Good morning, 

A taxpayer-funded lobbyist wants to be the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. Seriously.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, June 17, 2021
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So NOW It Is A Priority

• After hinting about an upcoming announcement last week amid a growing border crisis, Gov. Greg Abbott officially announced a plan for the state of Texas to build its own southern border wall. Despite not making it a priority during the legislative session, Brandon Waltens reports the governor says he is taking action now because of increasing numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the border. 
      
• And then there is the pesky problem of at least two GOP challengers who have been hitting Abbott  from the right over his inaction on the issue.
     
• “The problems that people are experiencing on the border just continue to get worse,” said Abbott at a press conference yesterday, flanked by Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan, and a group of Republican lawmakers from both chambers.
      
• Interestingly, legislation filed earlier this year by State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) to build a Texas border wall was not even given a committee hearing in the Texas House. “I’m happy the governor is acting, but I have questions,” Slaton told Texas Scorecard. “If he could have done this unilaterally, why didn’t he do it years ago? I think the legislature should be the ones making these decisions.”
     
• “Finally after more than 6 months of Federal incompetence, Gov. Abbott is finally taking action to protect our border and stop illegal immigration into our Great State.” – Republican gubernatorial candidate Chad Prather

Critical Race Theory NOT Banned In Texas

• For the last several days, lawmakers and Gov. Abbott have been bragging that watered-down legislation passed at the end of the legislative session somehow banned critical race theory. Loudly, and specifically, Republican legislators pushed this narrative. The national media lapped it up.
   
• One big problem: their narrative wasn’t true.
      
• In signing House Bill 3979 yesterday, the governor admitted as much and wrote that an actual ban will be on the call for a yet-to-be-set special session.
      
• Rather than simply level with the voters about the lackluster results of the session, GOP members just decided to tell falsehoods to the voters about important issues like banning CRT. This is inexcusable.

Show COVID Papers For Work?

• While Gov. Abbott has claimed vaccine passports are prohibited in Texas, employees at a Houston hospital are fighting their employers’ mandate to take a COVID–19 vaccination. Robert Montoya reports that the employees’ attorney has asked the governor to hold a special legislative session so lawmakers can address the issue.
   
• “I believe legislation should be passed prohibiting an employer from requiring an employee to participate in a vaccine trial as a condition for employment,” said Jared Woodfill, an attorney representing 117 employees of Houston Methodist Hospital. “Your job should not be contingent on your willingness to be a human guinea pig.”

Consequences of the Renewable Scam

• Texas is facing the possibility of blackouts and brownouts this summer because of the over-emphasis by the state’s politicians on subsidizing unreliable energy sources.
      
• Despite legislation being signed into law in response to the February blackouts, new concerns have emerged about the stability of Texas’ power grid this summer. Texas Scorecard spoke with three energy policy experts – former State Rep. Jason Isaac and Brent Bennett of Life:Powered, and Bill Peacock, policy director at the Energy Alliance – who said the state has over-emphasized “renewable” energy sources that are inherently unreliable.
       
• “Our reliance on renewables has put us in a situation where relatively minor fluctuations in the weather or mechanical problems can put us at risk,” said Peacock. “We are at a higher risk of blackouts than we’ve ever been. But we don’t know what will happen until it does.”
      
• The experts agree that during the regular session this year, the legislature should have ended subsidies for unreliable green energy. As Isaac put it: “Stop with the subsidies, and really cut those back because that’s how we’ve gotten to where we are today.”
     
• Check out Bill Peacock’s excellent report, “Subsidies to Nowhere.”

Autograph Applied

• Texas is a signature closer to being the 21st state to recognize the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms without a government permit. Gov. Abbott affixed his signature to House Bill 1927 yesterday ahead of a scheduled “signing ceremony” slated for today in San Antonio. 
   
• The law will take effect on Sept. 1, 2021

Taxpayer-Funded Republican

• With Allen West stepping down from the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Texas this month, there are now three candidates vying to replace him. The chairman of the GOP is usually selected at the state’s biennial convention, but West’s replacement will be made by the 62-member State Republican Executive Committee in mid-July.
   
• Previously announced candidates include former State Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving), and SREC member David Covey.
   
• Now in the hunt is Chad Wilbanks, who works as a political consultant and taxpayer-funded lobbyist. Wilbanks’ social media history shows he spends a lot of time mocking conservative lawmakers and the GOP’s legislative priorities… which includes banning taxpayer-funded lobbying.
   
• Go figure.

Austinites Fight City Hall

• Amid a tumultuous two-year public safety disaster in Texas’ capital city, Austinites are continuing to resist harmful decisions by their city officials—and are offering alternative solutions. Jacob Asmussen reports taxpayers are calling out the Democrat-run Austin City Council for a controversial plan to purchase a multimillion-dollar north Austin hotel—a Candlewood Suites—and convert it into low-barrier homeless housing for only 83 individuals.
   
• The hotel has been appraised for $2.5 million but the city is planning to spend nearly five times that amount to purchase it.

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