Legislative Priorities Report for 4.30.21

At the beginning of the session, we were told not to even bother with Constitutional Carry, because it wouldn’t pass. Well, the grassroots didn’t fall for that, and, last night, the Senate Committee on Constitutional Affairs passed HB 1927 out of committee. It is now headed for a vote on the Senate floor next week. It is astounding that Bernie Sanders’ state of Vermont has Constitutional Carry — along with 19 other states — yet, this priority is still in question in Texas. We will certainly lose our reputation as a conservative state if we don’t pass this bill.

Unbelievably, there are a few senators with R’s behind their names — including Sen. Jane Nelson and Sen. Joan Huffman — who seem reluctant to reveal their position on this bill. How is it possible that constituents do not know the position of their elected officials on such an important freedom? This is especially true considering the actions of the Biden administration that continues to remove our liberties at an alarming pace. We will know their positions soon enough when the vote is called.

The other good thing that happened last night was SB 7, our Election Integrity bill, passed the Election Committee thanks to the skillful maneuvering of Chairman Cain. It is now off to the Calendars Committee to be scheduled on the House floor for a vote.

We have many bills sitting in the Calendars Committee, chaired by Rep. Burrows. One bill we really want to see come to the floor for a vote next week is HB 1399, one of our bills to Ban Child Gender Modification. Our other bill, SB 1646, which expands the definition of child abuse to include mutilating chemical and surgical medical attempts at sex transition, has been passed out of the Senate and needs a House committee hearing. Please call Speaker Phelan ((512) 463-1000) and ask him to get both of these bills to the floor for a vote.

Our Abolition of Abortion priority includes SB 8, the “Heartbeat Bill,” which needs a vote on the floor of the House.

The bills sitting in Calendars are:

Election Integrity: HB 2339, HB 2546, HB 4331, HB 3297, HB6

Religious Freedom: HB525, HJR i72, HB 3940

Ban Gender Modification: HB 1399

Constitutional Carry: HB 1911

Abolish Abortion: HB 1280, SB 8

Monument Protection: HB 3013, HB 3584

The Calendars Committee is comprised of:

Dustin Burrows, Chair (512) 463-0542
Tom Craddick (512) 463-0500
Cody Harris (512) 463-0730
Cole Hefner (512) 463-0271
Ben Leman (512) 463-0600
Jared Patterson (512) 463-0694
Shelby Slawson (512) 463-0628

Please call these members and urge them to schedule these priority bills now. We only have four weeks left in the session and they cannot use the excuse that they ran out of time. They heard 90 bills on Wednesday, and over 75 bills on Thursday. None of our priority bills were heard either of those days.

The Ban Tax Payer Funded Lobbying priority has a bill sent from the Senate, SB 10, which is being blocked by the Chair of State Affairs, Rep. Chris Paddie. He is also refusing a vote on Rep. Middleton’s bill, HB 749. Please call him at (512) 463-0556 and ask him to schedule votes on these bills now.

Our bills for School Choice, SB 1968 and HB 4537, unfortunately, do not seem to be gaining any traction. They are not moving in either the Senate or House Education committees. For anything to happen, at this point, for these bills, it will require the intervention of Lt. Governor Patrick ((512) 463-0001) and Senate Education Committee Chairman Taylor ((512) 463-0111).

Please keep the calls and emails coming to your elected officials. Let them know we expect Republicans to pass conservative Republican legislation, not appease the progressive socialist left. We put Republicans in office in Texas and expect them to do the job.

If they can find the time to give each other awards on the House floor, as they did today for the “best mustache,” then they can get our priorities to the floor as well.

Our Party and our grassroots organizations are working together effectively as never before, and we are so grateful for everyone’s participation. We encourage our state legislature to rise to the occasion, behave with dignity, and work diligently for the rest of this session to get the job done.

For God and Texas,

Jill Glover
SREC, SD 12
Chair, SREC Legislative Priorities Committee

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