Good morning, 

Capitol sources report Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan is considering the imposition of faux penalties for quorum-busting Democrats – but leaving their committee chairmanships and other perks of power in place. 

More on that in today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, August 26, 2021
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Vaccine Mandates Coming To Texas?

• As local officials across the state enact old mask requirements and new vaccine mandates — and continue quarreling with the Governor over their power — many Texans are wondering if government officials actually have the authority to force them to get injected with the shots. Jacob Asmussen unpacks the issue.
      
• Texas lawmakers have the opportunity during this special legislative session to protect Texans from such mandates… but will they?
   
• Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expanded the agenda of the current special session yesterday afternoon – apparently to address the issue.
   
• But how does the governor want it addressed? His special session agenda now includes: “Legislation regarding whether any state or local governmental entities in Texas can mandate that an individual receive a COVID-19 vaccine and, if so, what exemptions should apply to such mandate.”
    
• The wonky wording should make Texans pay attention: not only the “whether … can” but maybe especially the “and, if so, what”…

• Listen in on the conversation Jacob had on this topic with constitutional law expert Matt Rinaldi, who also serves as chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.

House Floor Action Set For Today

• Despite a month and a half of special legislative sessions, the Texas House of Representatives is set today to consider its first calendar of legislative activity since the conclusion of the 87th regular legislative session in May. Ever since July 13, the House has been barred from attending to legislative business due to a quorum bust by Democrats. The House is slated to start work at 10 a.m.
   
• As Jeramy Kitchen reports, less than two weeks remain in this second special session with only a tenuous quorum at best.
   
• Perhaps the most notable bill on Thursday’s calendar is Senate Bill 1, the bill related to election integrity. This issue, of course, has been the lightning rod that House Democrats used as an excuse to bust quorums in the regular session and the days since. (Erin Anderson has an excellent explanation​ about what is, and isn’t, contained in the legislative overhaul.)
      
• The posted House agenda for the day also includes three measures related to purported property tax relief over the next biennium. 
   
• Don’t be fooled: the measures are really property tax reforms – limiting the growth but not actually reducing burdens in a significant, meaningful, or even noticeable way.

Trying For A Third Time

• The path forward for one of Gov. Abbott’s special session priorities has grown murky while Speaker Phelan plays a game of shuttle diplomacy with Democrats. At stake is legislation that would override growing confusion regarding employer-employee relationships in Texas, created by leftwing city councils. 
      
• Senate Bill 14 has been twice scheduled for committee hearings in the last few days, only for those meetings to be cancelled at the last minute. Capitol sources say the reason is that all the Democrats on the House State Affairs Committee, as well as Republican Will Metcalf (Montgomery), are refusing to attend a meeting where the bill is even considered unless concessions are made to the Democrats.
     
• Maybe the third time will be a charm? Late yesterday afternoon, the measure was set yet again for a hearing in the State Affairs Committee at 9:30 a.m. this morning.

‘Faux Penalties’ Coming Soon?

• Despite grassroots activists’ growing frustration, Republicans in the Texas House appear unwilling to break their fragile alliance with the Democrats. Speaker Dade Phelan and his top lieutenants are considering minor wrist-slaps for quorum-breakers rather than the actual penalties – such as those promoted by the Republican Party of Texas.
      
• Capitol sources report Phelan might be comfortable with imposing a $1,000 fine on the Democrats – which can be paid for out of their campaign accounts. In context, State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) has calculated that the Democrats’ 37 days of obstruction cost Texas taxpayers more than $1.5 million. While the fine might appear steep, observers say “it’s nothing” in the context of campaign accounts that often hold tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
   
• If Mr. Phelan and the Republican caucus wanted to make the penalty for quorum-busting sting, they would strip the Democrats of their committee chairmanships, set a fine at $1,000 per day – and forbid offenders from using campaign funds.

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