Good morning, John –

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, February 9, 2021
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• In a new commentary, Rachel Bovard argues that it is time for conservatives to get serious in the fight against the corporate tyranny of Big Tech... and lays out steps to get started.
   
• “No longer do we need to suffer the libertarian retort of ‘build your own’ to every concern raised about Big Tech. That argument evaporated as soon as Apple, Amazon, and Google joined forces to knee-cap Parler, cutting it off from the oxygen supply a growing small business needs to access a mainstream audience.” – Rachel Bovard

• After nearly two weeks away, the Texas House and Senate will gavel in for business later this morning. No legislation is slated to be discussed.
      
• There are 111 days left in the constitutionally allowed regular legislative session. Have you checked out the new Legislative Priorities Tracker? It’s a status board of the Texas Democrats and Texas GOP priorities.
      
• Someone is always keeping score... so Texas Scorecard is making it easier for citizens to keep track!

• As of this week, both chambers of the Texas Legislature have assigned their committees for the 87th Legislature. As a result, reports Jeramy Kitchen, a “heartbeat bill” might have revived legislative prospects.
   
• Under such a law, abortions would be illegal in Texas once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
     
• A push for the measure last session had 70 percent of the Republican caucus signed on in support, but the bill was sent by former Speaker Dennis Bonnen to a committee chaired by a pro-abortion Democrat – who promptly killed the measure. This session, that committee will be chaired by State Rep. Stephanie Klick, who was a co-author of the measure in 2019.
         
• Since the last regular session of the Texas Legislature, there have been 12 states that passed some version of a heartbeat bill into law including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah.

• The Texas chapter of Gun Owners of America has developed a reference guide for pro-Second Amendment legislation. Check out their website for details.

Today in History 

On Feb. 9, 1825, the U.S. House decided the presidential election of the previous year since none of the four candidates received a majority of the electoral votes. Despite his second-place showing in both the electoral and popular elections of November 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected by the House but was denied re-election in 1828. 

Legislative Priorities Tracker

An updated listing of where Republican and Democrat priorities are in the Texas Legislature. (Click images for full size and details.)

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