Good morning,

I can admit it now, but one story of Jesus’ interactions with a lame man always struck me as cruel. Now I understand, as I end the week reflecting, that sometimes – no matter what we claim – we don’t really want to be active.

Oh, and don’t worry, the GOP-dominated Texas House is going to make sure more of your money is spent on corporate welfare for unreliable energy businesses. You didn’t want tax relief, right?

Here is the Texas Minute for Friday, August 5, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

TODAY at 5:30 p.m.: Join Brandon Waltens for The Headline, covering the biggest stories from the week. His guests this week will include… me!

Federal Judge Slams Texas’ Election Integrity Law

•  U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel blocked a new state law that bolstered Texas voter residency requirements, marking a blow to the state’s new election integrity law. Juliana Berg has the details.
       
• Texas Senate Bill 1111, passed last year, requires people who register to vote using a P.O. Box to provide proof of a home address. The legislation’s author, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), explained the measure was needed because – until then – the law “allowed voter registration certificates with residential addresses corresponding with vacant lots, mailbox stores, motels, and commercial locations.”
       
• Yeakel, who was put on the court by George W. Bush, struck down the law as “unconstitutionally vague.”
     
• Bettencourt said he was disappointed by the ruling but expects the “common-sense” legislation to ultimately prevail on appeal.

Texas’ GOP House Speaker Doubles Down On Corporate Welfare

• After the Texas Legislature chose not to extend a massive corporate welfare program last year, House Speaker Dade Phelan is doubling down on his previous pledge to bring the controversial program back. Brandon Waltens has the full story.
      
• Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code allows school districts to offer large tax breaks for 10 years to renewable energy and other businesses. The tax breaks come at no loss to the school districts. Instead, the state supplements the lost revenue to the districts from sales taxes and other state-collected taxes.
     
• Long unpopular with taxpayers, renewed criticism was placed on the program last year, as many of the unreliable wind farms that failed during the February winter storm had benefited from the scheme.
     
• In February, Phelan said lawmakers would be working on “developing a program to replace Chapter 313” in 2023. 
     
• At the West Texas Legislative Summit in San Angelo yesterday, Phelan reportedly expressed confidence that the House could pass “a version of 313s that are more transparent, with more accountability and oversight.”
     
• Ah, yes, the “more transparent and responsible” sort of corporate welfare, where Phelan and his pals can send your money to their cronies…
      
• “Texas taxpayers shouldn’t be stuck with increased tax bills in order to carry the cost of well-connected businesses.” – Tim Hardin, president of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility

Drag Show Bars Aren’t Paying Their Taxes?

• Bars and restaurants hosting drag shows – “family friendly” or otherwise – could be facing thousands in unpaid taxes, according to statutes already on the books. Now, some Texans are demanding that Comptroller Glenn Hegar take action on the issue.
     
• The Texas Business Code regulates “sexually oriented businesses,” which are defined as nightclubs, bars, or restaurants that provide live nude performances for audiences of two or more and serve alcohol. Such businesses are legally prohibited from allowing individuals under the age of 18 from entering, must register with the comptroller, and remit a tax of five dollars per customer. 
      
• “Nude,” as defined in the Business Code, does not only refer to being entirely unclothed. It also applies to performers who are “clothed in a manner that leaves uncovered or visible through less than full opaque clothing … any portion of the genitals or buttocks.”
     

• “Any good parent knows that a drag show is no place for a child and that any bar or restaurant that holds an event of this type must be held accountable to the law,” said Chris Hopper, the president of the Texas Family Project. “The family is under attack, and we are eager to see Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar step up and fight to protect our values in Texas.”
      

• For his part, Hegar’s office isn’t commenting on the perverse problem of the proliferation of drag shows targeted at sexualizing children.

Wylie Set For 5th Year Without Tax Hike

• For the past four years, Wylie’s elected officials have funded city spending without raising residents’ property tax burdens. Erin Anderson reports the city is on track to do it again this year. 

      
• The Wylie City Council first adopted the “no new revenue” in 2018, when newly elected council members blocked a proposed tax hike. Since then, the councilmen who (unsuccessfully) pushed the tax hike have been replaced, and the city has managed to operate without increasing the tax burden.
      
• “Instead, we would rely on our growth to provide us with the funds to continue to fund new positions in public safety, expand services and take care of our staff to ensure that the citizens of Wylie continue to receive services at the high quality they deserve,” explained Wylie Mayor Matthew Porter earlier this week.
       
• Any property tax rate that is higher than the no-new-revenue rate is a tax increase – even if the rate itself is lower than the previous rate. Property tax burdens are the result of the rate times the appraised value of a property.

Friday Reflection: Stop Lying Around

Scripture is full of paralyzed and lame individuals being healed, but one story has always stood out for me. That is because it seems so cruel.

On the surface, what Jesus said to a lame man lying near the Bethesda pool in Jerusalem was mean. “Do you want to be healed?”

Let me back up. Myth had it that when the waters of the Bethesda pool were disturbed by an angel, the first person to touch the water would be healed of their malady. Invalids – the blind, the paralyzed, and otherwise lame – would gather there in hopes of being the first one into the water.

So, yes, Jesus; of course, he wants to be healed. That’s what I used to yell in my head. Except… we all know people who don’t. We all know people who are comfortable in their misery, who find their life’s meaning and worth wrapped up in suffering.

This man was different; he explained how he had no one to help him move into the water at the first ripple. He wanted to be healed but lacked anyone to help him. So, Jesus did help him – and it didn’t require falling into the pool.

That same “don’t want to be healed” incapacitation afflicts our body politic. Lots of people complain about the state of our country and are angered by the news of the day. To be sure, there is a lot to be angry about – but some seem to find meaning in simply being angry.

When given the opportunity to learn how to make a difference, they sniff and look away. They don’t want to do anything to address the source of frustration; they are comfortable defining themselves by their incapacitating anger.

Others, though, are tired of sitting on the couch. They are ready to redefine themselves. Rather than be passive recipients of bad news, they want to be agents of action. These are the people who end up making a difference in their communities, schools, state, and nation.

Sometimes, they just need a little help going from watching cable news to knowing what kind of meaningful actions they can take.

As an aside, scripture tells us the man at Bethesda couldn’t stop telling people what had been done for him. We don’t know what else he did, but I suspect the man didn’t slow down for the rest of his life nor stop talking about how he had been healed and by Whom.

What about us? Is it easier to stay on the couch and yell at the cable news shows? Or, are we willing to stop lying around? Are we ready to wake up our fellow citizens? Are we ready to zealously work for a better tomorrow? We can grouse about how bad things are, or we can grab the opportunity to make things better.

Our republic needs us to define ourselves not by our anger, but by our willingness as citizens to stand up and get to work.