Good morning –

Since Texas Democrats cannot win honestly at the ballot box, they oppose election integrity efforts. And they are asking Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan to ensure they can disrupt the proceedings of the legislature this summer with impunity.

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, July 7, 2021
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Border Insecurity

• Gov. Greg Abbott’s Republican primary challengers say his recent actions on the border are too little, too late. Robert Montoya has the story.
   
• On May 31, the governor declared a state of disaster covering all the counties along the Texas border. About a month later, he revised his disaster declaration and removed from it several high-traffic areas along the border. Abbott’s Republican rivals point specifically to the “magnets” seen as a draw bringing illegal immigrants to Texas that the governor has so far not addressed.
      
• “If Gov. Abbott is serious about border security, then Texas should end policies of enticement such as in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, along with any free, taxpayer-funded benefits.” – Allen West
      
• “Any border security plan that is serious has turning off the magnets as a key component. It is well past time for the Texas Legislature to put Texans first.” – Don Huffines
      
• “As a state, we must put a clear end to sanctuary cities as well as eliminate any and all incentive for illegals to enter the great state of Texas, including free education and healthcare.” – Chad Prather

Speaking of Those Magnets

• State Rep. Jeff Cason (R-Bedford) wants the agenda of the special session that starts on Thursday to include ending the “magnet” policies that encourage illegal immigration. Jeramy Kitchen has the report.
   
• In a letter to Gov. Abbott, Cason specifically mentions ending in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

Democrats Signal Special Session Plans

• In what is perhaps a preview of the tenuous upcoming special session, 36 Texas House Democrat lawmakers – which include several chairmen and vice chairmen – penned a letter to House Speaker Dade Phelan this week. They are “requesting” his commitment to certain considerations in how the House will operate and deliberate legislation, including bills related to election integrity.
   
• Standing behind the letter is the Democrats’ unspoken threat of “busting the quorum” and sabotaging the special session – like they did at the end of the regular session to thwart election integrity measures.
       
• The Democrats’ list of demands include wanting Phelan’s pledge not to “retaliate against Democratic members who exercised their legislative and constitutional authority to deny quorum during the regular session.” 
       
• Do. Not. Negotiate. With. Terrorists.

Campaign Notes

• In case you missed it… Lt. Col. Allen West made his candidacy for governor official on Sunday. He joins a roster of candidates challenging Greg Abbott in the 2022 GOP primary.  
      
• Texas’ chief financial officer – Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) – wants voters to give him another four years in office​. Before first being elected comptroller in 2014, Hegar was a state representative in the early 2000s, then a state senator from 2006 to 2014. There are currently no other announced candidates for the office.
      
• Meanwhile, State Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Denton) announced this week that she will not seek re-election to the Texas Senate. She was first elected to the Senate in 1992, after a stint on the State Board of Education. Nelson is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, a post she has held since 2014.

Retired Teachers Get Good News

• Texas teachers and taxpayers are no longer on the hook for the extravagant rent at an upscale property on Austin’s Sixth Street, thanks to the sale of the building. A state agency originally leased the pricey office space to teachers’ public-pension management employees at an initial rate of nearly $4 million per year. Tera Collum has the details.
   
• In January 2020, Texas Scorecard reported on the lease rate of $326,000 a month; TRS had planned to move its investment management division to Indeed Tower when the building was completed in 2021. It was under construction when the lease was signed and considered a very desirable address.
     
• The outcry was immediate and loud… and caused serious back-peddling by the agency. The sale of the building now frees taxpayers and retired teachers from the extravagant lease arrangement.

Personal Update

My family and I appreciate the amazing outpouring of support from my note on Friday, regarding the immoral and unethical actions of the Texas Ethics Commission that is blocking the sale of our home. Everyone agrees that what they are doing is outside the bounds of what is acceptable – and even legal.
   
Yet, the TEC bureaucrats and commissioners see themselves above the law, and above the constitution. No legal remedies exist in “real time” to deal with the lawless acts of the TEC and their pricey special prosecutor – Eric Nichols of Butler Snow LLP. The commission chairman, a Democrat named Katie Kennedy appointed by Gov. Abbott, has refused to countermand Nichols’ actions – which means she and her fellow commissioners approve.

One has to wonder how Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Patrick, and House Speaker Dade Phelan – who are responsible for appointing the commissioners – feel about the weaponization of homesteaded property against Texans.

As the TEC has said publicly and without condemnation: the constitution doesn’t apply in the cases that come before them.
   
As for us, this is why we fight – because if we don’t, the TEC and other state agencies will be coming after your home next.

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