Good morning,

As we reported yesterday, Democrats running the City of Austin want to re-introduce segregated public facilities based on skin color as a way to combat perceived racism. That’s the subject of the One Click Survey.

But first, here is today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Modify your email preferences [[link removed]].

It is going to be a busy day at the Texas Capitol, with hearings scheduled for a number of measures considered priorities for conservative activists and the Republican Party. Keep up with it all on Texas Scorecard’s website and social media channels.

Fox example, Jacob Asmussen reports [[link removed]] that later this morning members of the House State Affairs Committee are set to consider public feedback on a proposed law that would protect churches from more government attacks and shutdowns.

The Freedom to Worship Act (House Bill 1239) by Scott Sanford [[link removed]] (R–McKinney) seeks to prevent government officials from shutting down churches.

The Freedom to Worship Act’s Senate companion bill – SB 26 by Angela Paxton [[link removed]] (R-McKinney) – has already passed that chamber’s parallel committee and is currently listed as eligible for senators to debate and vote on it.

Apparently we have learned the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1 Section 6 of the Texas Constitution aren’t clear enough when confronted by a governor and local officials consolidating power during a public emergency. Among the most important issues for many Texans following the troubled 2020 election season are those related to election integrity and ballot security. The Texas House Elections Committee will consider a comprehensive election reform bill—dubbed the “Election Integrity Protection Act of 2021″— authored by the committee’s chairman, Briscoe Cain [[link removed]] (R–Deer Park). As Erin Anderson reports [[link removed]], the measure currently has 39 co-authors.

Among other things, Cain’s proposal – House Bill 6 – cracks down on paid mail-ballot harvesting operations. It expands the state’s organized election fraud [[link removed]] laws to prohibit accepting or paying compensation for vote harvesting services and enhances criminal penalties imposed on vote traffickers.

HB 6 also includes provisions that would:

▪️ Protect voters from intimidation by unsolicited assistants, a practice known as “voter ambush”;

▪️ Clarify the right of poll watchers to be “near enough to see and hear” election officials’ activities;

▪️ Prohibit public officials from distributing unsolicited mail-ballot applications;

▪️ Specify who can be inside a polling place or ballot-processing location;

▪️ Require expedited court action in election fraud cases; and

▪️ Strengthen penalties for several election-related offenses, including making election fraud offenses a second-degree felony.

Your contribution [[link removed]] allows Texas Scorecard to cover the news, events, and issues important to Texans. Not only do donors get the satisfaction of knowing they are advancing self-governance in the Lone Star State, but they also receive the exclusive print edition of Texas Scorecard and invitations to participate in special briefings and trips.

Make a donation today [[link removed]], or become a recurring donor! 🔒 Contribute 🔒 [[link removed]] Dr. David Balat and Jamie Legarde write in a new commentary [[link removed]] that price transparency is a critical component in making healthcare more affordable. They argue that Texans deserve to know what a procedure will cost before committing to pay for it.

“We envision a future where Texans walk in to their primary care doctor and ask for a menu of prices for each test or blood panel needed. Price gouging will improve once parties are forced to show patients the vast discrepancies in prices.” – David Balat and Jamie Legarde [[link removed]] Cisco businessman Jon Francis writes [[link removed]] about the discovery he made of a note his wife’s late grandmother had written to herself – but also constitutes good advice for all of us. She called it her “Happiness Change Card.”

“Even if we live to be 84, our lives are fleeting. It is also true that while the memory of most people fades over time, the contribution of some is significant enough to have a longer influence.” – Jon Francis [[link removed]] Number of the Day

56%

Percentage of Texans in the 2010 U.S. Religion Census who said they were “adherents to a religion.” This compared to the national average of 48.8 percent.

[Source: Texas Almanac [[link removed]]]

One Click Survey

Should Democrats be allowed to re-segregate local government facilities and services based on skin color [[link removed]]?

Yes [[link removed]]

... or ...

No [[link removed]] Quote-Unquote

“All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences. No man shall be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his consent. No human authority ought, in any case whatever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion, and no preference shall ever be given by law to any religious society or mode of worship. But it shall be the duty of the Legislature to pass such laws as may be necessary to protect equally every religious denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of public worship.”

– Texas Constitution

Article 1, Section 6​

Today In History

The Boston Port Act was passed by Parliament on March 25, 1774. It closed the Boston Harbor and ordered residents to pay for damages and losses associated with the Boston Tea Party from four months earlier (Dec. 16, 1773). The action only strengthened resolve for independence.

Your State & Federal Lawmakers [[link removed]]

​U.S. Senator

John Cornyn - R

(202) 224-2934

U.S. Senator

Ted Cruz - R

(202) 224-5922

Governor of Texas

Greg Abbott - R

(512) 463-2000

Lt. Governor

Dan Patrick - R

(512) 463-0001

Attorney General

Ken Paxton – R

(512) 463-2100

Comptroller

Glenn Hegar – R

(512) 463-4600

Land Commissioner

George Bush – R

(512) 463-5001

Commissioner of Agriculture

Sid Miller – R

(512) 463-7476

Railroad Commissioners

Wayne Christian – R

Christy Craddick – R

Jim Wright – R

(512) 463-7158

U.S. House, District

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Texas Senate, District

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PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646 Produced by Michael Quinn Sullivan and Brandon Waltens, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is delivered weekday mornings (though we'll take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

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