Good morning, 

Yesterday we asked about the tension between executive orders and mandates, and legislative lawmaking. Among readers, there’s very little tension… We’ll look at that after today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, August 18, 2021
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Still… No Quorum In The Texas House, And No Arrests

• More than a week after the present members of the Texas House voted to issue arrest warrants for quorum-busting Democrats, not a single Democrat has been arrested… despite those Democrats being back in Texas.
     
• The House has remained paralyzed for more than 35 days, constitutionally unable to conduct business because of those Democrats avoiding the House chamber.
     
• But don’t expect the House Republican Caucus to push for any of the arrests for which they voted. Caucus chairman Jim Murphy (R-Houston) specifically downplayed the potential for actual arrests being made despite the obstructionism. Jeramy Kitchen has the details.
      
• “I don’t know that they’re gonna go to that level, at this point. It’s more like a jury summons; you know, a paper that is delivered. And that will be another conversation down the line.” – Jim Murphy
     
• Even without the arrests, Murphy and the GOP caucus are already negotiating against Republicans’ interests. In his press conference, Murphy opened the door to compromising with the quorum-busting Democrats on election integrity legislation and the other special session issues. 

• Jim Murphy is admitting what the overwhelming evidence shows: that neither he nor the House GOP caucus is serious about passing any of the special session agenda. And those “arrest warrants”? All for show; the House Republican leadership clearly has no intention of forcing the Democrats back to work.

Somehow, The Senate Has Been Working

• The problems plaguing the Texas House haven’t presented themselves in the Senate, where members have been showing up and working. The Senate has passed the entirety of the special session agenda, twice.
    
• Yes, the difference might be in the professional make-up of the individual senators… Or, the difference might be in the leadership of the chambers.
     
• While Speaker Phelan has spent 2021 coddling obstructionist members, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick seems to have made it clear he expects senators to show up and work. And they have.

Cities Of Dallas And Fort Worth Side With Citizens

• While other local officials are fighting for the power to mandate masks, elected officials in the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth – separate and apart from their namesake schools and related counties – are siding with citizens. Robert Montoya has the details.
   
• Fort Worth City Council voted 5-4 Tuesday against mandating masks on city properties, with newly elected Mayor Mattie Parker putting her electoral weight against mandates. 
   
• Similarly, Dallas City Council isn’t mandating masks on city property – even if they are “strongly encouraged” by officials. The city council hasn’t even had the issue on its agendas.

Watson’s Comeback?

• With Austinites growing increasingly frustrated with the liberal antics of Mayor Steve Adler, a familiar face might be eyeing a comeback. Adam Cahn reports on rumors that the city’s former mayor and state senator, Democrat Kirk Watson, is considering a run.
     
• On the surface, it would be the city trading one Democrat for another – but Watson is a different sort of Democrat from Adler. 
      
• Whether that sort of Democrat could even win in Austin remains to be seen…

Y’All Answered

For more than a year, Texans’ lives have been governed by fiat mandates issued by the governor and local officials on everything from lockdowns to business restrictions to mask mandates. So yesterday we asked if the Texas Legislature should be the one making the laws we live under, or should “executives” be allowed to issue mandates?

Readers, by a margin of 92.15% to 7.85%, want the Legislature to be making the laws – not mandates by executives.

• “What I see in many of the comments posted here in various issues of The Texas Minute is a tendency for people to refer to the various executive orders as laws.  When I see a comment by some business, city council, or person in reference to one of Abbott’s COVID-related pronouncements that says ‘…. we plan to just follow the law.. .’ or the equivalent, I shake my head and think to myself ‘you are voluntarily restricting your liberty by treating executive actions as laws.’” – Mark Henley
   
• “The Texas Legislature is the only body that can make laws per the Texas Constitution. Abbott was out of his lane when he mandated masks, picked winners and losers in what businesses got to open. I mean, he was the sole individual who decided what business was ‘essential.’ I’m certain that any business owner feels that their business is essential—to their livelihood! That is exactly why this will be Abbott’s last term in office. Texans have finally woken up!” – Mandy Kirkland
     
• “I'm so tired of our local leaders mandates, I wash my hands and feet of them!” – Bob Blackmer
   
• “Only the Legislature should be making our laws BUT when political parties refuse to attend by fleeing the state or hiding in their homes the Governor should have the power to sign/reject the laws made by the remaining legislators.” – Yvette Lankford
   
• “The only (or at least the best) way to have checks and balances within our government is to maintain a separation of powers. Laws are to be written in the legislature and enforced in the executive.” – Gary Eulenfeld
   
• “This question should include the sentiment ‘in certain situations.’  While I dislike the fiat mandates that some governing executives put in place in some cases it is necessary due to the need to respond quickly.  However what is missing is the deferral of the deliberative body to let the mandate stand without following up on it to determine it's effects.” – Doug Freeman
   
• “Only the Legislature can make laws, but there does need to be some provision for emergencies. Maybe a good option would be that each time an emergency proclamation is made, it automatically triggers a special session to deal with the issue at hand. But then, we’d have to hope all the legislators actually show up.” – Greg Milner
      
• “Laws are what make us a viable society. If we are going to revert to fiefdoms that make their own rules, chaos will result. Only ‘lawmakers’ can make laws.” – Steve Sullivan
   
• “The fact that this question has to be, explains a lot about the lack of knowledge and understanding of our citizenry.  We revolted against kings during the American Revolution, so that ‘The People’ would have the voice, not a dictator.  We need to better educate all of the citizens in this country.” – Greg Reinhart

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