Good morning!

Ready or not, the Texas Legislature convenes today in its 88th Regular Session.

Meanwhile, the executive committee of a county Republican Party wants John Cornyn to resign... Let us know what you think of that in today's One Click Survey.

Here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

COMING UP TODAY

• The Texas House and Senate will convene at noon, officially starting the 88th Session. The first order of business in the Texas House will be the election of a speaker.
   
• Vying for the position are incumbent Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington).

The Legislature... Explained In 5 Minutes

• Watch the video now on Texas Scorecard, Rumble, or YouTube!

GOP Lawmakers Face Growing Pressure to Ban Democrat Chairs

• As lawmakers convene, more grassroots groups are pressing their Republican state representatives to stop giving Democrats powerful committee chairmanships. Erin Anderson reports conservatives are frustrated by a lack of progress on key reforms. 
      
• Many are upset that Democrats have been allowed to obstruct the legislative process – as they did for several months in 2021 to delay implementation of election security measures – yet continue to be rewarded with committee chairmanships.
       
• “Why should they be rewarded?” asked Collin County Commissioner Darrell Hale, a member of the Republican Round Table of Collin County. The Round Table sent a letter signed by 277 elected officials and grassroots activists, asking Phelan and area representatives to back a ban on Democrat chairs. They also said last session’s quorum-busting Democrats should be kept out of vice-chair positions.

Tax-hiking Cartel: Appraisal Districts Bleed Texans Dry

• Taxpayers are being abused by a tax-hiking cartel of local governments, appraisal districts, and the Texas Legislature that created it. Texas Scorecard's Robert Montoya has obtained citizens' complaints from as far back as 2016 about the abuse Texans are experiencing from the property tax appraisal system across the state. 
       
• “The entire system is moving in a terrible direction,” said James Quintero of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “People are really getting crushed by the size and burden of their property tax bills.”
      
• “Never have we been so helpless to [the] fact my government can tax property they obviously know nothing about,” an unnamed property owner in El Paso County wrote in his 2016 complaint.
     
• In Part 2 of this series being published later today, Texas Scorecard will expose who ultimately controls and is responsible for the appraisal districts.

1,177 Texans to Abbott: Stop the Sexualization of Children

• A letter signed by more than 1,000 Texans was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, asking him to declare the sexualization of children an emergency.
      
• The effort was organized by Bonnie Wallace of Llano County. In an email to the governor on Monday, she explained her interest in the issue arose after finding “pornography, sexually explicit and pervasively vulgar content directed at children” in her local library.
         
• “Legislative solutions that eliminate this material in every library in Texas are needed, as local policy is failing to address the problem, and the state has a compelling interest to intervene and protect Texas children,” wrote the signers. “Ultimately the responsibility will fall on the legislature. But if you designate this issue as an Emergency Item, it then has the ability to move more quickly through the process. The clock is ticking and every day matters.”
        
• Under the constitutionally defined rules of the legislative process, legislation cannot be considered on the floor of either chamber unless it has been designated an emergency by the governor.

Grassroots Push to End Benefits for Illegal Aliens

• For the 88th Legislative Session, a grassroots organization (Texans for Strong Borders) and think tank (Texas Public Policy Foundation) want lawmakers to remove benefits, or “magnets,” from illegal aliens. Sydnie Henry has the story.

      

• They are focusing on two specific magnets: employment and in-state tuition.

       
• Both organizations want to require E-Verify for all employment in the Lone Star State. Currently, Texas requires only the state government and sexually oriented businesses to use E-Verify.
     
• According to Texans for Strong Borders, “Billions of dollars are taken out of hardworking Texans’ wallets every year and put towards schooling, scholarships, housing, and medical care for illegal aliens. These magnets only incentivize them to continue to come and stay in Texas.”

School Choice Advocates Optimistic Ahead of Session

• After failing to gain traction the last two decades, Texas school choice advocates have renewed optimism about the prospect of expanding education options for parents and students ahead of this year’s legislative session. Darrell Frost explains what those activists see as positive signs.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

The Republican Party of Lamar County, in northeast Texas, has passed a resolution calling for John Cornyn to resign as a member of the U.S. Senate from Texas. They cite his recent vote for the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package and “lack of fidelity” to the party’s principles.

Do you think John Cornyn should resign?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!