Good morning,

You’ll never guess what your tax dollars are subsidizing in higher education… And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is slamming the door on a lawmaker-turned-lobbyist.

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

State Releases Final Report On 2020 Election Audit

• Long-awaited results of a forensic audit of Texas’ 2020 election reveal significant differences in the reliability of elections in big counties controlled by Democrats versus those run by Republicans. Erin Anderson breaks down the findings.
   
• Texas Secretary of State John Scott released the final report on the audit of the 2020 general election on Monday. The audit was conducted by his office’s newly formed Forensic Audit Division to “ensure that all Texas voters can have confidence in the elections systems in our state.”
   
• Four counties were audited: Collin, Dallas, Harris, and Tarrant. They represent the largest two Democrat-controlled counties and largest two Republican-controlled counties in Texas. Together, those four counties account for one-third of all registered voters in the state.
     
• A GOP stronghold, Collin County was singled out as “the model of how to run elections in Texas.” Tarrant County also received praise.
     
• The two Democrat-run counties didn’t fare as well. Dallas County was found to have “experienced two large problems during the 2020 General Election,” according to the audit report: electronic pollbooks checking in the wrong voters, and the loss of several experienced staff members.
     
• Unsurprisingly, Harris County—the largest county in the state with more than 2.5 million registered voters—received the worst 2020 audit report. 

  Among multiple problems cited by auditors, Harris County had “very serious issues in the handling of electronic media” that resulted in well over 100,000 cast votes stored on electronic “mobile ballot boxes” lacking proper documentation or chain-of-custody records.

DPS Drops Opposition To Texans’ Second Amendment Rights

• The Texas Department of Public Safety has withdrawn its appeal of a Fort Worth federal court case, setting in motion the right of all adults to carry handguns without a license. Emily Wilkerson has the details.
      
• In 2021, the Texas Legislature passed a “constitutional carry” law, removing the requirement of firearm holders to obtain a license to carry from the state. The legislation set a minimum age of 21 to carry a handgun, despite the fact that it is legal in Texas to own a handgun and carry a long gun at 18 years old. The Firearms Policy Coalition challenged that prohibition, arguing that it violated the Second Amendment.
       
• Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Texas agreed, ruling in favor of FPC in August.
       

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an appeal on behalf of Texas DPS in September. Now, the agency has decided to withdraw that appeal, allowing all adults to carry without receiving a license from the state.

Patrick Bans Lawmaker-turned-Lobbyist From His Office

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is taking aim at former State Rep. Chris Paddie for taking a position as a lobbyist for a major energy company. A liberal Republican known for cutting deals with Democrats, Paddie resigned from the Texas House last year shortly after being censured by his home county’s GOP.
      
• Brandon Waltens reports that Paddie, who chaired the powerful State Affairs Committee, will now be working for a power generation company that was at the heart of the February 2021 debacle that left millions of Texans without power.
       
• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Senate repeatedly attempted to pass legislation in 2021 that would retroactively lower electric prices that skyrocketed during the winter storm. Those attempts were killed by Texas House leadership—including Paddie.
         
• “His actions last session on ERCOT grid failures were disingenuous and unprofessional, some say underhanded,” wrote Patrick on social media.
       

• This isn’t the first time Patrick has publicly blasted Paddie. When it was rumored last fall that Paddie could potentially be picked to lead the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, Patrick sent an email to his supporters saying Paddie had “forfeited his credibility with my office and with many members of the Texas Senate.”

UNT Law School Helps Students Change Gender on State Docs

• This is what your tax dollars are subsidizing…
     
• The University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law regularly hosts workshops where law students help transgender individuals fill out paperwork to change their name and gender on official documents. Soli Rice has the details.

📣 Know Someone? 📣

• We’re now taking applications for the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2023 Texas Scorecard Fellowships designed for 18- to 25-year-olds with an interest in public policy, political accountability, and Texas history.
       
• The paid program offers three tracks: writing, research, and administration. Learn more about the Fellowship, and other employment opportunities, on our website.

Your Federal & State Lawmakers

The districts and names displayed here should reflect those taking representational effect on January 1, 2023.