The Texas Report 8/23

The Texas Report 8/23

What’s Happening:

• Legislative Retirements and Election Updates

• Texas Supreme Court Denies Harris Counties request to run November election and delay new state law (More here)

• What’s on the Ballot this November (Full List)

• U.S. Justice Department Argues for Removal of Texas’ floating border barrier in Federal court. (More here)

Texas Legislative Retirements and Shakeups

As of August 22, there have been several notable legislative retirements and Texas politicians deciding to run for higher office.

In the Texas House, there have been seven confirmed retirements, including two chairmen from the last session and multiple other prominent members. Three Republicans have said they're not coming back, along with four Democrats.

• Representative Abel Herrero (D-Robstown) retired after serving since 2005 and was most recently the Chair of Corrections.

• Representative Tracy King (D-Uvalde) left office after being in the House since 1994, during the 88th session ,King was Chair of House Natural Resources.

• Representative Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler) has been in the House of Representatives since 2013 and is the current chair of the conservative Texas Freedom Caucus. Schaefer has expressed interest in running for Senator Bryan Hughes's seat should the Senator move to higher office.

• Representative Four Price, Lina Ortega, Julie Johnson (running for Congress), and John Raney.

In the Texas Senate, Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston), the longest-serving member of the chamber, is running in the crowded race for Mayor of Houston. Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) is seeking the Democratic nomination for Ted Cruz's U.S. Senate seat.

It's still very early in the Texas elections world, so expect several more retirements and things to heat up as we approach the year's end. In other election news, many Rural Republicans are facing primary challenges from the right flank of the party.

Almost every election cycle in recent memory (going all the way back to 2006) has featured several incumbent Republicans pitted against more conservative party members typically financed by the same handful of organizations/ individuals.

School choice is likely to be a center-stage issue during the party primaries, as many rural House members have been outspoken against the policy, which has become a top priority for the more conservative party members.

House Republicans with Primary Opponents:

• Gary VanDeaver (Texarkana), Speaker Dade Phelan (Beaumont), Jacey Jetton (Fort Bend), Lynn Stucky (Denton), Drew Darby (San Angelo), Cecil Bell (Magnolia), Cole Hefner (Lindale), Travis Clardy (Nacogdoches), Justin Holland (Rockwall), Andrew Murr (Kerrville), Glenn Rogers (Mineral Wells), John Smithee (Amarillo), Stephanie Klick (North Richland Hills), and Dennis Paul (Houston).

• This includes seven of the thirteen targeted Republican legislators in the recent documentary by Texas Scorecard alleging that Democrats run the Texas House.

• We'll go more in-depth on Democratic elections later. Still, the most high-profile primary will be Representative Shawn Thierry's (Houston), who voted with Republicans on several key conservative issues, angering many of the grassroots members of her party.

Texas Supreme Court Denies Harris Counties request to run November election and delay new state law

The Texas Supreme Court has denied Harris County's request to temporarily block the implementation of Senate Bill (S.B.) 1750 on September 1, which will abolish the Harris County Election Administrator's Office and put those responsibilities under the elected County Clerk and Tax Assessor-Collector.

S.B. 1750 was carried by Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) and was a prominent Republican priority. In the 2022 primary and general election, Harris County elections experienced significant challenges. Some Republicans allege these mistakes were intentional to make it harder for Republicans to win. Thus far, no evidence has corroborated that fact, but there are several pending election contests for the 2022 general election.

This bill will get rid of the Harris County Elections Administrator. Harris County is the largest county in the state, with over 4.78 million people.

The position of an elections administrator (EA) is an apolitical county employee solely focused on running elections that answer to a commission composed of members of the majority and minority party of the county and, subsequently, the commissioner's county. EAs run over 50% of the elections across the state, with elected county clerks predominately running the other half. Out of the thirteen largest counties, Travis is the only one who has an election administrator until the implementation of S.B. 1750 on September 1.

One of the major concerns of critics of this legislation is that removing the EA's authority this late into the game will create more uncertainty and potential inefficiencies by giving authority to a new office on September 1, with an election only two months away.

Since the 2020 election conspiracies have been center stage across the country, with conservative activist in Texas claiming that many Republican-led counties experienced fraud (and may still) in the 2020 election (despite zero actual proof). This has brought a lot more scrutiny onto the officials running Texas elections and forced many to quit or resign amid threats and harassment.

In the case of Harris County, the EA's office will be moved under the elected Democrat county clerk Temeshia Hudspeth, who, despite being a member of opposite parties, S.B. 1750 bill author Paul Bettencourt said he "fully expects they'll be able to run it better."

There are ongoing legal challenges regarding implementation between the county and state.

County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth statement:

“I am confident Harris County can administer well-organized, transparent, fair elections. There is no magic formula to remedy what has gone awry in the last three years since the conduct of elections was removed from the County Clerk's Office. There is only plenty of work ahead for all of us, and a great commitment on my part to enable all eligible voters the opportunity to exercise their right to vote."

What’s on the ballot this November

In November, voters will head to the polls to decide on various new amendments to the constitution. In total, fourteen new proposed constitutional amendments are needed to pass legislation during the 88th session.

These amendments propose new funding programs to improve the state's water infrastructure, increase the mandatory age for retirement of state justices and judges, create a fund for parks conservation, and more.

Today, we will break down four of the fourteen amendments.

Prop. 1 creates a constitutional right for people to farm, ranch, produce timber, practice horticulture and wildlife management on land they own or lease. This constitutional amendment passed with extensive bipartisan support.

Prop 2. would authorize the governing body of a county or municipality to exempt from ad valorem taxation all or part of the appraised value of real property used to operate a child-care facility. (There was no registered opposition.)

Prop 3. if passed, prohibits the imposition of an individual wealth or net worth tax, including a tax on the difference between assets and liabilities of an individual or family. This puts in the constitution that the Texas Legislature cannot pass any "special tax" on wealthy families. Texas doesn't currently have a wealth tax, but California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Washington introduced their own versions in the past year.

Prop 4. is the proposed amendment authorizing the property tax relief package decided on during the 88th-second special session. The legislature appropriated $17.6 billion for school district property tax relief, of which nearly $12.3 billion is contingent on voter approval of this constitutional amendment, excepting these amounts from the spending limit.

• The proposed amendment increases the portion of the market value of a

• Residence homestead that is exempt from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes from $40,000 to $100,000.

• Authorizes the legislature to establish a temporary limit on the maximum appraised value of real property other than a residence homestead in a tax year of the lesser of the market value of the property or 120 percent, or a greater percentage, of the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year.

The property tax relief proposals passed with wide support from members in both parties.

All of these items are contingent on the support of Texas voters and are on the ballot this November.

U.S. Justice Department Argues for Removal of Texas’ floating border barrier in Federal court.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department and State argued in Federal Court that the buoy barrier threatens U.S.-Mexico relations and was installed without appropriate federal authorization.

The state's lawyers argued in court documents that the barrier — a 1,000-foot-long string of buoys and saw blades supporting a submerged mesh net — is not a structure requiring authorization. In Tuesday's hearing, they argued that the state notified proper authorities by briefing the international body that regulates the Rio Grande before the barrier was installed.

The state argued it has the right to defend itself against "invasions" of drug cartels. But when the state's lawyers tried to establish the nature of the border security challenges at the border that made the barrier necessary, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra pushed back on that line of defense.

"This is a United States District Court. It is not Congress. It is not the president," Ezra said. "I'm not here to engage in nor do I have any inclination to engage in any type of political comment in this decision."

Ezra heard testimony but didn't issue a ruling. Federal and state lawyers have until Friday to submit closing arguments.

Hillary Quam, the U.S.-Mexico border coordinator for the U.S. State Department, testified during Tuesday's hearing that the barrier has become an issue at the highest diplomatic levels with Mexico. In diplomatic notes and meetings with the U.S. secretary of state, Mexico has indicated that the buoys violate treaties. Mexico's president has mentioned the barrier six times in his daily press conferences since June.

Unlike the border wall on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, the buoy barrier floats in international waters and is subject to treaties between the two countries, Quam said.

The state's lawyers said Texas DPS officers met and briefed the International Boundary and Water Commission representatives before installation. The state's lawyers also said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not speak to any state officials as part of its investigation.

Shelnutt on Tuesday said the barrier obstructs navigation — but when pressed by the state, he also said there was no sign of commercial navigation in the section of river where the barrier was installed.

Amid reports that the barrier had drifted to Mexico's side of the river last week, Ezra pressed the state's lawyers about the barrier's location. Ahead of the hearing, Texas moved the barrier closer to the U.S. side of the river, which Abbott said was out of an "abundance of caution."

Loren Flossman, a senior consultant for Cochrane International, the group tasked with installing the barrier, testified Tuesday that more than 70 anchors hang from the buoys to prevent the barrier from drifting.

Abbott held a recent press conference with several other Republican Governor’s, who’ve sent national guard to support Operation Lone Star. In the press conference he continued to affirm his support for his border initiatives, and there's no expectation that he or the federal government are willing to give up their position.