Legislative Priorities Report Oct. 18, 2021

The third 87^th Texas Legislative Session ends Tuesday, Oct. 19, and it appears we will have only one bill that meets our Legislative Priorities passed.  HB 25, by Rep. Valoree Swanson, requires public school students to compete in interscholastic athletic competitions based on their biological sex.  It was passed by the House and Senate after contentious and dramatic debate from the Democrats, who resorted to calling in Satanists to roam the Rotunda on Friday night.  The big win from this bill is that it acknowledges that the terms “girl” and “boy” are rooted in biological reality and it does protect girls in K-12 from having boys who think they should be girls compete with them in interscholastic athletics.  Special thank you to Rep. Matt Schaefer who read on the House floor from the books of Genesis and Matthew, which declare that God has made us male and female.

Unfortunately, despite the call from Governor Abbott and President Trump, the penalties on election fraud that were lowered from felonies to misdemeanors will not be corrected.  Speaker Dade Phelan apparently made a deal with the Democrats and is not backing down.  This is a real loss as district attorneys may not be so motivated to prosecute for voter fraud considered “minor.”

The other major thing left unaccomplished, and most important to our liberties and medical freedom, is the Governor’s priority to pass legislation banning vaccine mandates.  This is astounding as our ability to say what medical procedure we consent to is a fundamental right and our party platform in several places says we believe in the rights of the individual to life and personal responsibility.  The business lobby put out a statement opposing these bills, and it appears to have worked.

Redistricting maps look like they will be approved by both House and Senate before the midnight deadline Tuesday.  It is doubtful at this point the Governor will call another session to pass any other outstanding items.  In what many Republicans find absolutely head scratching is the House still managed to pass a bill pertaining to tethering dogs.  With our liberty on the line as the Democrats are violating the Constitution and putting our nation at greater risk than ever, it is astounding that a Republican representative would find this a priority.  It certainly is not a Republican priority.  Thank you to several of our representatives who did try to kill this bill.

Action Items:

1.  Call Governor Abbott and ask him to call the Legislature back to finish the job of correcting Election Integrity and banning vaccine mandates. (512) 463-2000
2. As your Representatives and Senators return to their districts and participate in town halls and forums, please ask them why they did not pass these important items.  They need to hear from you what is important.

Please as always continue to pray for our state and our elected officials.  At the same time, we cannot rely on the government to take care of us so please think about your responsibilities as a citizen, participate as you can in local government such as school board and city council meetings, and remember to vote in the election.  Early voting begins today for proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution.  Several grassroots groups have recommendations out, so please do your homework then go vote!

For God and Texas,

Jill Glover
SREC, SD 12
Chair, SREC Legislative Priorities Committee