Good morning!

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, June 9, 2021
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• The 87th Legislative Session has now concluded, and ultimately, with very little done to protect monuments and markers commemorating the history of the state of Texas. This is the next installment in the series of Autopsy Reports looking at how issues important to grassroots activists fared.
       
• The Republican Party of Texas added monument protection as one of its legislative priorities for the legislative session. Of the bills that were filed, only a handful were granted public hearings. By the end of the legislative session, only one made it across the finish line.
      
• House Bill 3584 by State Rep. Andrew Murr (R–Junction) passed both chambers and is currently awaiting Gov. Abbott’s consideration. The measure explicitly states that all monuments, markers, and medallions installed by the Texas Historical Commission are under their jurisdiction and may not be altered, removed, relocated, covered, obscured, or concealed without the expressed consent of the commission itself. It also allows the Texas attorney general to file a suit in a district court to seek civil penalties against any person who violates those rules.
   
• Other measures offering stronger protections were left to languish in both chambers of the Texas Legislature. Check out Jeramy Kitchen’s report for more details.

• There is a lot of finger-pointing going on right now, as Texas Republicans grapple with the failure of lawmakers to pass election integrity legislation.
   
• On the latest episode of the Luke Macias Show, Daniel Greer pulls back the legislative curtain to reveal how the Texas House Republican leadership has a long history of killing election integrity legislation.

• Despite a last-minute push by State Rep. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville), the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission survived the 2021 legislative session. As Joshua Pierce reports, Middleton had filed legislation to formally abolish the TABC late in the legislative session.
   
• While the measure never received a hearing, it served as a warning shot from Middleton across the bow of the agency that he saw as exceeding its mission.
   
•  “TABC should facilitate the operations of small businesses, not strive to punish them and shut them down,” said Middleton in filing his bill, referencing the use of the agency by Gov. Abbott to enforce executive orders shuttering small businesses during the 2020 pandemic.

• Texas’ Supreme Court will have a vacancy on Friday. Justice Eva Guzman (R) has  announced she will vacate her position a year ahead of a 2022 re-election push. This gives Gov. Abbott the opportunity to appoint a replacement who will then be able to run as the incumbent next year. Brandon Waltens has the details.
     
• Guzman was first appointed to the state’s highest civil court in 2009 by then-Gov. Rick Perry, and then won two statewide elections.
      
• While she hasn’t said it publicly, Guzman has long been rumored to have an interest in running for Attorney General. Should she do so, she would be following in the paths of both Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn - both of whom left SCOTX to (successfully) pursue the A.G. slot before then moving on to other offices.

• Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley (R) announced he would not seek re-election in 2022. As Robert Montoya reminds us, Whitley and Tarrant County commissioners repeatedly went against citizens when addressing the Chinese coronavirus situation.
     

• Prior to Whitley announcing his retirement, Tim O’Hare – the former chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party – had launched his own candidacy for the seat.

      
• “This is good news for Tarrant County,” said True Texas Project CEO Julie McCarty of Whitley’s announcement. “Anyone Whitley recommends as a replacement is not a good option. Thankfully Tim O’Hare has already announced, and he has my endorsement.”

• The city council of Levelland voted unanimously to move forward with an ordinance outlawing abortion within their city limits. Mark Dickson writes that this makes Levelland the 30th city in the nation to do so.

• Please join me in wishing a very happy birthday to Buddy Kipp, who serves as Texas Scorecard’s director of operations and projects.

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