Good morning!

I’m not often surprised by Texas Minute readers, but I was blown away by two things yesterday morning. 1) By how many people participated in the One Click Survey about including the names and contact information for members of the State Board of Education. 2) How decisively the answer came back. Get the details below…

Here is the Texas Minute for Wednesday, March 30, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Patrick Will Push To Protect College Women’s Sports

• While Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan have been silent on the issue, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tells Texas Scorecard he will fight to protect college women’s sports in the Lone Star State from males being allowed to participate against them. Brandon Waltens has the details.
       
• The issue was pushed to the public’s attention recently when the NCAA crowned Lia Thomas—a male—as the women’s national swimming champion in the 500-yard freestyle. The Florida Legislature already protected college girls from this infringement, and Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a proclamation recognizing would-be winner Emma Weyant as the rightful national champion in the NCAA contest.
      
•  “We need to protect women’s sports at all levels, including college, no matter what the NCAA says or thinks. We will have a bill next session addressing this matter,” said Patrick.
      
• That bill could face steep opposition in the Texas House. Before becoming Speaker of the House, Phelan was one of only three Texas House Republicans to receive a positive grade from Equality Texas, a pro-LGBT advocacy organization, and has exhibited no interest in passing such protections for college women. 
   
• In 2020, as the issue was gaining steam, legislation protecting middle and high school girls’ sports was only passed during a special session and after Gov. Greg Abbott specifically stipulated that the legislation should not extend to college.

Constitutional Amendments Could Lower Texans’ Tax Burdens

• Amid record-high inflation rates and rising gas prices, a special election will be held on May 7, 2022, to vote on two constitutional propositions focused on lowering property taxes for some Texans. Katy Drollinger has the details.
       
• Over the past two decades, property tax rates across the state have increased by 181 percent, according to the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
      
• The first proposition on May’s ballot would limit the amount of school maintenance and operations taxes for disabled residents and residents over the age of 65.
       
• The second proposition will increase the homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000. According to State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), who authored the amendment, this action could lower property taxes for homesteaded property owners by close to $175 per year.
     
• Tim Hardin, president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, said the amendments don’t provide enough financial relief for Texans and chastised lawmakers for failing to pass property tax relief legislation. “Although we are not against additional exemptions, these ballot propositions are simply throwing taxpayers a bone due to lawmakers failing to do what taxpayers wanted.”

Yes, Klick Killed It

• In this week’s edition of his show, Luke Macias explains how State Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) killed the bill banning child gender modification on children in Texas.
   
• The bill in question was Senate Bill 1646, a strong legislative measure that would have called transitioning a minor “child abuse” under state law. Despite passing the Senate with the support of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Klick killed SB 1646 – thereby forcing Attorney General Ken Paxton to try to protect vulnerable kids without the benefit of legislative backing. Now, Klick – who has been forced into a runoff – is enlisting other establishment Republicans in trying to rewrite legislative history.
   
• Macias concludes the show with some political odds-and-ends, such as State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) going to war with conservative activists… and State Rep. Cody Harris (R-Palestine) pushing against his teacher-union base.

More ‘Grooming’ Books Found In Texas Public Schools

• Texas public school officials are not only offering sexually explicit books and promoting hazardous sexual behaviors to kids, but they are also teaching them “trans” ideology—the idea that you can turn into whatever biological sex or creature you feel like. Jacob Asmussen has the story.

Abbott Makes Endorsements In Legislative Runoffs

• Gov. Greg Abbott this week announced endorsements ahead of the May 24 GOP runoffs. Sydnie Henry has the details.
   
• NOTE: voters have TWO elections in May, the May 7 municipal and constitutional amendments election, and the May 24 primary runoffs.
   
• In House District 23, Abbott endorsed Patrick Gurski, who is running for an open seat against former State Republican Executive Committeewoman Terri Leo-Wilson.
   
• In House District 51, Abbott endorsed legislative staffer Caroline Harris over long-time conservative activist Patrick McGuinness.
   
• Incumbent State. Rep. Glenn Rogers (R–Mineral Wells) received Abbott’s endorsement in House District 60 against grassroots challenger Mike Olcott.
   
• In the race for House District 70’s open seat, Abbott endorsed Jamee Jolly over businessman Eric Bowlin.
   
• In the race for the Republican nomination for House District 73’s open seat, Abbott endorsed former New Braunfels Mayor Barron Casteel, who is running against Carrie Isaac.
     
• In House District 93, Abbott endorsed former Southlake Mayor Laura Hill over local activist Nate Schatzline.
   
• Abbott had previously endorsed Pete Flores in Senate District 24, Frederick Frazier (House District  61), incumbent State Reps. Kyle Kacal (House District 12), and incumbent Stephanie Klick (House District 91).
     
• Notably, Gov. Abbott has so far declined to endorse in the three statewide runoff races: Attorney General (incumbent Ken Paxton versus George P. Bush), Land Commissioner (Dawn Buckingham versus Tim Westley), and Railroad Commissioner (incumbent Wayne Christian versus Sarah Stogner).

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Y’All Answered

Yesterday we asked if the Texas Minute should include members of the State Board of Education in the roster of elected officials in the daily emails. By a nearly unanimous 99.12%, readers said they wanted those names and contact numbers.

• “I have learned that just because a person puts an ‘R’ after their name it really is a matter of learning what that person really thinks and how they vote.  So, yes, you need to tell me about the State Board of Education.” – Eleanor Edmondson
   
• “Keeping all elected government officials top-of-mind is EXTREMELY important.  When they fall under the radar is usually when things go sour and worse.” – Roger Taylor
   
• “[SBOE members] should be contacted and held accountable when it comes to inappropriate library books, low academic performance or any other way in which these public schools fail students and parents.” – Cathy Blake
     
• “Placing the SBOE in the rotation would definitely be a welcome addition – especially during this time when education is such a hot button issue.” – Arthur Potter

As a result, we’ll update the systems and begin including the SBOE information in the Texas Minute by early next week. For now, you can find out who your SBOE member is on the Texas Directory tool of our website.

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.