Good morning,

Republican voters feel very strongly about Democrats chairing committees in the GOP-dominated Legislature. Meanwhile, Texas Minute readers are conflicted about what makes the best “freebies” to get from vendors at a convention.

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Slaton To Abbott: End COVID-19 Emergency Orders

• As the two-year anniversary approaches for Texas’ COVID emergency order, State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) is asking Gov. Greg Abbott to put them to an end. Brandon Waltens has the details.
   
• “For nearly two years, Texas has been under a declared State of Disaster due to the Covid-19 virus. What started as ‘15 days to slow the spread,’ has turned into 24 months of unprecedented government regulations, a massive transfer of wealth from small businesses to mega-corporations, families separated from loved ones, and fear permeating every thought and action,” wrote Slaton.
   
• While the original order signed by Gov. Abbott in March 2020 was set to expire after 30 days, it has been renewed every month since. That emergency declaration has been the basis of every COVID-related executive order issued in the intervening months.
   
• The governor’s office has not responded to the letter or a request for comment.

Democrats Pushing Bush In A.G. Runoff

• With Republicans eyeing yet another rout of Democrats statewide in 2022, some leftwing activists are pushing for their comrades to influence the Republican runoff for Attorney General. 
      
• Because it has been 28 years since a Democrat was elected statewide in Texas, some Democrats are hoping to influence the A.G. race to their benefit. “Democrats who didn't vote in the Texas Primaries can vote AGAINST Paxton in the upcoming runoff election,” wrote one person in a forum on Texas Politics. Similar calls are being echoed elsewhere.
      
• Attorney Tony McDonald confirmed that state law allows anyone to participate in a primary runoff, provided they did not vote in a different party's primary that same year.
      
• There is no public indication that Mr. Bush is courting Democrats.
       
• In the March 1 primary, 1.7 million Republicans voted in the GOP A.G. race – compared to just over a million Democrats participating in theirs.

Did you know…

• In partnership with TransparencyUSA, Decision Texas provides a snapshot of the campaign spending in the runoff elections. 

Harris County Election Boss Resigns

• Embattled Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria resigned yesterday among calls for her ouster and two lawsuits challenging her competency to even hold the job. Erin Anderson has the details.
   
• Longoria’s resignation came the same day Harris County Commissioners were set to discuss the options for firing her. She was a close ally and appointee of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo (D).
     
• “We’ve seen what happens when you put the wrong person in the job,” Harris County Republican Party Chairman Cindy Siegel said in a press conference last week, calling the county’s primaries “an unmitigated disaster.”
     
• Besides a bevy of election-day problems, Longoria announced on Saturday she had failed to include votes from 10,000 mail-in ballots in the official count. That left many wondering if fraud was taking place.
     
• Longoria’s appointment came in 2020 after the commissioners court hastily voted on party lines to move election management and voter registration duties from the elected county clerk and tax assessor into a single office headed by an appointed elections administrator.
     
• It remains to be seen if Harris County will return the responsibilities to an elected official or simply appoint another Democrat partisan.

GOP Voters To Legislature: No DEM Committee Chairs

• More than 80 percent of Republican Primary voters (1.5 million people) sent a loud message to the GOP-dominated Legislature: No More Democrat Committee Chairs. Will Republican lawmakers listen?
   
• Katy Drollinger breaks down the issue with a focus on the ballot language voters supported in the March 1 Republican Primary.
     
• In 2021, State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) warned of the problems with having Democrat committee chairs and proposed an amendment to the House’s governing rules that would ban members of the minority party from chairing key committees. Only four Republican lawmakers voted with him.
   
• The Republicans largely ignored Slaton in 2021. Will they listen to their voters and take action in 2023?

Sen. Hall: COVID ‘Solution’ Creates Problems for Texans

• In a new commentary, Republican State Sen. Bob Hall explains how the state’s new liability law related to COVID-19 creates problems for Texans who suffered harm during the pandemic and the related government mandates.
     
• “We must never again forget that the government is instituted for the protection of the rights of individuals, not businesses, hospitals, or drug manufacturers. These entities should be regulated fairly but not unduly, and definitely not at the expense of individual rights.” – Sen. Bob Hall

Largest Pediatric Hospital Halts Gender Transition Work

• Texas Children’s Hospital, America’s largest pediatric hospital, will stop performing “gender transition” procedures on children. Jacob Asmussen has the story.
     
• “This step [to halt operations] was taken to safeguard our health care professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications,” the hospital wrote in a public statement.
   
• The action comes two weeks after Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion that such procedures – including chemical castration, puberty blockers, and surgical mutilation – should be prosecuted as child abuse. Gov. Greg Abbott later issued a letter to the Department of Family Protective Services to investigate such cases.

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Y’All Answered

We asked yesterday what were readers’ favorite “freebies” to get at conventions. Why did we ask that? Frankly, because we set up booths at conventions and wanted to see what kind of things real people like to get!

Of the choices, readers picked hats (31%), tote bags (29%), stress balls (6.9%), buttons (5.7%), keychains (3.4%). The “something else” option got 24 percent.

Here’s a sampling of the responses from my inbox…

• “The best free stuff I get from Texas Scorecard is the daily TRUTH on Texas politics. No one says it better than Texas Scorecard.” – Terry Harper
     
• “Hey! You can never go wrong with chocolate! As Slaton would say, I'm sure leaving it off was ‘just a clerical error.’ 😉” – Julie McCarty
       
• “I try not to bring any "freebies" back, it's just stuff.” – Margaret Parker
     
• “My mom used to always like ‘yard sticks’ that way she could reach us boys to swat at us as we ran by her.” – Jim Boecker
     
• “You asked about giveaways. Honestly, everything you list winds up in the trash except hats.” – Chuck Trott
     
• “My daughter and I like cool tote bags but my sons and husband are all about the hat if it isn’t cheap junk.” – RaShell Southerland
    
• “Of your list, Hats was best...but if you could come up with something more unique, it would produce better buzz for your brand.” – William Potter
  [Editor’s Note: William then gave some fun ideas, which we’re keeping between us as we explore the feasibility!] 

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts displayed here should reflect those recently redrawn by the Legislature. Though the new lines do not take representational effect until 2023, they will appear on the 2022 ballot. Please note that your incumbent legislator and/or district numbers may have changed.