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Good morning,

Most Texans recognize the COVID pandemic is over. The governor doesn’t think so.

Here is the Texas Minute for Monday, July 25, 2022.

– Brandon Waltens

While cases have sharply dropped and hospitalization rates are nowhere near where they were at the height of the COVID scare, the vast majority Texans have largely resumed living their lives as normal.

Even the liberal city of Austin has repealed [[link removed]] all of its COVID-related orders and mandates.

But more than two years after first declaring COVID a public health emergency, Gov. Greg Abbott last week said it still [[link removed]] “poses an imminent threat of disaster for all counties in the State of Texas." He has again extended his emergency orders that have usurped the normal constitutional process of government since then.

On March 13, 2020, Gov. Greg Abbott announced at a press conference in the Capitol that he would be declaring a state of emergency [[link removed]] over the coronavirus after 39 cases were reported in the state of Texas.

“Declaring a state of disaster is a key component of these efforts because it allows the state to effectively serve the people of Texas without hindrance or delay,” Abbott said at the time.

But while the original order was set to expire after 30 days, it has been renewed [[link removed]] every month since then. That emergency declaration has been the basis for every COVID-related executive order issued since then: from lockdowns and mask mandates, to more recent orders seeking to push back against vaccine mandates.

The Texas Legislature had the opportunity during their regular session last year to take action and end the emergency orders, as well as to pass legislation curtailing the executive overreach. They didn’t. Indeed, the Legislature failed to pass legislation banning business closures, mask mandates, or vaccine mandates.

At least one lawmaker has spoken up and said it is past time to end the emergency orders. State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) has called on Gov. Abbott to end the orders altogether.

“What started as ‘15 days to slow the spread,; has turned into [29] 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,” said Slaton.

If Texas were to end its COVID state of emergency, it would join 29 other states [[link removed](COVID-19)_pandemic,_2021-2022] that have already taken that step.

🔒 Donate to Texas Scorecard 🔒 [[link removed]] Number of the Day

864

Number of days since March 13, 2020, that Texas has been under a state of emergency due to COVID.

[Source: author calculation]

Today in History

On July 25, 1946, the U.S. detonated an atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. It was the first underwater test of the device.

Quote-Unquote

“The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.”

– Frederick Douglass​

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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.

U.S. Senator [[link removed]]

John Cornyn (R)

(202) 224-2934

U.S. Senator [[link removed]]

Ted Cruz (R)

(202) 224-5922

Governor of Texas [[link removed]]

Greg Abbott (R)

(512) 463-2000

Lt. Governor [[link removed]]

Dan Patrick (R)

(512) 463-0001

State Board of Education [[link removed]], District

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U.S. House [[link removed]], District

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Texas Senate [[link removed]], District

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Texas House [[link removed]], District

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Speaker of the Texas House

Dade Phelan (R)

(512) 463-1000

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www.TexasScorecard.com

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PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646

Produced by Michael Quinn Sullivan and Brandon Waltens, the Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is delivered weekday mornings (though we'll take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

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