The Texas Report 4/10

April 10, 2023

Happy Monday!

Governor Greg Abbott

Written by: Jay Williamson

Statewide News Round-Up

Saturday, Governor Abbott announced via Twitter that he would be seeking a pardon for 28-year-old military veteran Daniel Perry who was convicted Friday by a Travis County jury of fatally shooting 28-year-old Garrett Foster during a protest in Austin. (More on the case)

The Texas Constitution limits the Governor's pardon authority to act only on recommendations by the Board of Pardons and Paroles. However, the Governor does have the authority to request the Board of Pardons ad Paroles to determine if a person should be granted a pardon, and Abbott said he asked for the Board expedite its review. In his official statement, the Governor said, "Texas has one of the strongest "Stand Your Ground" laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney." (Official Tweet)

Perry's attorneys argued the shooting was in self-defense as Foster approached Perry's car with an AK-47 and pointed it at Perry. On the other hand, prosecutors said he could have driven away before firing his revolver at Foster, and some witnesses testified that Foster never raised his rifle at Perry. The shooting happened during a protest regarding police violence in the summer of 2020. (More on the shooting here)

Friday, a Texas Federal Judge suspended the Federal Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of mifepristone (one of the most popular pills for terminating a pregnancy). The ruling is significant because the judge issued a nationwide injunction meaning that the ruling will take effect across the U.S. in a week unless a higher court issues a stay. The Department of Justice during the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations argued that nationwide injunctions are overused and "inconsistent with constitutional limitations on judicial power." The Department of Justice (DOJ) appealed the ruling Friday night to the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The case will likely be appealed to other more liberal learning U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, possibly setting up a case over the abortion pills for the Supreme Court. (More here)

Officials with Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park posted a still image captured in the Rio Grande Valley and asked people for help in identifying the animal on video. In a Facebook post, the park said, "We're scratching our heads trying to identify this elusive creature." "Is it a new species? An escapee from a nearby zoo? Or just a park ranger in disguise?" 

Some guesses included an American badger, a large river otter, and more. However, the park said it would keep everyone updated as they learned more about the mysterious animal. (More here)

The House Ways & Means Committee will be hearing H.B. 5 on Wednesday, which would create a new inventive program to provide temporary and limited incentives for large-scale investment projects. This is to essentially replace the old Chapter 313 incentive, which among other things, allowed public school districts to offer tax incentives for businesses that invest in their communities. Under H.B. 5, schools and businesses would enter into a written agreement regarding a new investment project and then present an application to the Comptroller detailing the potential economic benefit for a twenty-five-year period. The Comptroller would then recommend the project if it finds that it provides a net economic or financial benefit to the state. 

This is a significant priority bill for the business community, which may face opposition from both parties as in the past, the Republican and Democrat parties of Texas have called for the abolishment of Chapter 313. Abbott has previously expressed support for the new iteration of the program. 

Tuesday, the House Public Education Committee will discuss various proposals for creating Education Savings Accounts (vouchers). This comes in the wake of the Senate passing out its priority voucher legislation last week, while the House signaled through a test vote that vouchers had little to no potential of being voted out of the full chamber. 

To explain a little more for our new readers. The House took up an amendment for the state budget to ban the use of public money through any form of a voucher program. The amendment passed on an 86-52 vote, with twenty-two primarily rural Republicans joining the majority of Democrats in supporting the amendment. The amendment itself isn't all that important because the Senate will take it out, but it illustrates that the House is unlikely to pass any legislation creating school vouchers. 

Following the vote by many rural Republicans and Democrats against vouchers, state Republican Party chair Matt Rinaldi reacted on Twitter with "Pathetic." While the Texas Democrats celebrated by thanking Representative Abel Herrero and the Democratic Caucus. (Democrats response)

Up in House Public Education is HB 4340 by Representative James Frank which would establish a payment method where parents with an eligible child would receive 90% of the state average maintenance and operations revenue per student in average daily attendance for the preceding state fiscal year. It will be interesting to see the dialogue between the committee members, and we'll be doing what we can to find the likelihood of the bill making it out of committee. 

Governor Abbott told the Texas Tribune that he was not discouraged by the House vote, and his spokesperson said, "Governor Abbott made education freedom an emergency item this legislative session because no one knows the needs of their child better than a parent," "The … amendment received the least support ever. This vote shows the legislature remains open to school choice, supporting the majority of Texans who want to expand school choice." (More here)

If you have any questions about specific issues or policies, please email us and let us know!

Committee schedule for this week: 

Monday - Senate Nominations. House Higher Education, Ways & Means, Energy Resources, Youth Health & Safety, and Corrections. 

Tuesday - Senate Administration, Business & Commerce, State Affairs, Local Government, Criminal Justice. House Human Services, Insurance, International Relations & Economic Development, Natural Resources, Public Education Criminal Jurisprudence, Homeland Security & Public Safety, and Urban Affairs. 

Wednesday - Senate Local Government, Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Economic Development, and Education. House Transportation, 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.

Thursday - House Health Care Reform and Culture. Recreation & Tourism Health Care Reform, Redistricting, Defense & Veterans' Affairs, Elections, and Environmental Regulation. 

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