Good morning,

The Texas GOP slams Dade Phelan... TikTok is being expelled from Texas' universities... The new season of EXPOSED will launch next week... And you might be getting a property tax cut!

Buckle up! This is an action-packed Texas Minute for Thursday, January 19, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

CORRECTIONS UPFRONT: A typo in yesterday's Y'All Answered section created a math problem. The actual results of Tuesday's One Click Survey found 93.2 percent of readers wanted the governor's COVID emergency declaration to end, while 6.8 percent wanted it to continue. I apologize for the error!

Abbott Gives Support To Protecting Texas Land From 'Enemies'

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has indicated his support for a ban on ownership of Texas land by certain foreign entities, as the Texas Legislature prepares to consider legislation on the matter. Emily Wilkerson has the details.

     
• Legislation by State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R–Brenham) would prohibit the purchase of or acquisition of real property in Texas by hostile countries like China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
      
• "I will sign it," Abbott posted to social media.

Texas GOP Launches Ad Campaign In Phelan's District

• In a historic move, the Republican Party of Texas is running an ad campaign in House Speaker Dade Phelan's Beaumont district, taking him to task over his plan to appoint Democrats as committee chairs in the Texas House. Get the story from Brandon Waltens.
        
• "Dade Phelan ruled that he alone has the power to determine whether to give Dems powerful House leadership positions," wrote Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi. "We defeated Dems in Nov. We shouldn't put them in power now."
       
• The Texas GOP has made banning Democrat committee chairs a priority, after more than 81 percent of Republican voters called for that position in the March 2022 primary.
       
• "We voted Republican all the way down the ticket, but House Speaker Dade Phelan thinks Democrats should still run the show. That's why he's planning to put Democrats in charge of nearly half the committees in the Texas House," the GOP radio ad states. "Dade Phelan is teaming up with Democrats to kill our Republican priorities."
     
• Phelan's office did not return calls seeking comment.
     
• Reminder: Of the 86 House Republicans, 83 voted last week for Phelan to lead their chamber.

Toth Blames Senate For House Killing Gender Modification Ban

• So now House members are rewriting history...
    

• State Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) alleges the Texas Senate killed conservative priority legislation in 2021 that would have protected children from gender mutilation procedures. The accusation was made during a conversation with activists on January 10, a recording of which was released by North Texas activist David Lowe. Sydnie Henry has the full report.

      
• “It came over from the Senate ridiculously late, and they knew that we were going to have trouble,” said Toth in the meeting. “There’s plenty of blame that needs to be spread around in this thing.”
     

• Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi refuted the idea that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate are to blame, saying it was “not true.”

      
• “Patrick passed the stronger child protection bill early in the session,” Rinaldi told Texas Scorecard. “When the House made it clear it would only pass the weaker bill, he sent that one over too. Dan Patrick did everything we asked for in this priority. It died in the House.”

Lawmakers Begin Budget Process

• The process of writing and passing the state budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal years has officially kicked off, with both the Texas House and Senate releasing their base budgets to act as the starting point as the legislative session continues. Brandon Waltens reports both chambers' biennial budget drafts would see the state spending an unprecedented $130 billion – and both include property tax relief.

     

• Passing a balanced budget is one of the only constitutionally mandated tasks of the state Legislature. But while lawmakers faced a budget shortfall in the last legislative session, this session is different with $32.7 billion in surplus cash available.
     

• Reminder: "Surplus" is a euphemism for "over-collection of taxes from the citizens of Texas."
       

• Gov. Greg Abbott himself recently reiterated that the surplus should be “returned to taxpayers” and that lawmakers would deliver “the largest property tax cut in Texas history.”
     

• Both chambers have allocated $15 billion for property tax relief. The budget hawks at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility call that "a great start" but say that it "falls short of providing the largest property tax cut in Texas history."
       

• Over the coming weeks, the budget will be tweaked – possibly even substantially – through the committee processes in the House and Senate as well as on the floor of both chambers.

Texas Universities Move To Ban TikTok

• Following a directive from Texas Governor Greg Abbott, public universities across Texas have banned students from accessing the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on school internet networks. Katy Drollinger has the story.

ARRIVING ON JANUARY 23...

EXPOSED, Season 4: The War on Texas Kids

• A crusading journalist and mother of two, Sara Gonzales explores the issues and asks if there is a way to stop the sexualization of children… or is it too late? Get the answers in EXPOSED, Season Four: The War on Texas Kids.
      
• Season 4 will be available Jan. 23 everywhere you listen to podcasts, including: Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and our website.

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