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- The Texas Report 3/27
The Texas Report 3/27
Happy Monday!
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick
Written by: Jay Williamson
Statewide News Round-Up
This past weekend former President Donald Trump held his first campaign event in Waco, Texas, ahead of the 2024 election. Trump spoke outside of the Waco airport, and by some pictures of the event, there appeared to be a few thousand in attendance. Two statewide Texas Republican officials appeared, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Some other attendees and speakers included: "My Pillow Guy" Michael J. Lindell, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Former Texas Congresswoman Rep. Mayra Flores, and Texas Congressman Roger Williams. Yesterday, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham endorsed Trump and said, "I appreciate my friend President Donald Trump—He stood tall for me and gave me his full support early on during my run for Texas Land Commissioner. "(More here)
Trump emphasized to his supporters, "I am your warrior, I am your justice. "For those who have been wronged and betrayed … I am your retribution." He additionally suggested that we are heading to World War III.
Some policy promises by Trump:
Vowed to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine within a day of beginning his next administration and said had he been in office, it would have never happened.
Promised to conduct the largest deportation in the nation's history by increasing the number of border enforcement officers.
He additionally went on to bash Governor Desantis, claiming credit for Desantis' political rise and suggesting Florida is in decline.
The Texas Tribune recently reported on a letter they obtained from Sharon Fonvielle-Baughman, the former director of special investigations for the Department of Family and Protective Services. In her four-page letter, she describes a team overburdened with responsibilities far beyond their legislative-mandated role. In fiscal year 2021, the agency has a nearly 24% turnover rate, one of the highest among state agencies. (Full letter)
The letter expresses concerns that the special investigator's division may soon be dissolved, and Baughman says, "There is almost no time to search for runaway foster children, nor time to interview people that have seriously harmed or killed their child, because only the numbers matter. Closing cases is all that matters, not ensuring safety."
Governor Abbott recently took to Twitter to brag that "Texas is creating more jobs & attracting more people & businesses than ever before." Recent employment data shows that Texas has gained more than 2 million jobs since January 2015 and has led the nation for the last twelve months in jobs added. The Governor said in an official press release, "I am proud that more Texans are working than ever before as Texas has added more than 2 million jobs since I took office in 2015. Texas continues to lead the nation thanks to our innovative businesses and our strong and growing workforce. Some additional interesting statistics: (More here)
Texas has added jobs in thirty-three of the last thirty-four months.
Texas leads the nation for jobs added over the month at 58,200, or nearly one in five of the jobs added across the nation.
Texas has the largest labor force ever in the state's history, at 14,819,440.
The Governor also recently updated the Texas Multi-Agency Border Security program, Operation Lone Star. (OLS) Since the start of OLS the initiative has: (More here)
Led to over 359,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions
Resulted in more than 26,000 criminal arrests.
Seized over 373 million lethal doses of fentanyl.
In a recent interview with The Dallas Morning News, Patrick said he will not compromise with House Leaders on the differing property-tax cut reduction plans. This potentially splits the chambers on one of if not the biggest issue of the session. Patrick told the Dallas Morning News, "The Senate plan to reduce property taxes, which largely involves raising homestead exemptions, is superior to the House counterpart that would give Texans a tax break through appraisal caps."
House author Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas) responded on a political show produced by KXAS-TV and the Dallas Morning News. He said, "No one has ever come up to me and said,' Morgan, we got to do something about our homestead exemption. What they do come and tell me is Morgan. What is going on with our appraisals?' so we in the House are taking a new and bold strategy to be able to limit folks' appraisals." Wednesday, we will include a compare and contrast to highlight the difference in savings between the legislation.
The Governor has also recently been posting his continued support for vouchers on social media. Abbott tweeted over the weekend, "NOW for school choice in Texas. Without education freedom, parents are hindered from choosing the best education path for their child. This session, we'll ensure every family has that freedom.
Abbott did a guest opinion piece in the Odessa Online newsletter and bragged about providing "more funding for public education and teacher pay raises than any governor in Texas history." And pointed out some of his reasons for supporting school choice, including that parents "are appalled at woke political agendas and inappropriate content infiltrating classroom lessons and school libraries." This is a top issue for the Governor, who is taking special care in messaging the issue to rural areas, who tend to be the most skeptical of voucher programs. (OAOA Guest Letter)
House State Affairs will meet this Wednesday to hear House Bill (H.B.) 9 by Representative Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin), which would propose a $5 billion state investment for broadband expansion pending voter approval. Other priority bills being heard this week include school safety legislation by Representatives Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) and Ken King (R-Canadian). These bills would, among other things, require sheriffs in counties under 350,000 to hold a stakeholder meeting twice a year between the various law enforcement agencies in the area and the superintendent or other board designee on behalf of the board of trustees.
Criminal justice issues are also up this week with bills in the House to increase the punishment for certain criminal penalties related to the possession and distribution of fentanyl. And legislation to give the state the ability to remove county and district attorneys from office if they have adopted or implemented a formal policy limiting the enforcement of criminal offenses.
The Legislative process is in full swing of things, and the House will meet on its first official calendar to vote on legislation this week. Tuesday, the full House will consider four bills, including Speaker Priority H.B 300 by Representative Donna Howard (D-Austin), which would create a sales tax exemption for certain female health and family care items. One of the other bills to be heard is H.B. 446 by Representative Tom Craddick (R-Midland), which would strike any reference to the term "mentally retarded” in the Texas statute and replace it with "individuals with an intellectual disability. "
There are some rumors first reported by the Quorum Report that Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Houston) may enter the Houston Mayor's race. This would make a high-profile election even more interesting and pit two of the longest-serving Houston-based Texas Politicians, Senator John Whitmire and Lee, against one another.
The Senate is set to vote on its state budget recommendations this week.
Committee schedule for this week: (More to come)
Monday - Senate Nominations, Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs. House Public Health, Business & Industry, Higher Education, Ways & Means, Energy Resources, Youth Health & Safety, Select.
Tuesday - Senate Business & Commerce. House Human Services, Insurance, International Relations & Economic Development, Natural Resources, Public Education, Corrections, Criminal Jurisprudence, Homeland Security & Public Safety, and Urban Affairs.
Wednesday - Senate Transportation & House Transportation. House Agriculture & Livestock, Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, Land & Resource Management, Licensing & Administrative Procedures, Pensions, Investments & Financial Services, County Affairs, Juvenile Justice & Family Issues, State Affairs, and Transportation.
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Happy Monday!
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