Good morning,

Readers have some strong feelings about the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution... and not a lot of confidence in the ability of state lawmakers to appoint better senators.

See the responses to yesterday's One Click Survey after today's news in the Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan
Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 

Paxton Joins Fight Against FDA’s Abortion Pill Decision

• Nearly two dozen state attorneys general are fighting the Biden administration’s move to ease restrictions on abortion drugs. In signing the letter calling the actions of the Food and Drug Administration “illegal,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton explains the drugs themselves are too dangerous. Soli Rice has the story.
      

• The FDA recently announced abortion drugs, which previously required a prescription, would be available from pharmacies as “over the counter” medication. The agency also decided mail-order companies would be allowed to continue to transport and deliver abortion drugs regardless of approval by a medical practitioner or healthcare provider.
     
• "The FDA dispensed with these safety requirements to allow the drug to be taken without the guidance or supervision of a medical professional," explained Paxton in a statement. "In doing so, the FDA abandoned its traditional mission to protect the American public in order to facilitate a pro-abortion agenda. Its new policy also conflicts with federal law, which bans the Post Office from delivering abortion-related drugs."

Abbott 'State of the State Address' Vies For Latest In 30 Years

• Texas will be 38 days into the legislative session when the governor delivers his State of the State address on February 16 at 7 p.m. As Sydnie Henry reports, that is the deepest into the constitutionally defined 140-day session in more than 30 years.
     
• This is significant because, per the Texas Constitution, the governor’s priority items are the only topics the Legislature can act on for the first 60 days of the session. Historically, governors' use their State of the State addresses to announce those priorities. The longer it is before priorities are announced, the less likely it is for action to occur.
     
• The previous "record" for the latest State of the State was also held by Abbott, when he delivered his remarks on the 36th day back in 2015.

Lawmaker Wants to Rein In Power Of State Bureaucracy

• As Texans fight against government overreach, State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) has introduced legislation requiring judges to interpret state law without yielding to any state agency’s view of the rule. Katy Drollinger has the details.

      
• “Unelected bureaucrats both writing and enforcing laws is the biggest threat to our constitutional system of divided government, and we must shift power back to the people’s elected representatives,” said Harrison. “We also must reset the balance of power between regulators and the Texans they regulate by stopping the courts from showing favoritism to bureaucrats in court.”

MILLER: Educators Are Lying To You About Reform

• In a new commentary, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has strong words for the public education employees who are undermining reforms and parental choice.
     

• "We’re going to hear a lot of nonsense designed to confuse and mislead us in the coming days and weeks. Just remember that the ones telling these lies are the same ones who personally benefit from the current failed system." – Sid Miller

Legislative Package Would Strengthen State Board of Education 

• A former member of the State Board of Education and freshman member of the Texas House, State Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson (R– Galveston) has filed a package of legislation she says will empower the elected State Board of Education to tamp down against radical ideology in schools. Emily Wilkerson has the details.
      
• “Parents know what’s best for their children’s educational needs, and it is important that we empower their elected SBOE representatives, not textbook publishers who are beholden to other interests,” said Leo-Wilson.
      
• The members of the State Board of Education are elected from districts roughly twice the size of a state Senate district. You can find the districts and the officeholders in Texas Scorecard's directory of elected officials.

Senator Arrested for DWI in Austin

• In the early hours of Tuesday morning in Austin, State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated, reports Brandon Waltens. The senator spent the rest of the night in Travis County lock-up.
     

• Shortly after noon, a local Austin reporter caught Schwertner walking out of jail. The senator described himself as "deeply sorry" and "apologetic."

     

• Schwertner was recently appointed as the chairman of the Senate’s Business and Commerce Committee, which was scheduled to hold a hearing on the state’s power grid at 11 a.m. He didn't make the hearing. Vice-chairman Phil King (R-Weatherford) ran it instead.
      

• One thing that is sure to raise eyebrows is that Schwertner was released on a no-bail personal recognizance bond – meaning he didn’t have to put up any money. Those sorts of “get out of jail” passes have drawn the ire of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in recent months.

Y'All Answered

For more than one hundred years, the popularly elected House of Representatives was "balanced" in the U.S. Constitution by a Senate whose members were selected by the states' legislatures. That check on the growth of the federal government ended in 1913, when the 17th Amendment was ratified. Now, some around the country would like to repeal the 17th Amendment and restore the original balance of the legislative branches.

We asked what readers thought of that proposal: 55.8 percent want to repeal the 17th Amendment, while 44.2 percent think it should remain in place. 

Here's a sampling from my inbox...

• “With the passage of the 17th Amendment, the state governments lost their ability to control the federal government. It was a vital check as subsequent history has shown, and must be restored. Kill the 17th!” – Stan Martin
      

• “The Constitution specifies the authority of the federal government. The 10th Amendment specifies that all other government is the responsibility of the individual states. The 17th Amendment effectively shredded the 10th Amendment and severely limited state rights, and should be repealed.” – Richard Steenson
      

• “Repeal the 17th? Why? People might want to see what that was like prior to repeal. Senate seats went to whoever would pay the most money to buy the seat. Is that what people want? Not I. Our government has been so corrupted as it is, I think this would make it worse when you have the likes of George Soros funding corrupt district attorneys.” – Alan Mowery
     

• “The Founders' reasoning for specifying the election of senators by their respective state legislators was in line with their reasoning for the Electoral College – to prevent large population centers, ie. Houston or California, from dominating the election process of either the state or federal governments.” – David Bergthold
       

• “The 17th Amendment has turned each state's senatorial elections into national elections, whereby rich libs in other states can pour millions of dollars into that which is none of their business.” – Forrest Parker
     

• “I like everyone in the state being able to vote for senators. Leaving the decision up to the legislature requires a legislature that listens to its citizens. Unfortunately, legislatures can devolve into cronyism (in either political party), which means citizens don't have a voice.” – Laura Morton
     

• “Promoted by deceit and approved by gullible plebes, the 17th Amendment is a prescription for mischief that serves more the interests of an establishment than it does the preservation of liberty.” – Jack Boteler
     

• “At this point, I’d keep the 17th Amendment; I don’t trust the legislature at this point to select senators I would trust. I don’t trust but a few in the Texas Legislature as it is.” – Sharon Jordan
     

• “The purpose of the bicameral legislature was to provide a voice for the state as a whole, removed from the popular vote of the citizens, at the federal level. That would also provide a lot of stability but also be flexible. Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn have clearly demonstrated exactly why the 17th Amendment should be repealed. State legislators and governors--without the 17th Amendment--had the ability to recall senators that were not representing their state and replace them quickly. Today, we are stuck with these slugs until they are up for re-election.” – Roger Taylor
     

• “The back room dealing that Progressives claimed they were eliminating has only become corporate boardroom dealing so the senator can get re-elected.” – Greg Reinhart
     

• “All these years of Republican control, yet our Legislature only enacts a tiny portion of our conservative priorities. How can we trust them to appoint our senators?” – Mike Brucia
     

• “I don’t trust our Legislature now. Why would I think it’s a good idea to give them even more power? Cronyism needs to stop. All elected officials need term limits, including Congress.” – Rick Goncher
      

• “I do not have confidence in the state legislature to be able to elect Senators. Way too much corruption.” – Danny Thompson 
     

• “I've never understood the passage of the amendment since high school civics class back in the 1960's. The Senate was reduced from the world's greatest deliberative body, the cooling saucer, to a Super House of Popularity. There has been nobody to represent the states, giving all the power of the entire Congress to special moneyed interests, lobbyists, the media, and the privileged, long-term political squatters. The concept that Wyoming should have as much say in the business of the country as New York has been corrupted and perverted.” – Patrick Bell
     

• “I would support repealing the 17th Amendment if I had more confidence in our Texas legislators.” – Betty Bailey-Lucas
     

• “I would have voted to repeal the 17th Amendment but the Texas legislature hasn't even gotten around to appointing committee chairs to do the people's work. I don't trust them to elect good senators to send to Washington to work for us.  Our government has been adrift from the people for a long time. They don't need more power, they need less.” – Phyllis Nichols
     

• “I just can’t trust our legislators to do right. We do absolutely need a procedure to recall Senators, Congressmen and all other elected officials. That would give another level of accountability.” – J. Blair Cherry
     

• “Repeal the 16th and 17th Amendment. Why should the federal government get its hands on you private property, your salary? Yes, repeal the 17th Amendment. It was intended by the Founders that the Senate represented the states. Now, we have two chambers of clowns that are destroying the country, as they have for decades.” – Sharon Sapp
     

• “Get rid of the 17th. It would act like term limits for the Senate, assuming the state legislatures did their job and didn't keep sending the same corrupt people back to the Senate.” – Alan Smith
     

• “Given how dysfunctional our Texas State House is today, how would it be any better for our federal senators selected by the state House? Answer: Term limits for all federal offices.” – Michele Ward
     

• “The best I can do is respond with another question...Who do you consider more corrupt, politicians or uninformed 'voters’?” – John R. Makow
     

• “So Dade Phelan should have a veto over who becomes a senator from Texas? I do not see how letting the thieves in Austin select my senators will be an improvement on the current situation.” – Jerry Harben
      

• "Senators were supposed to be the ambassadors to represent the State. Congressmen were to represent the people. Now they all represent corporations." – Bob Davis

Directory of Your U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

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