Good morning!

This week the Texas Minute is counting down the top stories of 2021 as selected by our readers, focusing today on #4 and #3.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Thursday, December 30, 2021
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UPFRONT. Yesterday’s Texas Minute low-balled the number of lawmakers demanding that Gov. Abbott call a legislative session to address vaccine mandates. That number is now 30, according to the official count kept by the Republican Party of Texas.

• Recapping the stories so far: #10 was children forced to undergo gender transitions… #9 parents waking up to public schools’ woke agendas… #8 election integrity fights… #7 Democrats going unpunished after breaking the constitutional quorum… #6 legislators refusing to rein in executive and local mandate powers… #5 Abbott ignoring calls for a special session to address vaccine mandates…

#4:  Ongoing Border Crisis

• As illegal border crossings continue to fuel sex trafficking and other crimes in Texas, the ongoing border crisis remains a top concern for Texans. Robert Montoya explores Gov. Greg Abbott’s political shift on the issue, from silence to uncomfortable border-barrier advocate.
   
• The ongoing border crisis is the #4 story of 2021.
   
• The Biden–Harris Administration stopped construction of former President Trump’s border wall in January 2021. Texas was hit hard, with Attorney General Ken Paxton reporting more than 170,000 people illegally crossed the state’s southern border in March 2021.
   
• Despite the governor announcing his public pivot to border security in March with Operation Lone Star, action did not appear to be swift – with local officials reporting through the spring and into the summer a lack of responsiveness from state officials.

#3: Failure Of Texas Legislature To Advance GOP Priorities

• Ahead of the 2021 legislative sessions, GOP convention delegates tasked lawmakers with eight legislative priorities. Brandon Waltens recaps the lackluster approach legislators took in approaching those issues.
   
• Readers said the GOP dominated legislatures’ lack of accomplishment was the #3 storyline of 2021.
   
• Despite commanding majorities in both legislative chambers, five of the eight priorities were unaccomplished. 
   
• The three that were accomplished: election security, religious freedom, and constitutional carry.
   
• The five that were not: protecting children from gender modification, abolishing abortion, protection for historical monuments, school choice, and a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying.