Good morning!

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, April 28, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Lawmakers Hear Assessments Of Border Operations

• Lawmakers heard testimony yesterday about the effectiveness of the state’s border operations during a joint hearing of two committees of the Texas House – the Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety and the Committee on Defense & Veterans’ Affairs. Sydnie Henry has the story.
     
• Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw and Texas Adjutant General Thomas Suelzer offered testimony before the committees highlighting the current status of Operation Lone Star—Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security operation—and the expected challenges if the Biden administration succeeds in rescinding Title 42.
     
• The mission of Operation Lone Star, according to McCraw, is to “prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between the ports of entry.”
     
• Roughly 10,000 personnel are deployed in support of OLS, and Suelzer reported that 6,128 are stationed on the border. Due to these numbers and the massive undertaking of securing the Texas-Mexico border, Suelzer reported that OLS needs an additional $531 million to sustain the mission until the end of the state’s fiscal year in August. 
     
• Suelzer said it would take $1.4 billion in funding to sustain OLS. The Texas Legislature will not meet again until January of 2023 unless Gov. Abbott calls a fourth special session.

George P.’s Struggling Campaign Embraces Leftist Endorsement

• With polls showing him more than 20 points behind the incumbent Attorney General of Texas, George P. Bush’s latest endorsement is raising eyebrows. Adam Cahn has the details.
      
• The endorsement in question is from the Austin Firefighters Association. Sounds innocuous, right? In fact, the “association” has a long history of aligning with the most radical leftists elements of Austin politics—including groups tied to leftist billionaire George Soros and current congressional candidate Greg Casar (a self-proclaimed socialist).
      
• Most recently, the firefighters association joined Casar and a panoply of Soros-backed organizations in their “defund the police” efforts. In 2016, conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation sued the firefighters association for receiving unconstitutional subsidies from the city to pursue political activity aligned with city hall.
     
• Bush is challenging Ken Paxton for the Republican nomination in the May 27 primary runoff. Early voting runs May 16-20.

Corporations See Perils Of Capitulation To Left

• In this week’s edition of his show, Luke Macias explains how Ron DeSantis’ fight with Disney is waking up businesses to the perils of capitulating to the woke mob.

Will Lawmakers Tackle Corporate Welfare?

• More and more Texans are expressing frustrations with corporate welfare and exclusive incentive programs for big business, reports Jacob Asmussen.  
   
• For example, Williamson County officials gave tech giant Apple the exclusive perk of 65 percent off their new building’s property taxes for the next 15 years – estimated to be worth up to $16 million over the next 15 years. That represents a large hit to the tax base, but is five one-thousandths (.005) of a percent of Apple’s total revenue of $265 billion just in 2018.
     
• The Republican Party of Texas has long opposed corporate welfare programs, and their most recent platform urges lawmakers to eliminate the slush funds. However, the Republican-controlled state Legislature has so far declined to act.
   
• Meanwhile, the largest beneficiaries of the state’s corporate welfare largesse have taken increasingly strident political positions at odds with Texas’ conservative culture.

John xxxxxx
  
[email protected]

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.