Good morning,

Bet you didn't know you and your fellow taxpayers are being forced by the State of Texas to fund illegal aliens' civil lawyers... You are. 

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Ignoring Voters, Phelan Again Selects Democrats To Chair House Committees

• Despite Texas voters putting control of state government firmly in the hands of Republicans, the Republican speaker of the Texas House is giving control of major sections of state policy to Democrats. Sydnie Henry has the details.
       

• Banning Democrat committee chairmanships is one of eight Republican priorities for 2023, and although it is supported by more than 81 percent of Republican voters, a majority of Republican lawmakers failed to deliver.

      

• Now, Phelan has appointed eight Democrats to committee chairmanships, and one to chair a select committee. Of the standing committees, Democrats will lead Business & Industry, Corrections, County Affairs, Criminal Jurisprudence, Juvenile Justice & Family Issues, Natural Resources, Resolutions Calendar, and Transportation. A new select committee, Youth Health & Safety, will be chaired by leftist Senfronia Thompson of Houston.
      

• Interestingly, the Committee on Business and Industry and the Committee on Corrections both have the distinction of being made up of a majority of Democrats.
      

• “It is unfathomable the speaker put left-wing Democrats in charge of important and very partisan policy areas like criminal law, business, family issues, and youth health and safety,” said Rinaldi. “In the wake of an unprecedented spike in crime in Democrat areas, how do you put a Democrat in charge of criminal law issues who is pro-BLM and blamed the El Paso shooting on guns and Gov. Abbott opposing illegal immigration?”
     

• One notable change is that school choice sympathizer Harold Dutton (D-Houston) will no longer chair the Committee on Public Education. Instead, it will be led by Brad Buckley (R-Salado), who has opposed school choice in the past. Reportedly, Buckley has quietly changed positions on the issue.

Abbott Office Slams D.E.I. Hiring

• Launching another attack against critical race theory, the office of Gov. Greg Abbott is warning state agencies that using Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion criteria when hiring employees violates state law. Katy Drollinger has the story.

       

• Over the past few years, universities and other public institutions have created DEI departments and councils to promote divisive racial policies that have disastrous consequences for current and prospective employees, as well as the missions of those entities.

      
• “Indeed, rather than increasing diversity in the workplace, these DEI initiatives are having the opposite effect and are being advanced in ways that proactively encourage discrimination in the workplace,” wrote Gardner Pate, Abbott's chief of staff, in a memo to agency heads. “When a state agency adjusts its employment practices based on factors other than merit, it is not following the law. Rebranding this employment discrimination as ‘DEI’ does not make the practice any less illegal.”

Taxpayers Are Funding Illegal Aliens' Civil Defense Lawyers 

• As part of Operation Lone Star—Texas’ border security effort—the state is providing lawyers for illegal aliens charged with criminal matters when they are found to be indigent (unable to afford legal representation). But as Sydnie Henry reports, taxpayer dollars are now being used to defend illegal aliens in civil court as well.
     

• This is all happening under the auspices of the Lubbock Private Defenders Office, which was tasked with defending illegal aliens in criminal cases by the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. Yet, records show the organization's boss is assigning defense for multiple illegal aliens facing civil proceedings for failing to appear in court.
   
• While representation is constitutionally guaranteed in criminal matters, illegal aliens are getting the benefit of taxpayer-funded civil lawyers – something not available to citizens.

Scandals Cloud Prosper ISD’s Quest for a New Trustee

• After their school board president quit under a cloud of criminal sexual misconduct charges, trustees in scandal-plagued Prosper Independent School District decided to appoint someone to his vacated seat rather than allow the community to elect a new trustee. Erin Anderson has the story.

     
• Reminder: This is the same school board that allowed its superintendent to cover up the sexual abuse of students by a bus driver, and then gave her a raise and contract renewal.
   
• “I didn’t think it was possible to lose more faith in our school board members,” said one Prosper mom following the board’s vote. “They proved me wrong.”
     
• The vacancy was created last month, when Board President Drew Wilborn was arrested for indecency with a child by sexual contact. He, at least, quickly resigned.

After An ‘All-ages’ Drag Show, Florida Revokes Venue's Liquor License

• While the State of Texas has remained officially silent regarding “all-ages” drag shows, the liquor license of an Orlando venue was revoked at the behest of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after they were caught hosting a graphic and sexually explicit drag show for children. Soli Rice has the details.

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