Good morning!

Today’s the longest day of the year, so make the most of it by listening to the new season of EXPOSED! New episodes are being released each day this week.

Here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

🎉 Winner! Winner! 🎉

• At the Texas GOP convention last week, folks could enter a drawing to win a Sig P365SAS or a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun.
       
• We conducted the drawing yesterday and the winners are…
  🙌 Mossberg shotgun: Leslie G. of Seabrook
  🙌 Sig P365SAS: Richard H. of Weatherford
        
• Congratulations!

Phelan Defends Appointment Of Democrat Committee Chairs

• More than 85 percent of Republican primary voters in March cast ballots to end the practice of GOP lawmakers allowing Democrats to chair committees in the Texas Legislature. And at the Republican Party of Texas’ convention this weekend, the effort appeared headed to a top ranking in the party’s legislative priorities.
        
• Consider House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) unimpressed. As Sydnie Henry reports, Phelan spoke at a gathering near the convention, where he criticized GOP voters and delegates for wanting legislative committees to be chaired only by Republicans.
       
• “Why now?” Phelan can be heard in a video asking attendees, pointing out that awarding chairs to the minority party has been a “tradition” in the chamber.
       
• Someone in the audience responded, “Because the Democrats are more liberal.”
     
• Apparently Speaker Phelan wants his GOP colleagues to oppose the wishes of 85 percent of GOP voters and attack a priority of the Republican Party… Good luck!

Do Patrick’s Priorities Conflict With House?

• Previewing the priorities of the Texas Senate in 2023, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick went on offense against the Texas House’s inaction during his speech at the Republican Party of Texas Convention in Houston for their failure to pass conservative priorities.
        
• “I’m not pointing fingers; I’m just telling you the truth” said Patrick, before saying he would pass a bill to restore the felony penalties for illegal voting. Last year, the Texas House lowered the penalty to a misdemeanor. When the Senate passed legislation to fix the change, Speaker Dade Phelan refused to bring up the bill, saying he did not want to “relitigate” the issue.
      

• Patrick pledged that the Senate would once again pass legislation to ban gender modification procedures in minors, as well as a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying. Both of those Republican priorities were killed in the Texas House last year.
      

• Patrick’s priorities could preview an impending standoff in 2023 between the Texas House and the Texas Senate, as Patrick promises to pass conservative legislation through his chamber.

Sid Miller Slams Lawmakers For Inaction

• In an interview with Texas Scorecard during the biennial Republican Party of Texas Convention, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller shared his thoughts on legislative priorities for the upcoming session and the priorities Republicans failed to pass last session. (You can read about the interview, or watch it.)
     

• “We’ve got a long list of things we haven’t gotten done,” said Miller on the 2020 priorities, specifically highlighting issues like monument protections, prohibiting taxpayer-funded lobbying, and banning child gender mutilation. “The biggest problem is we don’t have the right people in office, or it’d be done now.”

       
• A former member of the Texas House, Miller is taking a strong stand against allowing Democrats to serve as committee chairs in the Texas House.  

Chip Roy: Make Texas ‘As Strong As We Pretend It Is’

• In an interview with Luke Macias on the Texas Scorecard Big Stage at the Republican convention, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy took aim at the Texas Legislature’s inability to pass conservative priorities in recent years. Brandon Waltens has the details. (Or, you can watch the full interview on our video channel.)
     
• Roy mocked the idea that Republicans in Washington, D.C., would place Democrats in leadership positions, much like Texas Republicans do in the state legislature.
      
• “I can say with clarity: In D.C., you would never give the gavel to Democrats in D.C. It would be insane,” said Roy. “I mean, is Jim Jordan gonna say, ‘Hey, you know what, I don’t want to be judiciary chair. Here you go, Jerry Nadler.’ I mean, are you out of your mind?”

EXPOSED, Season 2 Episode 3

• The new season of EXPOSED is underway. The first two episodes were released yesterday, and Episode 3 is coming out this morning. 
     
• This second season of our EXPOSED podcast series looks behind the curtain at the state public school system itself—how the machine operates, why all the untold billions  of dollars, programs, buildings, and bureaucracy isn’t fixing it for teachers, students, and Texas’ families… And what can be done about it.
     
• The EXPOSED podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon/Audible, and iHeartRadio.
     
• Like it, share it, spread the word! 

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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.