#TXLEGE: Patrick's "Select Committee on Mass Violence Prevention" appointments aren't much better

"Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me."
Nehemiah 4:18

Yesterday, we discussed Bonnen's appointments to this new select committee to exploit El Paso and Odessa to push a longstanding agenda.  Lt. Dan waited until later in the day to release his appointees.  Likewise YIKES:

PR 09 04 2019 Lt. Gov. Patr... by Cahnman on Scribd

Thoughts:

• The fact that Huffman is chairing this committee tells you everything.

• If you don't see the chilling implications for civil liberties in second and fourth charges...are you even paying attention?!?

• That being said, the list of charges does seem long enough that to suggest that there won't be a special session in the immediate future.

• At least a committee of 5 R's and 3 D's is an accurate reflection of the partisan breakdown of the Texas Senate.

• We can't go into detail without burning sources, but some of the R's on that committee have been talking out of both sides of their mouth on the second amendment for a long time.

• It might very well be for the best, but considering that he's the Senator who represents Odessa, for Patrick to not include Seliger is insanely petty.

• Pray for Kelly Hancock.
• For real y'all.

• Bryan Hughes taking over State Affairs might have positive implications over the longer run.

Bottom Line: Nothing good is coming out of this process....

#TXLEGE: Hughes should come clean about whatever deal he cut with Huffman

"Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."
Colossians 2:8

Sigh:

A bill to raise the age for purchasing tobacco products was voted out of the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday by the narrow margin of 5-4.

Authored by the committee’s chairman State Sen. Joan Huffman (R–Houston), the bill passed with the support of both Democrats on the committee, State Sens. Eddie Lucio (Brownsville) and Judith Zaffirini (Laredo), in addition to Republican State Sens. Jane Nelson (Flower Mound) and Bryan Hughes (Mineola).

Hughes provided the pivotal vote to send the legislation to the full body, but his office told Texas Scorecard that Hughes said he voted the bill out of committee “to let debate occur on the floor,” but intends to oppose it upon its arrival because the issue is a matter of personal liberty.

[Note: Emphasis added.]

That's asinine.  Everybody knows that, in the Texas Senate, bills are only discussed on the floor once they have the votes to pass (see here).  Taken at face value, Hughes' decision is the type only a chump would make.  We originally intended to write a blog post discussing such chumpish asininity.

But let's get real: Bryan Hughes almost certainly cut a deal with Joan Huffman.  He's probably getting something for that vote.  Furthermore, it's almost certainly something we'd like.

Whatever it is, Hughes should fess up.

One of the biggest problems with the Texas Senate is the amount of policymaking that occurs "behind the scenes."  The public just (kinda sorta) sees the final product.  It's the type of thing more suited to philosopher-kings than a republic.

Obviously, Bryan Hughes didn't invent that aspect of Senate culture.  But he could have taken a small step towards changing it.  Would have been nice.

Bottom Line:  On the surface, this vote looks terrible.  But there's probably more to the story.  Nevertheless, you can't blame folks for assuming the worst (esp. this session) if they don't know the details of that "more to the story."

#TXLEGE:Four Good Bills (and one STINKER)

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
Mark 16:16

{Note: The committee hearing can be viewed here; our testimony on the smoking age bill is about two and a half hours in, our testimony on the election integrity is about five hours in.]

We spent most of today in the Senate State Affairs committee.  We testified on two bills and dropped cards on two others.  Finally, we discovered a bill that, while we weren't aware it was getting a hearing today, is totally worth supporting.

The Good:

• SB 13          Creighton               
  Relating to the ethics of public officials, including restrictions relating to lobbying and the personal financial statements of public officials; creating a criminal offense.
  
  This is similar to ethics legislation the House has killed in previous sessions. Testimony on the bill was closed by the time we arrived at the hearing. But this very worthwhile.

• SB 9           Hughes                  
  Relating to election integrity; increasing criminal penalties; creating a criminal offense; creating civil penalties.
  
  This is the omnibus election integrity package. Others argued in-favor of it far more eloquently than we could. We're sure they'll write about it in detail as well. But this is must pass legislation for this session.

• SB 29          Hall                    
  Relating to expenditures for lobbying activities made by certain entities.
  
  This is the Senate compainion to the ban on taxpayer funded lobbying. We were out of the room when they called us to testify. But there isn't anything to say on this topic we haven't already said.

• SB 22          Campbell | et al.        
  Relating to prohibiting certain transactions between a governmental entity and an abortion provider or affiliate of the provider.
  
  This bill would prohibit municipal governments from subsidizing abortion providers; obviously, this bill doesn't prevent a single abortion, but it's nevertheless worthwhile.

The Awful:

• SB 21          Huffman | et al.         
  Relating to the distribution, possession, purchase, consumption, and receipt of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and tobacco products.
  
  The smoking age bill. Such a terrible bill for many reasons. Unfortunately, there's a good chance it will require the Governor's veto.
  
  Yeah, we know....

Bottom Line: For better or worse, bills are moving this session....

#TXLEGE: Campus Free Speech Bill FLIES out of Senate committee!!!

"Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?!?"
Galatians 4:16

We're travelling today, but we did notice that SB 18 was up in Senate State Affairs:

Relating to the protection of expressive activities at public institutions of higher education.

We had originally intended to discuss the bill, when we noticed something even more ASTONISHING:

After hearing testimony, #SB18 passed 9-0 out of committee #txlege

— Brandon Waltens (@bwaltens) March 11, 2019

Wow, that's quick!!!  Normally, the committee would sit on the bill for a week or so.  Also, if Democrats are voting for this bill, that means SB 18 has the votes to pass on the floor.  Possibly even unanimously.

That's good.  This session seems to be taking on a very bi-polar persona.  Obviously, there's a lot of garbage out there.  But good things seem to be moving as well.

Bottom Line: This development is very positive.

#TXLEGE: Why, pray tell, is the Texas Senate making THE SMOKING AGE priority legislation?!?

"A foolish woman is clamorous;
She is simple, and knows nothing."
Proverbs 9:13

We were investigating the Senate's newly announced priorities, when we noticed the following:

SB21 - Raise the Smoking Age 21 - Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston

Wait...what?!?

But it's right there, in the text of the bill:

Sec. 161.082.  SALE OF CIGARETTES, E-CIGARETTES, OR TOBACCO
	PRODUCTS TO PERSONS YOUNGER THAN 21 [18] YEARS OF AGE PROHIBITED;
	PROOF OF AGE REQUIRED.

Is this a joke?!?

This is a cartoonishly nanny-state proposal. We suppose that smoking by those between 18 and 21 years of age is less than desirable.  But it's none of the government's DAMN BUSINESS!!!

Furthermore, why is this a top-30 priority?!? Nobody in Texas is asking for this. We can't prove it, but based on history, we strongly suspect there are lobbyists (somehow, some way) getting paid off of this.

Finally, for those who care about such things, this is quite the message to send young people: We trust you to fight wars, but heaven forbid you smoke a cigarette to help manage the stress.

[Note: The exact same principle applies with alcohol.]

Bottom Line: Ladies and Gentlemen, your allegedly 'conservative' Texas Senate....

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Senator Joan Huffman: (512) 463-0117

#TXLEGE: Kristin Tassin [Huffman's educrat opponent] gave superintendent $350,000 annual salary (plus "benefits")

"Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need."
Ephesians 4:28

Kristin Tassin is the liberal school board president challenging incumbent Senator Joan Huffman from the left.

A few weeks back, on a hunch, we sent in an open records request to Ft. Bend ISD (where Tassin is the board president) to see the contract of their superindent.

View it for yourself:

C Dupre 4th Amend to Contract 10.16.17 by Cahnman on Scribd

Dupre's current salary is shown on the amended contract above, Dupre's full list of benefits and perks can be found in his original contract from 2013:

Contract Charles-dupre 04-11-13 by Cahnman on Scribd

Bottom Line: The socialized education bureaucracy loves to use children as human shields, but bureaucrats making more than twice what the Governor of Texas illustrates their real intention.

#TXLEGE: The Three Most Important Senate Primaries

"So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Psalm 90:12

[Note: Sure as heck ain't this one.]

[Note II: Ask us about Seliger's race once we get into the runoff.]

The following three races will determine the course of the Texas Senate next session.

Conservative Incumbent being challenged by RINO:

SD 2: Bob Hall vs. Cindy Burkett

In 2014, Bob Hall knocked off a liberal Republican incumbent on a shoestring budget.  The past two sessions, Bob Hall has kept his word and supported of all aspects of the conservative agenda.  Property tax reform?!? Check.  Border issues?!?  Check.  Pro-Life?!?  Check.  Higher ed. tuition freeze?!?  Check.  The various pro-property rights issues discussed during the 85th special session?!?  Check.  We could go on.

Bob Hall has also shown tremendous leadership raising the profile of electric grid security.  He hosted a major conference on the topic in 2016, and tried to get it added to the 2017 special session agenda.  It's also worth pointing out that, if any Senator is going to be carrying a BITCOIN bill in 2019, it'll probably be Bob Hall.

There's a reason why every major conservative group in Texas has endorsed Bob Hall.

Cindy Burkett, by contrast, is a liberal spendaholic who supports throwing more money into the socialized education status quo.  She went along with house leadership killing property tax reform last session.  Burkett's endorsement list is a fine collection of crony capitalists, fake 'pro-life' organizations, and public sector unions.

Speaking of pro-life, one note: Because Cindy Burkett is in no way, shape, or form a fiscal conservative, she's greatly exaggerating her pro-life record.  While it's true that Burkett has carried some pro-life bills, those bills were toothless as Burkett originally filed them.  Those bills only became meaningful once Burkett was outmanuvered in parliamentary procedure.

OK Incumbent being challenged by Liberal:

SD 17: Joan Huffman vs. Kristin Tassin

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it: Joan Huffman isn't perfect.  Her record, especially on the second amendment, leaves something to be desired.  But this race is still a no-brainer.

Kristin Tassin, Huffman's opponent, is a cog in the machine of the socialized education industrial complex.  As such, Tassin supports six figure salaries for government bureaucrats all in the name of "helping the children" [Note: We have a really fun piece of oppo waiting to drop on this one].  But don't dare call her an educrat.

Huffman, meanwhile, has put together a respectable record.  She certainly isn't perfect, but she's mostly conservative on most things most of the time.  As chair of the Senate State Affairs committee, she's also played a key role in advancing any number of conservative priorities.

And yes, Kristin Tassin, you are an educrat who supports six figure salaries for government bureaucrats in the name of "helping the children."

RINO incumbent being challenged by Conservative:

SD 30: Craig Estes vs. Pat Fallon

Often referred to as "Boss Hogg" in the district (behind his back, of course), we often thought of Craig Estes as the Jobba the Hut of the Texas Senate.  Long before the current wave of reports about chronic sexual abuse in the Texas Legislature, Craig Estes was the subject of press reports on this topic.  Estes has also been documented "living large" off of campaign contributions [Note: Isn't it amazing how frequently acts of financial corruption and acts of sexual c orruption are committed by the same people].

But Estes record on the issues isn't much better.  The 17 year incumbent consistently finds himself among the most liberal Republicans in the Texas senate.  Specifically, Estes supports big spending and he's soft on the border.  While Estes did support property tax reform this past session, that's a fairly new development and it's an open question whether a re-elected Estes would continue to do so.

Finally, as it relates to Estes, we have to mention a personal pet peeve: During this past legislative session, Estes took it upon himself to butt into an obscure land dispute in West Austin.  But, to make matters worse, he took the side of the local Austin NIMBY crowd over the side of property rights and the rule of law.  From this author's perspective, the MUNY golf course bill is the #1 reason Craig Estes is a priority.

Pat Fallon, by contrast, is a conservative workhorse.  He doesn't necessarily seek the spotlight, but Pat Fallon shows up when you need him.  As a textbook example: Pat Fallon voted for Scott Turner for speaker in 2015.

Pat Fallon also provided this website with some of the earliest video documentation of left wing protestors admitting they were in the country illegally during the mayhem of last session.

Finally, Pat Fallon played football at Notre Dame; we only bring this up because Texas beat Notre Dame the last time they played.

-------

Bottom Line: Priorities people....

#TXLEGE: Notes on the Mark Jones Index....

"Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
Matthew 7:20

Mark Jones is a political science professor at Rice University.  Every odd numbered year, he produces a non partisan index that ranks the members of the Texas Legislature from left to right.  Jones' index is worth investing some time into because, while the methodology is more complicated than some other groups, it's the most comprehensive analysis of individual members of the Texas Legislature.

Texas House Results:

Note: Click on the image to enlarge.

Texas Senate Results:

In no particular order, some personal observations:

• Freedom caucus (predictably) solidify their position as the 12 most conservative House members.

• Kel Seliger is the most liberal Republican in the Texas Senate; over half of the Republican caucus in the House is more liberal than Seliger.

• In the House, we would give every member from Rodney Anderson up a passing grade on voting record; that's 31 members out of a 95 member Republican caucus.

• However, even among those 31 members with passing grades on their voting record, there are three (Drew Springer, Dennis Bonnen, and Larry Phillips) who receive automatic F's based on other shady actions; so 28 members out of a 95 member House Republican caucus ultimately receive passing grades.

• 26 Republican House members have more liberal voting records than Byron Cook; chew on that one for a second.

• Jason Isaac moves significantly to the right from 2015 to 2017; this is consistent with a number of observations we made during the session.

• In the other direction, Jodie Laubenberg, James White, Giovanni Capriglione, Tan Parker, and Phil King continued their multi-session leftward drift.

• Speaking of leftward drift, Dan Flynn is now in the bottom half of House Republicans.

• On Monday, we discussed how the leftward march of the pro-status quo crowd was playing with fire; on that note, we find the fact that in both chambers Democrats from the Valley (which has been trending Republican for a decade) voted to the right of their counterparts in the big urban counties to be fascinating.

• Rafael Anchia and Chris Turner both rank significantly to the left of the average Democrat in the House...are they sure those are the two guys they want to make spokespeople for their entire party?!?

• On the Senate side, all Republicans elected in the past 7 years are significantly to the right of the person they replaced.
• Update: We suppose that technically Paul Bettencourt is about even with the guy he replaced in SD-7.

• Charles Perry and Larry Taylor both have voting records to the left of Bob Nichols; while people shouldn't overreact, this is a trend worth monitoring.

• Joan Huffman as the second most liberal Senate Republican might be flying a little too close to the sun for her own good in her re-elect cycle.

Read the full report (including a detailed discussion of methodology) for the House here and the Senate here.

#TXLEGE: Scalise shooting changes Constitutional Carry calculation for #SpecialSession

"Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me."
Nehemiah 4:18

Regarding constitutional carry, one reality has guided our thinking since the end of the regular session: According to several private conversations with knowledgeable sources, we are at least four votes short in the Texas Senate.  Thus, this issue has struck us as one that just requires one more election cycle before it becomes a realistic possibility.  During a special session that already features more issues than we will have the bandwidth to cover, it has struck us as prudent to save this one for 2019.

But last week's Congressional shooting changed our thinking.

Since then, we can't escape the following conclusion: In a world where politically motivated assassination attempts are a contingency for which we must prepare, what if removing barriers to entry for lawful firearms ownership prevents (or even minimizes) one tragedy?!?

It would be hard to live with ourself if we didn't try.

We want to make one thing clear: During the special session, this author will almost certainly not have time to work this issue.  Thus, even if it does get added to the call, don't expect to hear a lot about it here.  But this issue has a corps of very committed activists and the truth is that our personal participation is not necessary.

Furthermore, from a political perspective, there's also the fact that during a special session you only need 16 votes to pass a bill in the Senate.  Thus Kel Seliger, Bob Nichols, Joan Huffman, and Craig Estes would be free to vote no.  While holding the other 16 Senate Republicans isn't necessarily a slam dunk, it does strike this website as a realistic possibility.

Bottom Line: Even if this author has personal bandwidth limitations, this issue really should get added to the call.

Primary Voter ID failures lie with Texas' Republican Congressional delegation; #TXLEGE failures are incidental....

"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Revelation 21:8

Empower Texans has a piece on this week's Voter ID discussion:

With the clock ticking and an important deadline looming, House lawmakers passed a fix to the state’s voter ID bill with only a few hours to spare.

Responding to a last-minute push by Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas House moved yesterday to give preliminary approval to Senate Bill 5 by State Sen. Joan Huffman (R–Houston) – a measure designed to preserve Texas’ Voter ID law by amending the statute to incorporate a court order. Though the bill sailed through the Texas Senate in early March, it had long been obstructed in the Texas House.

In short, SB 5 would implement much of the court-ordered changes to the state’s law which has been on the books (and in court rooms) since passing in 2011. Huffman’s legislation would allow registered voters who fail to produce a photo ID to cast a ballot after showing common documents that contain their name and address.

The Trib details the most problematic amendment:

But the House accepted an amendment authored by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, that would reduce the penalty to a Class A misdemeanor, which carries no more than a year of jail time.

That was a win for Democrats and civil rights groups that had called the legislation a good start but want ID options beyond what was in the bill — student IDs or tribal IDs, for instance — and raised particular concerns over the Senate bill's stricter penalties.

More than 16,400 Texas voters signed “reasonable impediment” affidavits during the 2016 general election, according to a tally of documents provided by the Texas Secretary of State’s office. And an Associated Press analysis found at least 500 instances in which voters signed the affidavit — and didn’t show photo ID — despite indicating that they owned one, a phenomenon some county clerks attributed to widespread confusion about legal changes just ahead of the election.

That’s why some Republicans argued for strict penalties for false claims. Democrats called it it too harsh for the crime — particularly in cases where a Texan is otherwise casting a legal vote.

We could write a piece ripping on Joe Straus for slow walking this bill, and Phil King for being a dingus and accepting that amendment. Both of those things are certainly true.  But the real failures lie with Congress, and specifically with the Republican caucus of the Texas delegation.

If the Republicans in Texas' congressional delegation were doing their job, Joe Straus would be irrelevant.

There's a simple solution to this problem: Amend the (federal) Voting Rights Act to explicitly state that state level voter ID laws are ok.

Obviously, the only thing missing is political will, and no Texas Republican (Note: including Louie Gohmert and Ted Cruz) is stepping up to the plate.

Bottom Line: It's bad enough that they're dropping the ball on national issues, but the failure of Texas' congressional delegation to protect the State from federal lawsuits (which enables additional shenanigans from Straus) is a whole separate outrage.

Dan Patrick, Constitutional Carry, and the "Law Enforcement" industrial complex....

"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."
Galatians 6:8

There's a post we've been procrastinating about writing for a month, thankfully Lt. Governor Patrick forced the issue yesterday:

"On constitutional carry, I’ll say the same thing: I don’t know if the votes are there," Patrick told San Antonio host Trey Ware.

....

"I think with all the police violence today we have in our state ... law enforcement does not like the idea of anyone being able to walk down the street with a gun and they don’t know if they have a permit or not," Patrick said.

Let's unpack the phrase "law enforcement does not like" in the context of "I don't know if the votes are there."

Obviously, policing is an emotionally charged topic.  That was true before Dallas.  And it's even truer now.

Behind those emotional charges, however, lie a lot of politics.

And there's a gigantic difference between the courageous police officers who serve our communities, and the anti-taxpayer bureaucrats and lobbyists who allegedly represent "law enforcement" at the Capitol.

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We first noticed this phenomenon last session when we noticed various members of the 'law enforcement community' offered hysterical doomsday in the event various bills we considered rather modest were to pass.

Obviously, the rather inconsequential 'open carry' bill they passed last session was one such occasion.  Former Austin Police chief Art Acevedo (Sidenote: Boy is it satisfying to use the word 'former' in connection with Art Acevedo.) led the charge in over the top fearmongering.  But even more telling was the fact that nobody else in the so-called 'law enforcement community' told Acevedo to knock it off.

Even more telling was the "law enforcement" reaction to efforts to ban red-light cameras, when they argued that we were all totally going to die in car crashes if the state of Texas eliminated a municipal revenue generating swindle.

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The so-called "law enforcement community" can be further subdivided into two categories: The cop lobby [bad] and the district attorney lobby [EVIL].

The cop lobby consists of two major groups: Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) [obnoxious] and the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA) [bad].

The district attorney lobby is led by the Texas District and County Attorney Association.  These guys first creeped us out at a TPPF discussion of civil asset forfeiture in 2014.  We can't get into details on their mendacity without burning sources, but suffice to say that legislators and their staff will occasionally tell stories off the record that would astonish you [hint: ask about the Death Penalty].

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So, what does this long winded discussion have to do with passing Constitutional Carry in the Texas Senate?!?

In the Texas Senate, there are 20 Republicans.  You need 19 votes (60%) to pass a bill.  And Kel Seliger is a RINO.

That brings us down to 19 votes.

Which brings us to Senator Joan Huffman:  On this issue, the only thing you need to know about her is that she's a former prosecutor.

Which brings you down to 18 votes.

Which means Constitutional Carry doesn't pass.

It's that simple.

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Bottom Line: Politics is a dirty business and Dan Patrick did us a favor by keying us into one of the subtler aspect of that dirtiness.

(U of H Board Chairman) Tilman Fertitta's (recent) political donations

"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."
Luke 16:9

It's not a secret, between the land grab and the Tom Herman hire, that those within U of H circles are livid with UT.  We were still struck by a rather...bold...comment from U of H Board Chairman Tilman Fertitta following the Herman hire.  That got us thinking: If Tilman Fertitta starts making phone calls around the legislature next session, who's likely to listen?!?

We reviewed Texas "Ethics" Commission data for the past two election cycles.  Fertitta appears to be a pretty typical big money donor in that he donates to everyone regardless of ideology.  For the most part, he donates within Harris County, although there are some interesting ones outside of the area as well.

Results are mostly presented in the order in which they appear on the "Ethics" commission website.  The primary exception is that we moved statewide officials to the top of the list.  Former members of the legislature who will not return next session have been excluded.

The list:

• Greg Abbott: $404,000

• Dan Patrick: $189,723
• Author's Note: To his credit, Fertitta gave to Patrick during the 2014 primary but does not appear to have given to David Dewhurst.

• Ken Paxton: $25,000
• Note: Again, to his credit, he gave to Paxton during the 2014 runoff but does not appear to have given to Dan Branch.

• Glenn Hegar: $50,000

• George P. Bush: $15,000

• Joe Straus: $35,000

• Joan Huffman: $25,000

• Carol Alvarado: $19,700
• Author's Note: Yes, that Carol Alvarado.

• John Whitmire: $45,000

• Senfonia Thompson: $3,500

• Craig Goldman: $1,000

• Ana Hernandez: $2,000

• Dennis Paul: $1,000

• Charles Schwertner: $3,500

• Dan Huberty: $2,000

• Kelly Hancock: $12,500

• Gene Wu: $2000

• Donna Campbell: $3,500

• Sylvia Garcia: $5,000

• Van Taylor: $2,500

• Konni Burton: $2,500

• Paul Bettencourt: $7,500

• Trent Ashby: $1,000

• Charles Perry: $2,500

• John Zerwas: $2,500
• Author's Note: House Higher ed committee chairman last session.

• Byron Cook: $2,500

• Alma Allen: $2,000

• Lyle Larson: $1,000

• Brian Birdwell: $3,500

• Todd Hunter: $2,500

• Chuy Hinojosa: $1,000

• Will Metcalf: $1,000

• Jose Menendez: $1,000

• John Keumpel: $1,000

• Sarah Davis: $1,000

• Phil King: $2,000

• Garnet Coleman: $2,000

• Jim Murphy: $2,000

• Oscar Longoria: $1,000

• Mike Schofield: $2,000

• Hubert Vo: $2,000

• Jane Nelson: $2,500

• Armando Walle: $1,000

• Dennis Bonnen: $3,500

• Craig Estes: $2,500

• Ed Thompson: $1,000

• Robert Nichols: $1,000

• Larry Taylor: $5,000

• Dwayne Bohac: $1,000

• Geanie Morrison: $1,000

• Lois Kolkhorst: $2,500

• Travis Clardy: $2,000

• Charlie Geren: $1,000

• Dan Flynn: $2,000
• Author's Note: Oh, fun....

Huffman laundering campaign funds through her husband

"Though his hatred is covered by deceit,
His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly."
Proverbs 26:26

Great find from the team at Watchdog:

For more than a decade, state Sen. Joan Huffman failed to report her husband’s income on her personal financial disclosure. At the same time, she bolstered that income by using his companies during her campaigns, paying $21,964 to entities connected to her husband, Keith Lawyer.

A review of Huffman’s campaign finance reports, personal disclosures and state business records found both expenditures and omissions surrounding the self-reporting required of candidates and state office holders.

Nothing appears to be a violation of the law. Like others in the past, Huffman may have for years been relying on a loophole in the state’s ethics law leaving the reporting of spousal income to the discretion of the filer.

The personal financial disclosure statement shows holdings and business interests that help the public ensure officials aren’t voting their interests, or those of their family.

The law dictates that reporting of a spouse’s business interest and income is required if the filer “had actual control over that activity for the preceding calendar year.”

....

Few would have known about the expenditures had Huffman, who said during her 2008 campaign, “I’m a believer in transparency in government [and] accountability in government,” not tried to hijack an ethics bill and attach an amendment to the “spousal loophole” in May at the end of the last session.

The amendment, which would have allowed officeholders to keep secret the financial dealings of their partners, prompted an examination of Huffman’s personal financial filings.

Unfortunately, Huffman's not up until '18; read the whole thing here.

Detailing the 84th #TXLEGE's Religious Liberty Failures

"The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But the unjust knows no shame.",
Zephaniah 3:5

Dave Welch of the Texas Pastors' Council has the grisly details:

Many reasons were given to us as to why SB 1155 in the Senate and HB 1556 in the House never even had a hearing – except the real reasons. It is important that pastors know the truth so we can be better prepared going forward.

We had difficulty finding a “senior” Senator who was willing to author this bill that would put the brakes on the proliferation of “bathroom bills” in every city in the state like those in San Antonio, Houston and Plano. We ran into a general fear of what the national media and pro-LGBT jihad did in Indiana. Sen. Bob Hall, a freshman in tenure but a solid and seasoned man agreed to author and file the bill, which became SB 1155. The Texas Association of Business, a powerful lobbying group soon held a press conference with the ACLU and pro-LGBT groups like Texas Freedom Network openly opposing ALL marriage protection or religious freedom bills.

These city “Equal Rights Ordinances” are spawned by the radical LGBT national Human Rights Campaign (led by a recently arrested sexual predator), and do nothing for equal rights but create new protected “characteristics” in sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression that not only don’t exist in state or federal law, they have a different definition in every city – but ALL carry criminal punishment for those who (as in San Antonio) “in word or in deed” disagree.

SB 1155 would have stopped this in its tracks by creating a uniform, statewide standard for discrimination protections. Senator Hall tried through proper channels to move the bill, including formally requesting on March 27 that Senator Huffman schedule a hearing, which she declined. (HB 1556, authored by Rep. Rick Miller (Sugar Land) was the same bill in the House, however Speaker Joe Straus’ team assigned it to Urban Affairs Committee chaired by Houston Democrat Carol Alvarado to assure it died there.)

Jonathan Saenz from Texas Values (affiliated with Focus on the Family) later met with Huffman’s staff, he and I met with her personally in mid-April and she continued to basically parrot the talking points provided by the Human Rights Campaign to the Texas Association of Business.

Read the whole thing here.

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Texas Values has A LOT more here.

First Amendment Tuesday: Shenanigans Late in Session

"and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,"
Ephesians 6:19

With less than two weeks till sine die, we've entered the most dangerous part of any legislative session.  With deadlines looming and the self-inflicted time crisis having squandered the bulk of the session, now is the time when things get sneaked in under cover of night.  Even if you can't stop something, the key is to raise a stink about it so that it at least occurs in public.

Tony McDonald (Empower Texans):



Highlights:

• Conference committees rarely have formal meetings.

• Texas open meetings act de facto doesn't apply to the legislature.

• Bills are usually hashed out between the House and Senate bill authors.
• "This is a REALLY dangerous process."
• Lack of Transparency and tight deadlines.

• Outside the bounds resolutions: Supposed to ask for permission but usually they ask for forgiveness and it's granted automatically.

• Read conference reports during the last few days of the session.
• This is one of the most useful things activists can do; no one has time to go through them all.
• Dan Flynn tried to use this process last session to sneak thru an anti-Wallace Hall bill.
• "Dan Flynn Should be censured and removed from the House."

• You have to trust guy at the front mic to tell the truth.
• Author's Note: Exactly.

• You'd be surprised what qualifies as a typo on the last day of session.

• Short notice periods on all this nonsense.

• If you catch anything, TELL DAVID SIMPSON.

• If you see something fishy during the last few days of the session, don't assume anyone else has found it.

Ann Hettinger (Concerned Women for America):

Highlights:

• Event tomorrow to "lean on calendars committee."

• House killed Pastor protection bill.

• Dan Patrick is the only reason we got Pastor protection bill thru Senate.

• SB 531 (American Laws for American Courts) -- Needs to be heard on Senate Floor.

David Walls (Texas Values):

Highlights:

• SB 2065 needs a House vote THIS WEEK.

• "It's not done till it's done."

• We knew the D's would chub if they got the opportunity.

• Locate Tea Party leaders in Calendars committee members districts.

• Joan Huffman says she'll move ALAC, but she hasn't done so and she has the votes.

Dustin Matocha (Empower Texans):

Highlights:

• Details likely tax relief plans: Likely to be something along the lines of Senate's approach to property taxes and House's approach to margins tax.

• #2A: If you want to carry openly, and you don't want to be harasses constantly, contact your Senator.

• The Governor ought to call a special session "on a number of things."

Senate defangs Travis County DA; House dithers on "Pre-K"

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan."
Proverbs 29:2

Yesterday was another revealing day in the Texas Legislature.  The Texas Senate passed another meaningful reform that serves the people of Texas.  The House, meanwhile, did what the House has done all session.

We arrived at the Capitol shortly before 11AM.  After running a few errands in the building, we entered the Senate gallery.  They were discussing Senator Huffman's bill to transfer "public corruption" away from the Travis County DA.  Kirk Watson was having a conniption fit.  He took several puerile shots at Michael Quinn Sullivan and Ken Paxton.  Senator Huffman addressed Watson's gibberish with ease.  The Senate passed the bill before 1PM.

The House, meanwhile, was emerging from slumber.  They had begun to consider HB 4, Governor Abbott's strange attempt to separate young children from their mama under the guise of "high-quality pre-K."  Jonathan Stickland called three separate points of order to whittle the bill into something manageable.  Unfortunately, Joe Straus overruled each of them.  We left while Dan Huberty was presenting his unconvincing argument for the bill.

Following the U.T. regents meeting, we received this press release from the Lt. Governor's office:

PR 04 08 2015 Lt. Gov. Patrick on Public Integrity Unit Legislation

Meanwhile, the farce on the House side continued:

STATUS UPDATE: We are on the House floor debating HB 4. I've done extensive research on pre-K programs. Some studies...
Posted by Fallon For Texas on Wednesday, April 8, 2015

STATUS UPDATE: The debate on HB 4 (The Pre-K Bill)....we are negotiating to essentially fund a pilot program rather...
Posted by Fallon For Texas on Wednesday, April 8, 2015

We are in the thick of our debate on HB 4. Here are some things I have learned:- I have been assured that this is not...
Posted by Matt Krause on Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Well now I've seen it all. Rep Laubenberg had an excellent amendment to put a hard cap of $65 million/year of spending...
Posted by Fallon For Texas on Wednesday, April 8, 2015

I voted "no" on HB4 (the pre-K bill) today after Rep. Laubenberg's amendment to cap spending on the program at the...

Posted by Matt Rinaldi on Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Unfortunately, sanity failed to prevail and the measure passed.

Over the past five years, Texas voters have been clear about what they expect from their legislature.  Slowly but surely, we've replaced legislators who refused to listen.  While they haven't been perfect, the new Senate has been responsive.  The House, meanwhile, sinks deeper into the abyss of bad governance and cronyism.  More ammunition for the bloodbath of a primary season that cannot come quickly enough.