The Texas Report 4/12

April 12, 2023

Happy Wednesday!

Representative Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler)

Written by: Jay Williamson

Statewide News Round-Up

Yesterday, the Texas House Committee on Public Education heard various proposals for creating education savings accounts (vouchers). Over 200 people registered to testify on the various bills, and the hearing went on until late into the night. Now the pressure will be on the committee members to decide on if they'll approve the legislation for consideration by the full House.

One of the biggest stories in Texas and across the country is the ever-present Texas - Mexico border crisis. Today the House State Affairs Committee will be hearing several bills to address the situation. The marquee legislation that will likely get the most attention is H.B. 7 by Representative Ryan Guillen (R-Rio Grande City) and H.B. 20 by Representative Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler). Both are Speaker priority bills, and H.B. 7 would, among other things, create a border property damage compensation fund to compensate persons in the border region for damages to their property caused by someone attempting to cross the border and create an incentive grant program for border institutions of higher education to assist in the recruitment, training, and retention of professionals in border-related fields.

H.B. 20 is more controversial and, if passed, would create a new public safety agency focused on the border. This agency would be the "Border Protection Unit," which would be led by a chief appointed and reporting directly to the Governor. Most of the controversy comes from a section that would allow the unit to employ "law-abiding" citizens to participate in operations and functions without requiring the unit's members to undergo the same certification and training needed for other peace officers of the state. Some major law enforcement associations are expected to oppose this legislation, along with a majority of Democrats.

Immigration advocacy groups have already come out against the legislation and are said to be planning rallies and protests ahead of the hearing. In a joint statement from several of these groups, they said that the goal of Wednesday's rally is "to denounce the attacks on border communities, immigrants, and the use of state resources to promote a white-supremacist, xenophobic agenda,” according to the release." (More here)

In a Tweet about the legislation, Schaefer said "The Texas Border Protection Unit will be an organization of professional men and women hired/trained under the authority of the Dept of Public Safety to protect Texans.”

In his interview, he touched on proposals by members of the state legislature that would introduce a blanket ban on apps owned by companies headquartered in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. McCaul's concern is that this could lead to unintended consequences and lead to many immigrants losing the ability to contact their families in these countries.

He specifically told the Tribune, "I've urged the state Legislature to be targeted in their approach, not a swath that would catch people that are just fleeing oppression," It's got to be very careful not to go too far with that, and discriminate against, you know, people that are fleeing oppression versus those that are operating under espionage purposes." (More Here)

Llano County commissioners have scheduled a special meeting to consider if the local library should "continue or cease operations" this Thursday. This is the next chapter in a local battle that began when a group of local advocates requested the banning of dozens of different books. The books targeted were said to contain "pornographic materials," but some of the local librarians and residents said none of the books targeted contained any pornographic content and were instead being pulled due to political reasons.

After months of inter-county debate and different decisions, a lawsuit was filed that made it to U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman, who ruled that there was no legal backing for the removal of books. Now the county will be meeting to decide whether to even keep the library open. (More here)

Rumors have surfaced over the last several days that Representative Bryan Slaton (R-Royse City) may have engaged in an affair and given alcohol to one of his much younger staff members (rumored to be 19). Slaton was noticeably absent last week during consideration of the state budget despite having pre-filed twenty-seven amendments. Two different legislators (Briscoe Cain and Steve Toth) have posted online that Slaton should resign due to his behavior.

In a statement Monday, Slaton hired a criminal defense attorney who said, "We are aware of outrageous claims circulating online by second-tier media that make false claims against Representative Slaton. "As a result, he has been advised to forward all inquiries in this matter—including any that may relate to a possible complaint—to his legal counsel." Representative Steve Toth said on Twitter, "Unfortunately, calling the behavior of @BryanForHD2 "inappropriate" is a gross understatement. What's most troubling about the events of this story is that his behavior appears to be predatory." The Speaker and House General Investigating are said to be looking into this issue and will do everything in their power to resolve it as promptly as possible. (More here)

In news that may be indicative of his plans for 2024, Governor Abbott passed on a chance to speak at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition, which is typically a key stop for GOP presidential contenders. Iowa and New Hampshire are typically the first two GOP presidential primary voting states. Other potential candidates like Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Ron Desantis, Nikki Haley, and Tim Scott have all been in the state over the last several weeks. (More here)

Some other important legislation that moved this week:

H.B. 90 by Representative Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) (also called the Bishop Evans Act) was passed out of the Texas House and would guarantee workers' compensation and death benefits for members of the Texas Military serving on State Active Duty. H.B. 90 would increase the benefit lumpsum payment to $500,000 for surviving family members, allow accelerated dispute times for workplace injuries, and include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) coverage under workers’ compensation.

S.B. 16 by Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) would prevent higher education institutions from compelling or attempting to compel a student to believe that any race, sex, ethnicity, or political belief is inherently superior to any other belief. This is essentially a higher education anti-critical race theory bill.

H.B. 1805 by Representative Stephanie Klick (R-Arlington) passed the Texas House on second reading and will look for full approval by the House today. This bill would let doctors prescribe ten-milligram doses of cannabis for chronic pain cases that would normally warrant opioid pain management prescription.

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

Committee schedule for the rest of the week:

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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