Good morning, 

For nearly two months, Democrats in the Texas House obstructed legislative action by breaking the constitutional quorum requirements and being out-of-state – while still collecting their pay and per diem expense reimbursements. That is the background for the One Click Survey at the conclusion of today’s Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, October 5, 2021
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Patrick Slams Retiring House Member

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick accused State Rep. Chris Paddie (R–Marshall) of seeking a “highly compensated position” with the electric lobby to the harm of Texas’ taxpayers and utility customers. Specifically, Patrick took aim at Paddie for his role in offering “bailouts” to electric companies that charged sky-high rates during the blackouts that swept the state earlier this year. Brandon Waltens has the details.
     
• After being censured by his home county’s Republican Party last month, Paddie announced he was not seeking re-election. Several days later, it was revealed by Texas Scorecard that Paddie was being considered to lead a lobby group of the companies he currently oversees from his perch as chairman of the House State Affairs Committee.
      
• That committee sees much of the legislation regarding the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and its failure to properly manage Texas’ electric grid—leading to sky-high electric prices for those lucky enough to have power during the storm. Patrick described Paddie as “disingenuous throughout the legislative process and after.”
   
• Yes, the Austin sewer culture is as buffoonish and corrupt as it appears.

Activists Oppose House Map Proposal

• With the Texas House considering new legislative maps, grassroots activists in Tarrant County trekked to Austin in opposition to Republican establishment plans to relinquish a GOP-held seat to be more Democrat-friendly. Jeramy Kitchen has the details from yesterday’s House Redistricting Committee.
        
• The House is redrawing the lines as a result of the decennial redistricting process. Only one district was drawn in such a way to advantage Democrats instead of shoring up Republican support as others seem to do – House District 92 in Tarrant County, represented currently by Jeff Cason (R-Bedford). The proposed map is designed to give Democrats an advantage in the seat.
       
• Cason, one of the chamber’s most conservative members, says the map was drawn without his input by fellow Tarrant County Republicans Craig Goldman and Stephanie Klick. He said: “We can only surrender a seat to Democrats and punish the most conservative Representative in Tarrant if they allow it. Unfortunately, it appears they planned it this way.”
      
• “This newly drawn district will give the democrats a beachhead in northeast Tarrant County that they didn’t have before, giving them a place to rally forces and work to spread their influence,” said Fran Rhodes of the Tarrant County based True Texas Project.
   
• Besides boundaries for Texas House districts, the current special session agenda includes setting lines State Senate, U.S. Congressional, and State Board of Education seats. All four sets of maps must be approved by both chambers of the legislator before being signed into law by the governor.
   
• The Texas Senate last night voted 20-11 to approve new boundaries for the state’s 31 senatorial districts. 

School District Sued By Taxpayers For Violations

• Parents in the Round Rock Independent School District are suing the board of trustees for violating the state’s open meetings laws. Jacob Asmussen has the story.
   
• Two weeks ago, the school board sparked community backlash when they arbitrarily limited the number of citizens who could enter a public meeting about mask mandates and taxes (only allowing 21 seats in a room with a reported capacity of more than 300). The board directed district police officers to keep citizens out of the room and even arrest two of them. Board members ended up voting to raise property tax burdens in the district.

Southwest Airlines Mandates COVID Jab

• Texas-based Southwest Airlines announced yesterday that based on “a thorough review of President Biden's COVID Action Plan” the company will begin requiring all employees to “be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or be approved for a religious, medical, or disability accommodation, by Dec. 8, 2021, to continue employment with the airline.”
   
• Last week, Texas-based American Airlines made a similar announcement. WFAA-TV in Dallas reports up to 30 percent of American’s pilots have not taken one of the COVID shots.
   
• Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines took to Twitter to jab Gov. Abbott on the issue: “Another Texas company attacking the rights of Texans while Greg Abbott does nothing about it. No Texan should lose their job because they don’t want to get a COVID vaccine.”

Why Isn’t Texas Leading…?

• From Fox Business:
  “The state of Nebraska is saying a big ‘no’ to the Biden administration's plan that would give the Internal Revenue Service big government surveillance power over every day Americans’ bank accounts. … The proposal, which is roughly $79 billion of the $3.5 trillion spending bill, would give the IRS more muscle to force banks to report customers' account inflows and outflows of $600 or more to the IRS. The White House has estimated the policy, which would apply to bank, loan and investment accounts, could generate about $463 billion in additional revenue over the next decade.”
   
• Why isn’t Texas stepping up to defend financial privacy? Why aren’t Gov. Abbott and the Texas Legislature fighting against IRS surveillance schemes?

Meet REAL Conservative Leaders!

• Nominations closed on Friday for the 2021 Citizen Leader Awards, and the sheer volume was – in a word – overwhelming… in the very best possible way. Obviously, not everyone nominated will receive an engraved sword at the Conservative Leader Awards Dinner – but every single one is engaged in the fight for a better, stronger Texas.
      
• So whether you’ve attended the annual event since it began, or this would be your first time, make attending this year’s Conservative Leader Awards Dinner a priority. This is where citizens, not politicians, are honored as the real leaders in our republic. You are guaranteed to leave encouraged and energized like never before.
      
• Get your tickets today!

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Quorum-busting Democrats still have not been penalized for obstructing Texas’ legislative sessions this summer. Republicans could do that during this third special session; should they?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!