Good morning, 

Should Texans be forced to show proof of vaccination to go about their lives? Give your answer in the One Click Survey.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, April 7, 2021
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• Responding to mounting criticism and following the lead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas’ Greg Abbott issued an executive order yesterday banning “vaccine passports” in Texas... sort of. Robert Montoya has the details.
   
• Significantly, Gov. Abbott’s order only applies to state and local entities, and extends to any “private entity” receiving taxpayer dollars, but falls short of the complete ban already in place for the Sunshine State.
         
• “Texas still allows businesses to require you to have a vaccine passport... Airlines can still require a vax passport to travel in Texas. Sports teams can require it to attend games. Your grocery store can require it to buy food. But you can go to city hall without one and pay your taxes.” – Constitutional law expert and former lawmaker Matt Rinaldi

• The Texas Senate voted yesterday to adopt their version of the state’s biennial budget – cutting their original proposal and coming in just 2.6 percent higher than the current (2020-2021) budget that was adopted in 2019. As Brandon Waltens reports, this means the Senate’s budget spends well below the “inflation and population growth” limit championed by conservatives.
   
• Earlier this year, Comptroller Glenn Hegar told lawmakers they would face a $1 billion shortfall, and projected a 0.4 percent decrease in general revenue, in light of the economic effects from coronavirus-related shutdowns. 
      

• The watchdogs at Texans For Fiscal Responsibility say that while the Senate’s budget shows some fiscal restraint, it is missing tax relief for beleaguered taxpayers.
   

• “The Texas Senate’s budget provides only a modest increase in total state spending below population and inflation, a traditional standard of a conservative budget. That fiscal restraint is noteworthy, but taxpayers desperately need far more than the minimum standard from their elected leaders,” said TFR President Cary Cheshire. 

     
• The bill will now move over to the House, where lawmakers are expected to hold debate sometime in the coming weeks on their version of the budget. The two chambers must then reconcile their two versions of the budget and get final approval from lawmakers before ultimately sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.

• The Texas House’s Culture, Recreation, & Tourism Committee has unanimously approved legislation that would add various events to the Major Events Reimbursement Program. This is a slush fund used by politicians to funnel taxpayer dollars into the hands of politically connected businesses – all in the name of economic development, of course.
   
• Michael Swirsky reports the organizations that would be eligible to tap the fund under the proposed legislative package would include the Professional Bull Riders Inc., the South by Southwest festival, the Professional Golf Association, and even the National Hot Rod Association.
     
• While corporate welfare is par for the course in Texas politics, you might be surprised at how nonchalantly these proposals were approved. Or maybe you wouldn’t be...

• At Texas Scorecard, we don’t have paywalls, we don’t take government grants, accept government sponsorships, or let woke businesses dictate our coverage. Thanks to our donors, Texas Scorecard can freely and openly serve the grassroots. We rely completely on the generous support of men and women from around the Lone Star State dedicated to advancing the principles of self-governance.
     
• Texas Scorecard exists to empower the grassroots through narrative and information, keeping facts in context, so citizens can impose their agendas on the political process.

• A father who is fighting to stop his ex-wife from subjecting his son to genital mutilation surgery says the Republican leadership in the Texas House refuses to support legislation ending the practice. Jeff Younger has made national headlines for his years-long fight to protect his 8-year-old son, James, from castration and gender-reassignment. Jeramy Kitchen has the story.
      
• Younger’s fight motivated grassroots in the Republican Party of Texas to make abolishing gender modification in minors a legislative priority for the current session. Elected officials ranging from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz to Gov. Greg Abbott, and even Republican members of the Texas House, have expressed support for Jeff Younger’s fight.
     
• Yet legislation addressing the issue has not been scheduled for a public committee hearing. Attempts last week to force the issue were rebuffed by Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beamount) and the House Democrat minority. 

• In the latest edition of his podcast, Luke Macias reviews the current state of the “culture war” in Texas... and worries that conservatives are losing because so many so-called “conservative” leaders in the Texas Legislature have capitulated to the left.

• In an exclusive interview with Texas Scorecard, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson discusses last September’s police overtime cut, how it has affected the city, and what citizens should do about it.
   
• Bucking the “defund police” trend among big-city Democrat mayors, Mr. Johnson supports efforts to bring more accountability to law enforcement but says he wants it done in a way that does not impact public safety. He was one of four members of the Dallas City Council voting against a proposal last fall to cut the DPD’s overtime budget. The measure passed, however. 
     
• “I took my displeasure with the nonsensical police cut to the public and tried to get the word out in every way I could, which I know irked some who didn’t appreciate that kind of scrutiny and did everything they could to try to silence me. But accountability is vital. Cutting police overtime was the wrong thing to do. The city council members who supported that cut needed—and still need—to answer for it.”

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