions expanding charitable giving tax deductions for 2020.

You can deduct your gift to us, even if you take the standard deduction. The CARES Act allows for up to $300 per taxpayer (or, $600 for a married couple) in an “above-the-line” deduction for charitable gifts made in 2020 and claimed on taxes in 2021.

This means you can lower your income tax bill by giving to our work on or before December 31, 2020, even if you take the standard deduction on your taxes. 

If you itemize deductions, there are new charitable deduction limits. The CARES Act increases the existing cap on charitable cash contributions for those who itemize, raising it from 60% of adjusted gross income to 100% in 2020. Please talk with your accountant or tax professional to learn more.

To take advantage of this temporary change in the tax law – and support the work of Texas Scorecard – make your gift on or before Dec. 31, 2020. You can give online, or mail a check (postmarked Dec. 31!) payable to Empower Texans Foundation: