Good morning!

We’ve updated our database with the new state legislators and members of Congress. Check the listing at the bottom and let us know if something isn’t right.

But first, here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, January 20, 2021
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• In our ongoing series looking at the highest paid lobbyists in Austin – those men and women paid to whisper in your legislators’ ears – we introduce you to Carol McGarah. Transparency USA estimates McGarah made up to $6,369,999 within a two-year period – 17 percent of that coming from taxpayer-funded clients.
   
• In fact, Ariana Silva reports, the cities of Amarillo, Lubbock, and Waco are among McGarah’s highest-paying clients.
   
• Outside of taxpayer-funded lobbying, McGarah’s work is most notable for efforts to expand environmental regulation. Calpine Corporation, one of her biggest clients, specifically calls for an increase of governmental intervention on the private sector through policies that would promote “environmentally responsible regulation.”

• As the Texas legislative session continues, concerns persist over whether there will be any kind of COVID vaccine mandate in the Lone Star State, despite reassurances from Gov. Greg Abbott. Robert Montoya reports on the legal debate surrounding medical mandates.
   
• For example, Dallas County Commissioner J.J. Koch (R) believes citizens can rest assured the courts won’t allow such mandates. He says there is “a long line of case law that starts largely from our religious communities, whether it be the Amish or some of the other traditional orthodox communities that would refuse treatment like blood transfusions and other things.”
   
• But constitutional law expert Matt Rinaldi, an attorney who works in the healthcare field, asserts that the legal precedent is mixed at best. He points to the fact that “the Supreme Court upheld mandatory vaccinations in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. So, I wouldn’t count on the courts to save us from a bad decision by the Legislature to mandate COVID vaccines.”

• Meanwhile, Dallas County commissioners passed a resolution calling for the Texas Legislature to enact online voter registration and expand mail-in voting. Republican Commissioner J.J. Koch—the only vote against the measure—sided with citizens, arguing for “radical transparency” in elections instead.
   
• Christine Welborn of the election integrity organization Direct Action Texas previously told Texas Scorecard of the vulnerabilities of voting by mail. “Voting by mail does not have any of the protections of voting in person,” she explained. “It potentially eliminates voter ID, the secret ballot, freedom from intimidation while voting, chain of custody, and more.”

• Election integrity continues to be an issue of concern in Texas, and it is the No. 1 priority of the Texas Republican Party.
     

• Just last week in Bexar County, Rachel Rodriguez was arrested for election fraud, illegal voting, unlawfully assisting people who were voting by mail, and unlawfully possessing an official ballot.

• In a thoughtful and timely essay, Jacob Asmussen reminds us that today – perhaps more than ever – we each desperately need to recommit ourselves to upholding eternal truths. 
   
• “We can be a markedly distinct people, who know the truth that sets us free, who personally know Who lives within us, who renew our minds on God’s reality, and who boldly live the beautiful and restorative kingdom of God every day, wherever God has placed us—for such a time as this.” – Jacob Asmussen
   
• In addition to his writing duties, Jacob serves as Texas Scorecard’s staff chaplain – leading a weekly Bible study and encouraging the team to be actively in prayer for each other, our friends, families, and allies.

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