Good morning!

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021
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• A poll released this weekend from the University of Texas at Tyler and the Dallas Morning News finds actor Matthew McConaughey leading Gov. Greg Abbott by 12 points in a hypothetical gubernatorial matchup. Joshua Pierce has the details.
     
• The poll is mostly meaningless, of course, since McConaughey isn’t a declared candidate and couldn’t win a Republican primary. It is unlikely in the real world that a sufficient number of Texans would vote for him as a Democrat, though running as an “independent” might make him a spoiler for the Democrats’ nominee.
     
• However, the poll highlights just how much goodwill Greg Abbott has squandered over the last year. Previously considered the most popular politician in Texas, he shifted left to appease out-of-state moderates in preparation for his presumptive presidential bid in 2024. Now he must work overtime to convince voters to let him stick around in office after 2022.
   
• If Gov. Abbott and the Republican-dominated legislature fail to deliver yet again on the core promises they have made to voters for more than a decade, voters might just decide voting GOP just isn’t worth it.

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said yesterday there are not enough votes in his chamber to pass constitutional carry – the GOP priority that passed the Texas House last week with seven Democrats in support. Iris Poole has the details.
   
• As you might expect, Mr. Patrick did not say which senators were opposing the measure.

• However, State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) successfully shepherded out of the chamber a future limitation on the growth of state spending. Every Republican senator, plus Democrat Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen), voted for it. Jeramy Kitchen has the details.
   
• Strengthening the state’s spending limit has been a long-standing priority for Texas conservatives. It has moved out of the Senate several times in recent years only to die in the House.
   
• This latest attempt is – like its predecessors – sitting in the House awaiting action. If Mr. Hancock’s bill is adopted, and the governor signs it into law, future lawmakers would be expressly prohibited from growing government beyond the rate of population and inflation.
   
• Frankly, given the size of government, we should be expecting real reductions in state spending.

• Yesterday afternoon senators closed an important loophole that was allowing local governments to hike property taxes. The legislation by Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) was a response to local governments using the excuse of the pandemic to justify an end-run around the 2019 property tax reforms. Brandon Waltens has the details.
   
• Those reforms allowed governments to hike property taxes during a declared emergency. As Sen. Bettencourt noted on Twitter, his fix requires that restrictions on property tax hikes can only be lifted if a declared disaster causes physical damage. The reform explicitly excludes disaster declarations related to epidemics and pandemics.
   
• Similar legislation is scheduled to be debated Wednesday on the House floor.

• Late last week the Biden administration rescinded an approved plan regarding Texas’ current Medicaid spending program. Texas’ plan had been originally set to expire in 2022, but a 10-year extension was granted on January 15 of this year by President Trump’s administration.
      
• As Jeramy Kitchen reports, this change could end up costing Texas taxpayers billions in the coming years. 
     
• Critics (correctly) characterized the decision as a blatant effort by the Biden administration to compel Texas and the other 11 states that have not adopted the Medicaid expansion provisions in ObamaCare to do so.
     
• You can probably expect the Texas House to consider a couple Democrat amendments to the state budget later this week regarding Medicaid expansion and forcing Texas taxpayers to go ahead and start picking up the tab of ObamaCare. What will Republicans do?

• Despite numerous Republican-authored measures dealing with civics instruction in Texas’ classrooms, a Democrat measure was the first to get voted on by the Texas House. If approved by the Senate, the legislation by Mary Gonzalez (D-Clint) would add a course in “digital citizenship” to sixth-grade students’ curriculum.
        
• While amended on the House floor to remove a requirement seen as targeting conservative news websites, the measure still allows teachers to define – and presumably argue against – what is to be considered “rhetoric that incites violence.”

• Amid local and national unrest as citizens await a verdict in the trial of former Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin, Dallas businesses are experiencing protests and bracing for riots. A protest last week started at the Dallas PD headquarters, marched to the Statler Hotel then continued to the southern portion of Interstate 30. Black Lives Matter flags waved as protesters chanted, “If we don’t get it, burn it down.” Robert Montoya has the full report.
   
• The protestors were also recorded taking over a local restaurant. One chanted “Who burn[s] —- down?” as the rest responded with chants of “We burn —- down!” Texas Scorecard confirmed the location as the Jaxon Texas Kitchen & Beer Garden.
     
• The Dallas Police Department has said it will take “whatever actions deemed appropriate” should riots take place. The Democrat District Attorney, John Creuzot, however, has remained silent.

• Texas Scorecard can be found on Parler, Facebook, Twitter, Gab, and Instagram. Facebook users should also check out the Citizens’ Bureau group  where you can get even more local news and join in the conversation.
       
• Connect with me on social media! I’m on Parler, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as LinkedIn, Gab, and MeWe.

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