Good morning!

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Modify your email preferences [[link removed]].

Texas Scorecard donors get advance notice of special events and opportunities... like the big one I’ll be announcing to them first on Thursday. If you aren’t a donor, now is your chance [[link removed]]​!

According to documents obtained by Texas Scorecard, four of Texas’ most populous cities issued hundreds of citations over the past year for violating state and local Chinese coronavirus mandates. Robert Montoya reports [[link removed]] that San Antonio issued the most citations, with Fort Worth – typically thought of as a Republican-leaning city – having the dubious distinction of being in second place.

Last March, Gov. Greg Abbott and local officials began decreeing a series of mandates and shutdowns on citizens, including Abbott’s July statewide mask mandate – which he finally rescinded weeks ago, along with most of his other restrictions.

One small business owner said officials’ shutdown citations against him [[link removed]] cost $30,000 and even resulted in the issuance of an arrest warrant.

Despite being a priority of the Republican Party of Texas, the GOP-dominated Texas House and Senate have yet to advance legislation curtailing executive overreach. A package of major pro-life legislation cleared a key hurdle yesterday, passing the Texas Senate. Jacob Asmussen has the details [[link removed]]. Each of the measures passed 19-12, with Democrat Eddie Lucio [[link removed]] (San Benito) joining the chamber’s 18 Republicans.

Among the proposals is Senate Bill 8, called the “heartbeat bill,” which would make it illegal for an individual to kill a child in the womb once the baby’s heartbeat is detected – that usually happens at about six weeks.

Senators also approved SB 1173, which would stop discriminatory abortions—those based on the child’s race or gender.

The pro-life bills now need one final procedural vote in the Senate, and will then travel across the Capitol to the Texas House. The Republican Party of Texas will be deleting its account on the free-speech social media platform Gab, amid pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas GOP Vice Chair Cat Parks. Joshua Pierce reports [[link removed]] that during the State Republican Executive Committee’s quarterly meeting in Laredo this past weekend, members voted 35-25 to delete the Texas GOP’s Gab account.

Consisting of one man and one woman from each of the state’s 31 Senate districts, the SREC is the governing body of the Republican Party of Texas. Gab is an alternative social media platform that started as the result of mass censorship of conservatives and has grown in popularity after Twitter’s permanent deletion of President Donald Trump.

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott surprised Texas Republicans by lashing out against the platform, calling it “anti-semitic” and saying the platform had “no place in Texas.” His unsupported accusation was met with scorn from conservative free speech activists around the country.

The GOP’s vice chairman, Cat Parks, led the push to close the Texas GOP Gab account, going against the “free speech” position of Republican Party Chairman Allen West.

What do you think? Sound off below in today’s One Click Survey. Local elections are getting decidedly more partisan in one North Texas county, as the two major political parties release endorsements in area city and school district races. Erin Anderson reports [[link removed]] legislation moving through the Texas Legislature would make all city races across the state openly partisan.

House Bill 2092 by Scott Sanford [[link removed]] (R–McKinney) is scheduled for a committee hearing this week. It requires candidates for city office to declare a party affiliation, which would appear on the ballot next to the candidate’s name. Candidates would also have the option to state they are not affiliated with any political party.

“There is no such thing as a nonpartisan election. Requiring local candidates to declare their party affiliation would be a significant step toward transparency and honesty in local elections across Texas.” – Derek Baker [[link removed]] “If you need an i.d. to show you got a vaccine... you need an i.d. to vote.” – Tim Young [[link removed]] Texas taxpayers will pay a high price for rural broadband access, reports Brad Johnson at The Texan [[link removed]].

A plan pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) would spend billions of dollars bringing broadband internet access to 900,000 people (out of a population of 30 million Texans).

The publication reports: “One estimate given to The Texan is that to expand service for the entirety of Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) Senate District 3, just one of the 31 senate districts in Texas, it’d cost $1.3 billion.” One Click Survey

Do you agree with the decision (see the article [[link removed]] mentioned above) to delete the Texas GOP’s Gab account?

Yes, I agree with the decision. [[link removed]]

... or ...

No, I don’t agree with the decision. [[link removed]] No Opinion [[link removed]] Quote-Unquote

“No one loves a hearty pat on the back more than an elected official who’s done the bare minimum.”

– Charles Blain [[link removed]]​

Number of the Day

62

Number of days remaining in the 87th Session of the Texas Legislature.

[Source: calendar]

Today In History

On March 30, 1870, Texas was readmitted to the United States – more than nine years after seceding.

Texas Directory Of Your Federal & State Officials [[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

Update your address so we can display your congressman -



Texas Senate, District

Update your address so we can display your state senator -



Texas House, District

Update your address so we can display your state rep -



Something not right?

Make sure your contact information is correct [[link removed]]!

Update / Manage Your Email Preferences [[link removed]] Request A Speaker [[link removed]] 🔒 Contribute 🔒 [[link removed]] A product of Texas Scorecard

www.TexasScorecard.com

(888) 410-1836

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).

This message was originally sent to:

John xxxxxx |

If you ever stop receiving our emails, it might be because someone unintentionally removed you from the list. No worries; it is easy enough to reactivate your subscription immediately on our website.

[link removed]

Before you click the link below... If someone forwarded this email to you, clicking the link will end the subscription of [email protected]. Unsubscribe [link removed]