Race to the Finish
Legislative Action Alerts and Status Report
May 5, 2023 (Day 115 of 140 of the 88th Texas Legislature)
The Race to the Finish Line!
We are at the stage of session where deadlines are looming and every bill is jockeying for position to be able to get across the line in time. For Texas House bills, the looming deadline is next Thursday, May 11 at midnight. Bills starting in the House have to be voted on for the first of two votes (called second reading) by that deadline. To get there, the Calendars Committee has to place the bills the House calendar.
The problem is at the end of the session, usually the House Democrats start engaging in stalling tactics that puts the actual progress behind schedule, so that bills placed on the calendar for Wednesday and especially Thursday are in grave danger of dying. As of this evening, the calendars for Saturday, May 6 and Monday, May 8 are set. To have a realistic chance of passing, House bills have to be on the Tuesday, May 9 calendar. And for that to happen, bills need to be in Calendars tomorrow.
The Texas Senate has later deadlines and looser interpretations of that and Senate bills heard in the House have later deadlines, so Senate bills, especially still have hope, too.
Our Money Bills Status – Hope is Alive, But it Will be a Close Run Thing
HJR 146 Capriglione – Right to Currency Choice
While maddeningly close to the edge, HJR 146 is on pace to get the vote in time and to get the 2/3 of the chamber it needs. On Wednesday, HJR 146 got a bipartisan unanimous vote of 7-0 to send it sailing out of committee. As of this moment, the paperwork has been distributed, and we need one more step completed to place it in Calendars. Chair Gio Capriglione is confident that we will get it to Calendars and get it on the House Calendar in time to get it passed.
Encouragingly, my tweet about passage of HJR 146 has 21.7K views as of this writing. I have only recently started using Twitter, and this is by far the biggest reach I have ever gotten there. Click here to see Giovanni Capriglione’s layout of HJR 146 and my testimony on it.
If you have not done so, use this link to send an email to Calendars to encourage quick passage.
HB 4903 Dorazio / SB 2334 Hughes -- Digital Gold Backed 100% by Texas Bullion Depository
Rep Dorazio beat Chair Capriglione to the punch in getting his bill out of committee, but sadly, the behind-the-scenes and completely out-of-our-control process of getting the required paperwork together and to Calendars is behind that of HJR 146. That means HB 4903, at least starting in the House, is in danger of dying there.
But Senator Hughes is riding to the rescue in the Senate! His SB 2334 companion to HB 4903 has been scheduled for a hearing on Monday in Senate Finance that starts at 9:00 am in E1.036. The troops that produced a wonderful hearing in House State Affairs are gearing up to do it again on Monday in front of Senate Finance Chair Joan Huffman and the largest Senate committee that includes over half the Senate. A motivated Senate has the time to get this to the House in time for final passage.
Use this link to email the Senate Finance Committee members, urging them to pass SB 2334 out of committee on Monday, the same day it is heard.
SCR 25 – Parker – Texas Resolution Opposing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
We had a wonderful hearing on SCR 25 on Tuesday, May 2. It is out of committee and placed on Senate Local & Consent to give it maximum speed to the Senate floor. Rep Gio Capriglione is ready to pick up the torch when it gets to the House.
I had the opportunity to talk about the threat of CBDC and these three legislative approaches to resistance on the KTRH Houston Morning News show with Jimmy Barrett and Shara Fryer. Click here to hear that interview.
Border Security on Track!
The big House border security bills are HB 20 Schaefer, HB 7 Guillen, and HB 82 Spiller (identical interstate compact companion SB 1403 Parker). HB 7 and HB 82 are in Calendars. HB 20 got the bill analysis and committee report filed with the Committee coordinator late this afternoon. Multiple sources are confident that House leadership will ensure that HB 7 and HB 20 will get a vote in time to make it to the Senate. One more step and we will get to see on TLO the exact language that will be going to the floor for HB 20.
SB 1403 has passed the Senate and out of House State Affairs. It Is now positioned to be substituted for HB 82 when HB 82 makes it to the calendar, so that SB 1403 gets final passage.
Use this link to encourage Calendars to move HB 20, HB7, and HB 82 quickly.
Known Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of May 8
Monday, May 8:
Senate Finance: (9:00 am, E1.036)
SB 2334 – Hughes – Digital currency 100% backed by gold in Texas Bullion Depository (Great Reset)
See comments above.
Wednesday, May 10:
Senate Health & Human Services: (8:00 am, Senate Chamber)
HB 44 – Swanson, sponsored in Senate by Middleton – Prohibits anti-vax discrimination by Medicaid and CHIP health providers. (Medical Freedom)
House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services: (8:00 am, E2.014)
SB 1446 Hughes – Requires Texas pension systems to invest based on fiduciary responsibility and not using any system assets that “take any action with a purpose of furthering social, political, or ideological interests.” Use this link to remotely comment in support of SB 1446. NOTE: This is the only bill being heard in the hearing, so you need to be there at latest by 8:00 am to testify. I just hope that Senate Health & Services does not lead off with HB 44 at the same time.
We need to get moving over the weekend on the action items embedded above. When I have a bit more time later during the weekend, I plan to do a comprehensive look at how other parts of the Texas Constitutional Enforcement Legislative Agenda are progressing.
SB 1927 Election Integrity Enforcement
We must move SB 1927 by Hughes to enforce Election Integrity!
Action is needed to move the only effective solution to lack of enforcement of election integrity law by our big county prosecutors in Texas and the recent prohibition on Attorney General independent state level enforcement of any criminal law including election integrity. The bill that MUST pass this session is SB 1927 by Senator Bryan Hughes.
Please use this link to email Senate Republicans and our Lieutenant Governor urging them to restart the bogged down SB 1927 and pass it on to the House.
Background
SB 1927 has the only approach to actually getting effective enforcement of election integrity law in time for the 2024 presidential elections this session. I am sure that the Republican leadership of Texas does NOT want to have a conversation with Donald Trump explaining to him why there will be no effective enforcement against widespread cheating in big counties in the 2024 presidential election. But that is what they will have to do if SB 1927 does not pass this session.
SB 1927 beefs up an existing State Prosecutor Office reporting to the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) and gives it independent, state level, prosecutorial authority for election integrity.
Bills with three alternative approaches have been filed other than SB 1927. Most have merits on their own rights, but are unlikely to get the job of enforcing election integrity in 2024. (Note that everyone rejected a constitutional amendment approach to the problem to give it back to the Attorney General because that takes 2/3 in both chambers, and it is a certainty that such a try would fail because of Democrat opposition.) They are:
Removal of prosecutors Who “categorically refuse to prosecute specific criminal offenses”: (HB 17 by Cook and SB 20 by Huffman)
These bills, designated as high priority by the respective chamber leadership, have a very similar approach to each other with different implementing language. The idea of each is to add to the definition of “official misconduct” in the law to include “categorically refusing to prosecute specific criminal offenses” using the citizen-initiated removal procedures currently being used by the Nueces County CCDF (County Citizens Defending Freedom) group is using against the rogue Nueces County DA.
We need one of these bills to pass. I signed in in favor of SB 20 because there are other laws besides election integrity that Soros-funded big county DAs are refusing to enforce.
But this approach will NOT get effective enforcement of election integrity law in 2024. First off, the process for removal is lengthy and difficult, even if this additional help passes. And second, all a prosecutor has to do is say that they are not categorically refusing to enforce election law. They will just say that they “see no compelling evidence” of such, and this approach will fail to get effective enforcement in 2024. [Update: HB 17 was signed by the governor on June 17 and becomes effective on Sep. 1, 2023.]
Giving prosecutors in counties adjacent to big counties the power to prosecute in the neighboring big county: (Several legislators in both the House and Senate filed bills using this approach, most of which are dead, but I have been told that one of them is moving, but don’t know which it is.)
The counties adjacent to big counties in Texas are experiencing rapid growth. Law enforcement, including the prosecutor offices in those counties, faces surging crime in their counties. They have neither the time, resources, nor inclination to wade into the big counties next to them which they abhor, anyway. If implemented, this also is likely to be very ineffective. [Update: bills did not pass, but Dan Patrick has asked governor to put on special session.]
Re-delegate the power to independently prosecute to the Attorney General, but only if there is inaction by the locals for 6 months (SB 1195 by Hughes)
This, in my opinion, is a hail Mary try to solve the problem because the Court of Criminal Appeals is very likely to strike this down, too. The logic of the State v Stephenson opinion that caused this problem is that the Texas Constitution defines prosecutorial roles in the Judiciary section. The Attorney General is defined as an executive department official. So, the CCA reasoned that starting prosecution in the AG’s office violates separation of powers. I don’t mind trying, but it is not a constitutionally sound way to solve the problem the way SB 1927 is.
SB 1927 follows the logic of the CCA and places statewide independent prosecution under the judicial branch. Given the State v Sephenson opinion, SB 1927 is THE constitutional solution to the problem.
The Sidetrack that Must Be Overcome
SB 1927 sailed through Senate State Affairs early in session with all Republicans voting casting votes in favor. Democrat Senator Zaffarini also voted for the bill in committee. The bill was then rapidly placed on the Senate intent calendar, but instead of getting the vote, it was pulled off Senate intent calendar 6 days later and has been languishing there ever since.
I finally snapped to the problem last week and started my investigation work, finding that an unspecified Republican expressed opposition. I don’t know for sure who it was, but suspect it was the sponsor of an alternative approach to SB 1927. After conversations with key Senate members and staff as well as the Lieutenant Governor’s staff, we think we can restart SB 1927 and move it forward. One Republican Senator is not enough to stop a bill from passing the Senate. The Lieutenant Governor and the rest of the Republicans just need to make it happen. And soon!
Your emails using the link above can help get this very productive and busy body’s attention to this problem and get the solution rolling again.
One Final Note
SB 1927 includes delegation of independent prosecutorial authority not only for election integrity, but also for public integrity, abortion, and human trafficking. I have been advocating for adding sedition and riot, as well. Election integrity is the main driver for this bill, but there is no reason not to solve other problems at the same time. No Republican who wants the election integrity issue solved is going to be opposed to solving these other problems, too, so there is no reason not to keep the additional items in the list.
Lege Status 23-04-30
Legislative Action Alerts and Status Report
April 30, 2023 (Day 110 of 140 of the 88th Texas Legislature)
Successes!
First, let’s celebrate our successes so far. The biggest news is that Thursday afternoon, April 27, the House State Affairs voted in favor of moving the big House border bills out of committee – HB 20, HB 7, and HB 82. Once the committee report makes it to Calendars, I will email a way to communicate with that committee to urge them to expedite the bills on to the House floor.
We also saw the final, complete passage of the first bill resisting the Great Reset on April 26. The bill was SB 1017 by Brian Birdwell and Brooks Landgraf stopping cities from banning the use of gasoline engines.
See more on forward progress at the end of this message.
As deadlines loom, the pace at the Capitol has now reached fever pitch. There is lots to report and lots to do, so let’s get to it!
First, if a bill is being heard in the House this week that has not been heard in the Senate, it has no chance of making it through the gauntlet this session. Bills being heard for the first time in the Senate this week may have a shot, especially concurrent resolutions like SCR 25 (see below). All of the bills being heard now that are worth the effort in terms of passage this session have seen movement of some sort in another chamber.
So most of our effective action from here forward is to communicate appropriately about bills that have gotten some sort of movement to see them across the finish line. We also might be able to kill some bad bills that have slipped through.
Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of May 1
Monday, May 1:
House Higher Education: (10:00 am, E2.010)
SB 15 – Middleton (Swanson House sponsor?) – This is the bill that will stop men “identifying” as women from participating in collegiate women’s sports. Click here to comment in favor of SB 15 if you can’t make it to the Capitol. (This is not a Texas Constitutional Enforcement legislative agenda item, but figured lots of you would be interested. Technically, I guess you could consider this part of the resistance to the Great Reset and ESG because the trans-agenda is part of the S in ESG).
Tuesday, May 2:
Senate Business & Commerce: (8:30 am, E1.012)
SCR 25 – Parker – Resolution opposing central bank digital currency (CBDC) issuance by the Federal Reserve. The House companion by Capriglione ( HCR 88 ) has not yet been heard, and it is too late to start a bill in the House. This is the only shot we have for this resolution in this session. (Great Reset)
SB 833 – King – Insurers prohibited from discrimination based on ESG or being in the business of fossil fuels, mining, agriculture, timber, or the firearms industry. This is the Senate companion to Oliverson’s HB 1239, which passed his Insurance Committee, but ran into a point of order on the House floor. I have not had time to run down the details on that, but this hearing appears to be a way to save the bill by bringing it back around from the Senate. I presume that Senator King will be laying out a committee sub comparable to the sub voted out committee in the House. (Great Reset)
House Insurance: (8:00 am, E2.014)
SB 1060 Hughes -- Prohibits ESG related shareholder proposals from being adopted for Texas insurers and insurer holding companies. Use this link to remotely comment in support of SB 1060.
Action Alerts
Action 1: Email the House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services members regarding your support for HJR 146 – The Right to Use Cash and Cash Substitutes by Giovanni Capriglione
Our shot at keeping HJR 146 alive and moving is for Chair Capriglione to hold a vote for it in his Pensions, Investment & Financial Services this week. I am told that we have the votes of all the Republicans on the committee, but we do not yet know how the Democrats will vote. We want a unanimous vote to give momentum toward the 2/3 needed to pass this constitutional amendment.
The Democrats on the committee are Mihaela Plesa (HD 70 in south Collin County), Salman Bhojani (HD 92 in east central Tarrant County), John Bryant (HD 114 in central northeast Dallas County), and Hubert Vo (HD 149 in southwest Harris County).
While I was the only witness testifying on HJR 146 (see video), 209 people commented online on the bill and I did not see a single comment opposed. We also had one other person signed on in favor at the Capitol without testifying. In other words, widespread support with no opposition! But we need to get this bill on its way!
Please use this link to send one brief email to the members of the Pensions, Investments and Financial Services expressing your support and urging a vote out of committee as soon as possible. Do this even if you have already commented online.
Action 2: Email the House State Affairs members re your support for HB 4903 the digital currency backed by gold stored in Texas Bullion Depository bill by Mark Dorazio.
This bill needs a vote out of committee this week. Please use this link to send one brief email to the members of House State Affairs Committee expressing your support and urging that HB 4903 be voted out of committee this week!
Action 3: Email the Lt Governor to ask that he kill HB 2795, the 20 year toll extension on SH 130.
Use this link to email Dan Patrick, asking him to kill HB 2795. Sadly 37 House Republicans voted for this bill to pass it last week. We must now kill it in the Senate. Lt. Governor Patrick can do that.
Action 4: Email the House State Affairs members re your support for SJR 58 and SB 1104, the bills correcting the Texas Disaster Act’s separation of powers problems by Senator Brian Birdwell and House companion author Shelby Slawson.
I am not sure that Representative Slawson (who is on House State Affairs) is ready to move yet on this in the committee, but I don’t think at this late date that it hurts to remind everyone of the importance of insuring that we will never again have lockdowns in the future. Use this email link to email State Affairs (including champion Shelby Slawson) about your support for these companion bills.
Action 5: Email the House State Affairs members re your support for SCR 23 and the need for a hearing on this vital, complementary border security declaration of cartel invasion.
Use this link to thank the members of the committee for passing HB 20, HB 7, and HB 82 while urging them to complete the job by hearing and passing SCR 23.
Progress is Being Made!
LOTS of good bills are moving. Here is a status report on those not mentioned above:
Medical Freedom
Here are bills that are broad prohibitions on mandating vaccinations:
- HB 44 Swanson (Pub Health) / SB 303 Hall (HHS) – Health care providers who participate in Medicaid and the child health plan program “may not refuse to provide health care service” to enrollees based on “refusal or failure to obtain a vaccine or immunization for a particular infectious or communicable disease.” Penalty to a violating provider is disenrollment from the program. Status: HB 44 passed House, assigned to Senate HHS.
- SB 265 Perry (HHS) – Requires reporting by physicians about experimental, investigational, and emergency use vaccine or drug-related injuries and adverse events to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Noncompliance subject to disciplinary action by Texas Medical Board. Status: Passed Senate, assigned to House Public Health.
- SB 1024 Kolkhorst (HHS) – Hodgepodge bill that tweaks various vaccination matters. Prohibits private and government K-12 and higher ed COVID-19 vax mandates. Prohibits government mask mandates and lockdowns. Prohibits health care facilities and employers (with exceptions) from discriminating against COVID-19 unvaxxed. Status: Passed Senate. Unassigned in House.
- SJR 66 Hall (HHS) – Addition to Texas Bill of Rights of right to decline medical treatment, including vaccination. Status: Heard in HHS.
Here are the bills I know of that are introduced as narrowly focused on COVID-19 vaccination:
- HB 81 Harrison (Pub Health) / SB 177 (HHS) Middleton – The good part of this bill is that it casts the unalienable right to refuse using the language of informed consent, which has good legal precedent to back it up. The legislative finding section of the bill is very good. The bill stops anyone from taking an adverse action or imposing a penalty of any kind for refusing a COVID-19 vaccination and imposes $5,000 or more damages against health care providers who administer such. The only problem is the sole application to COVID-19. Status: SB 177 passed Senate, assigned to House Pub Health. HB 81 in House Calendars.
- SB 29 Birdwell (St Affairs) – Prohibits governmental vaccine mandates, lockdowns, or mask mandates for COVID-19. Status: Passed Senate. Assigned to House State Affairs.
- SB 426 (HHS) Paxton – Prohibits Texas bureaucracies from interfering with doctors prescribing off-label medicines to address COVID-19. Status: Passed Senate. Assigned to House Pub Health.
- SB 403 (HHS) Springer / HB 1313 (Pub Health) Burrows – Texas study on adverse reactions of COVID-19 vax.
Bills Relating to Practice of Medicine and Patient Rights:
- SB 301 Hall (HHS) – Texas Medical Board prohibited from disciplinary action against physicians who prescribe ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine and pharmacists are prohibited from disputing or otherwise providing medical advice on the safety of those drugs. Pharmacists are shielded from liability for dispensing the drugs. Status: Passed Senate. Assigned to House Pub Health.
- SB 1583 Hall (HHS) – Prohibits higher ed that receive public funds from doing “gain-of-function” research and requires all organizations doing “gain-of-function” research in Texas to report it. Status: On Senate intent calendar.
- SB 666 Hall (HHS) – Requires standing and prohibits anonymous complaints in the Texas Medical Board disciplinary process and beefs up due process in the disciplinary process. Status: Passed Senate HHS.
- SB 299 Hall (HHS) – Hospitals must allow care by physician of choice even if physician is not a member of the hospital’s staff, but hospital not liable for damages resulting from treatment provided by the visiting physician. Status: Heard in Senate HHS.
Texas Resistance to Great Reset
Prohibition from Doing Business with Texas or its Subdivisions
- SB 2530 Hughes – Prohibits financial companies that boycott energy companies from doing business with Texas or its subdivisions. Extends SB 19 from last session that applied same to discrimination against firearms and ammunition manufacturers. Status: Passed Senate Natural Resources.
Texas Fund Divestment
- SB 1446 Hughes -- Stops Texas public employee pensions from investing in companies “furthering social, political, or ideological interests.” Status: Passed the Senate. Assigned to House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services.
- SB 1489 Creighton / HB 3619 Burrows – Stops Texas university funds from investing in companies that boycott oil & gas companies. Extends SB 13 from last session that required same of Texas pension systems. Status: SB 1489 passed Senate Education. HB 3619 heard in House Higher Ed.
Prohibiting ESG Discrimination
- HB 2837 Schaefer -- Prohibits credit card companies from “surveilling, reporting, or tracking” purchases of firearms or ammunition. Enforced via Attorney General civil suits. Status: On House General State Calendar on May 2.
- HB 1239 Oliverson / SB 833 King -- Prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage, discriminating on rates using ESG factors, or targeting disfavored industries. Status: HB 1239 stopped on House floor with point of order. SB 833 scheduled for hearing in Senate Business & Commrece on May 2.
- SB 1060 Hughes -- Prohibits ESG related shareholder proposals from being adopted for Texas insurers and insurer holding companies. Status: Passed Senate. Being heard in House Insurance on May 2.
- SB 1607 Kolkhorst -- Prohibits money transmitters like Paypal from fining their customers for their speech. Status: Passed Senate. Unassigned in House.
Pre-emption of Municipality ESG Implementation
Lege Status 23-04-24
Legislative Action Alerts and Status Report
April 24, 2023 (Day 104 of 140 of the 88th Texas Legislature)
As deadlines loom, the pace at the Capitol has now reached fever pitch. There is lots to report and lots to do, so let’s get to it!
Action Alerts
Action 1: Call and email your State Rep to oppose HB 2795 by Dem Transportation Chair Terry Canales
Extends the contract with a foreign corporation for 20 years (from 2042 to 2062) on toll road 130 in Central Texas, including a non-compete agreement meaning no new roads for a number of counties including Caldwell County. This provides the toll road revenue to foreign company for an additional 20 years and all the state gets is a tolled connector to SH 130 from New Braunfels. The motto of Texas Constitutional Enforcement is Let Texans Run Texas. We support the hard work on watching bills like this done by Terri Hall and her Texas TURF.
The first vote on this in the full House is Wednesday, April 16. Call the Texas Capitol switchboard at 512-463-4630. Email your Rep using this handy tool.
Action 2: Email the House Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services members regarding your support for HJR 146 – The Right to Use Cash and Cash Substitutes by Giovanni Capriglione
While I was the only witness testifying on HJR 146 (see video), 209 people commented online on the bill and I did not see a single comment opposed. We also had one other person signed on in favor at the Capitol without testifying. In other words, widespread support with no opposition! But we need to get this bill on its way!
Please use this link to send one brief email to the members of the Pensions, Investments and Financial Services expressing your support and urging a vote out of committee as soon as possible. Do this even if you have already commented online.
Action 3: Email the Senate Business & Commerce members re your support for SJR 67 the Senate companion by Tan Parker to HJR 146.
To maximize our chances of passage, we need the soonest hearing for SJR 67 in committee that we can get. Please use this link to send one brief email to the members of Business & Commerce expressing your support and urging that the bill be heard in committee.
Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of April 24
When it was heard in House Higher Ed this morning, I dropped a comment online in favor of House Calendars Committee Chair Dustin Burrows’ HB 3619 which extends the requirements protecting oil & gas companies from globalist assault that we added last session for Texas pension systems to divest of companies and funds that discriminate against oil & gas to the university funds in Texas.
Like I said on Facebook about this bill, “Increasing the returns on the Texas university funds AND protecting from globalist assault the Texas oil & gas industry. What could be better than that?”
Wednesday is the big day for hearings this week, though. I will be stretched thin, so anyone can make it to sign in for the bills below or better yet, sign in and testify will make a difference.
Wednesday, April 26:
House State Affairs: (8:00 am, JHR 140 – that’s the Reagan Building on the north side of the Capitol complex)
HB 4903 – Dorazio – Creates a digital warehouse receipt for gold stored in the Texas Bullion Depository that can be used as currency. This will give Texans another alternative to protect hard-earned wealth from the ravages of the dollar losing its reserve status and inflation while allowing them to easily conduct commerce, as well. While some in this group have expressed reservations about digital currency and even the Texas government being involved, I support this because it gives another choice to Texans when they badly need it. I also admit it appeals to my Texas sovereignty bone, as well. (Great Reset) Senator Bryan Hughes is carrying the SB 2334 Senate companion, which has gone nowhere.
Senate Health & Human Services: (8:00 am, Senate Chamber)
HJR 66 – Hall – Right to Refuse Medical Treatment (including vaccinations) added to Texas Bill of Rights.
The Republican Party of Texas Platform Medical Freedom plank, which this bill implements, starts as follows:
137. Medical Freedom: We call for an addition to the Texas Bill of Rights that explicitly states that Texans have the natural, inalienable right to refuse vaccination or other medical treatment.
SJR 66 is broader than another stab at this, SJR 84 (Hall) / HJR 114 (Toth), which we called our “moon-shot” for this session at our Texas Constitutional Enforcement Legislative Agenda Workshop. I think that HJR 66 is just as good and maybe better, so I am very happy to have this public conversation about rights, bodily autonomy, and vaccination. I hope you can join the conversation. (Medical Freedom)
SB 2086 – Kolkhorst – Recognizes your DNA as your property. Allows DNA sample collection for emergency medical treatment, determining paternity, and law enforcement, but protects right of refusal and control over sale of DNA records otherwise. (Medical Freedom and Great Reset)
House Transportation: (10:30 am or when full House is finished – likely later, E2.036)
HB 2991 – Harrison – Stops criminalization of billing issues for tolls in Texas. Thousands of Texans are being soaked by outrageous fines and criminal penalties due to billing problems with tolling authorities. If you have a toll billing horror story, this hearing is for you. (Good Government) If you can’t make it to the Capitol Wednesday, click here to submit an online comment for the record now until the hearing closes Wednesday.
Progress is Being Made!
LOTS of good bills are moving. For instance, Lois Kolkhorst’s SCR 23 declaration of border invasion has passed the Senate and been received in the House. I expect that one resistance to the Great Reset bill will have received full passage and be on the way to the Governor by the end of the week. More on that progress later, but I need to get this out, tonight because of the urgent action items.
Lege Status 23-04-16
Legislative Status Report
April 16, 2023 (Day 96 of 140 of the 88th Texas Legislature)
Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of April 17
Monday, April 17:
SB 2509 – King -- Makes social media speech suppression a deceptive trade practice with consequent penalties. Click here to see a one pager that supports this bill and its HB 4397 by Cain. (Great Reset)
Senate Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs:
SB 1654 – Kolkhorst – Requires ag equipment manufacturers to make information and tools necessary for independent repair shops and do-it-yourselfers to insure competitive market for ag equipment repair. Click here for one pager in support of this important bill. (Great Reset)
Wednesday, April 19:
House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services:
HJR 146 – Capriglione – Right to Use Cash and Cash Substitutes addition to the Texas Bill of Rights – this is one of the most urgent bills of the session that gets us ready for any push for CBDC or restrictions on alternatives to protect our wealth. (Great Reset)
Click here to see the merits of this important legislation (HJR 146) and go to the bottom of the page to download a one pager in support.
Also on Wednesday, April 19:
Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development:
SB 2530 – Hughes – Stops financial companies that discriminate against fossil fuels industry from doing business with Texas government or its subdivisions. Last session, SB 19 used this approach to protect firearms and ammunition dealers and SB 13 required divestment form fossil fuels discriminators from Texas employee pension systems. (Great Reset)
Senate Health & Human Services:
SB 666 – Hall – Tightens standing requirements and increases process due for the TMB disciplinary process. Responsive to the weaponization of that process used against frontline doctors not following Big Pharma line. (Medical Freedom)
Bills that Need Hearings:
Lots of good bills that will protect the lives and liberty of Texans have been filed this session. See the excellent progress being made in the section below. But because there is a multi-front war on everything we hold dear, even more needs to be done. Here are the big topics where we are stuck on Omaha beach and need a breakout soon. Since the urgent bills on border security are now in motion, I will not be focusing on pushing hearings in that area.
Texas Resistance to Great Reset (ESG, and CBDC)
All three of our bills resisting CBDC and providing alternatives need to be heard ASAP.
- SCR 25 / HCR 88 – Parker / Capriglione – Resolution expressing opposition to CBDC. SCR 25 is in Senate Business & Commerce along with SJR 67. HCR 88, however, is assigned not to Capriglione’s committee, but to the jam-packed House State Affairs.
- SB 2334 / HB 4903 – Hughes / Dorazio – Texas establishment of exchangeable digital warehouse receipt backed by gold in the Texas Bullion Depository. Sadly, SB 2334 is assigned to the busy Senate Finance Committee. And HB 4903 is assigned to the busy House State Affairs.
Even with HJR 146 being heard, we still need to keep pushing [email protected] to hear companion SJR 67 and SCR 25 ASAP in Senate Business & Commerce.
Federal Pushback
Our flagship legislation in this first area of interest for the group is the Texas Sovereignty Act (HB 384 Cecil Bell/ SB 313 Bob Hall). Both bills have been assigned to the State Affairs Committees in the respective chambers. We have to beat out lots of other bills for timely attention in both committees.
One other bill that in my opinion deserves to make the priority cut is State Rep Mike Schofield’s HB 294, the bill that separates state and local elections from federal elections as a way to head off any weakening of election integrity that comes from the federal level. It is in the House Elections Committee.
Medical Freedom
See below how many good medical freedom bills are in progress, but there are a lot more that have not gotten hearings. There are three more that I plan to push for hearings:
- HB 107 and HB 154 – Schaefer – Removes open-ended criminal penalties in the Texas Disaster Act. The legislature giving a stick to the executive so that he may define the acts to which the penalties can be applied is a textbook definition of a violation of separation of powers. As a backup, I am trying to get HB 107 and his HB 154 added into SB 1104 to insure that we get that unconstitutional aspect of existing law fixed.
- SJR 84 / HJR 114 – Hall / Toth – Unalienable right to refuse vaccination added to Texas Bill of Rights. Both bills are assigned to the respective chamber State Affairs Committee. This was our moon-shot for the session. I want it heard this session to get the idea of unalienable rights applied to this topic into public discourse and thereby moving the Overton window.
- SJR 66 – Hall – Recognition of right to refuse medical treatments added to Texas Bill of Rights. In Senate Health & Human Services. This version of addition actually better represents the RPT Medical Freedom platform plank better than our SJR 84 /HJR 114 because it is broader than just vaccination, going to all medical treatments.
Status of Bills Texas Constitutional Enforcement Supports:
Bills on the Move:
Border Security
- SCR 23 – Kolkhorst – Legislative Declaration of Cartel Invasion – this is the other big bill for this session on border security. It complements HB 20 and sets us up for any challenges to Texas taking independent action to protect its citizens. PASSED OUT OF BORDER SECURITY! The vote on April 5 was unanimous and the bill was sent to the Local and Consent calendar via the Senate Administration Committee, showing that the expectation is that there are no Texas State Senators that will stand in this bill’s way.
- SB 1403 – Parker – Interstate Border Security Compact – PASSED OUT OF BORDER SECURITY on March 30 and is on Senate intent calendar. Still waiting to see whether the SB 1403 or the Rep Spiller’s HB 82 (HEARD ON APRIL 12) will get the nod from both chambers.
- SB 602 – Birdwell – Enables Border Patrol agents to charge for state crimes when arresting and charging for federal crimes. PASSED SENATE. DELIVERED TO HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY.
- SB 1427 – Flores – Defines foreign terrorist organization and adds that concept to existing criminal street gang prohibitions. – PASSED SENATE, DELIVERED TO HOUSE.
- SB 1709 – King – Includes transnational criminal organization action in sedition penal statute and increases penalties. –ON SENATE INTENT CALENDAR.
Federal Pushback and Rule of Law
- HB 33 – Landgraf – Prohibits state agencies from participating w feds on regulations on oil & gas not in Texas law. In Federalist 46, Madison called this “refusal to assist officers of the Union.” This protects oil & gas in Texas the way we protected guns last session with HB 2622. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. ON WAY TO CALENDARS.
- SB 1927 – Hughes – Upgrades State Prosecuting Attorney to be able to independently prosecute election integrity, public integrity (including official oppression), human trafficking, and abortion law in Texas. Best solution for Court of Criminal Appeals decision that said AG could not independently prosecute criminal statutes (especially election integrity) in Texas. WAITING ON SENATE FLOOR ACTION.
Texas Resistance to Great Reset (ESG, and CBDC)
- HB 1239 – Oliverson – Stops insurance companies from discriminating using ESG standards. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. ON WAY TO CALENDARS.
- HB 2837 – Schaefer – Prohibits credit card company surveilling, reporting, or tracking of firearm and ammunition purchases in Texas. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. ON WAY TO CALENDARS.
- SB 1060 – Hughes – Prohibits shareholder proposals implementing ESG for insurance companies serving Texas. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. PLACED ON SENATE INTENT CALENDAR.
- SB 1446 – Hughes – Requires Texas pension administrators to only use return to shareholder and not to invest in companies diverting attention to ideological and social goals. HEARD IN COMMITTEE. VOTE TAKEN ON 4/6. VERY SLOW UPDATE ON TLO.
- SB 1017 – Birdwell – Stops Texas municipalities from regulating use of gas-powered engines and tools. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS. Companion HB 2374 (Landgraf) should receive final House vote on Monday, 4/17.
Medical Freedom / Executive Overreach
- HB 44 – Swanson – Prohibits discrimination against Medicaid and CHIP recipients by medical providers based on immunization/vaccination status. IN CALENDARS.
- HB 81 – Harrison -- Informed consent for COVID-19 vax. PENDING IN COMMITTEE. VOTE EXPECTED MON. APR 17.
- SB 177 – Middleton – Companion to HB 81. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. PLACED ON INTENT CALENDAR.
- SB 29 – Birdwell – For COVID-19, prohibits government vax or mask mandates and lockdowns of business or schools. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS.
- SJR 58 – Birdwell – Constitutional amendment to require legislative involvement in large-scale disasters after 30 days. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE STATE AFAIRS.
- SB 1104 – Birdwell – Implements SJR 58. Prohibits future lockdowns. During disasters, only allows during first 30 days of disaster only, suspension of the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and Election Code to extend early voting by mail or for voters to deliver mail ballots to voting clerk on or before election day. Preempts localities from conflicting with state or expanding scope beyond state during disasters. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS. Note that I am in conversation with House sponsor, Rep Slawson, to urge additional protections from Schaefer’s HB 107 and HB 154 be added to this bill.
- SB 1025 – Kolkhorst – the most comprehensive medical freedom bill filed this session. HHS Chair Kolkhorst is using this bill to consolidate lots of medical freedom ideas. PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
- SB 426 – Paxton – Stops Texas Medical Board from taking action against physicians who prescribe off-label drugs for COVID-19. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE.
- SB 301 – Hall – Stops disciplinary action against health care providers and pharmacists for prescribing and dispensing hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. ASSIGNED TO SENATE LOCAL & CONSENT.
- SB 299 – Hall – Allows patients to be attended in hospital by physician who is not a member of hospital’s medical staff. PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
- SB 265 – Perry – Requires Texas reporting into FDA MedWatch Reporting System of vaccine adverse events for experimental or FDA emergency use vaccines. VOTE TAKEN IN COMMITTEE.
Decisions are being made every day at the Texas Capitol that can protect Texans from the multi-pronged assaults on our lives, prosperity, children, way of life, and liberty. We are in the thick of battle, and focused attention and action over the next few weeks can benefit generations of Texans yet to come.
Border Security Hearings!
April 8, 2023 (Day 88 of 140 of the 88th Texas Legislature)
Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of April 10
Tuesday, April 11:
SB 1607 – Kolkhorst – Prohibits money transmitters like Paypal from assessing fines against Texans for violating the transmitter’s terms of service. This bill responds to Paypal’s 2022 woke attempt to fine its customers for their speech which Paypal (or its contractors) deemed “misinformation.” (Great Reset)
SB 1621 – Kolkhorst – requires businesses who wish to provide goods or services to a state agency to use E-VERIFY to verify employee information and for its subcontractors to do the same. (Border Security)
Wednesday, April 12:
State Affairs: Border Security Day!
Use this link to comment remotely on State Affairs bills being heard now through close of hearing.
HB 20 – Schaefer – This is the big border security bill for this session. All hands on deck!
The low number designation says that this is a bill supported by the Speaker, but the Texas Legislature needs to know that we appreciate what they are doing whether with testimony, sign-ins at the Capitol showing support without testimony, or via the remote comment capability linked above.
I am sure that a committee substitute will be presented at the hearing (after LOTS of input from numerous stakeholders). I have been told that Rep Schaefer is working hard to make the committee sub language available to the public before the hearing. As soon as I know where we can see it, I will let this group know. I expect that the committee sub will maintain most of its major components with tweaks to implementation and legal details.
The language of the broad and deep filed version of HB 20 does the following:
- Sets up constitutional, independent action by Texas to take effective action by invoking Article I, Sec 3, Clause 3 reservation of self-defense power to the states when we are “in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay” or “unless actually invaded.” HB 20 formally declares that we are in imminent danger under that clause. Note that this will be a combined declaration by the legislature and the governor.
- Creates a Border Protection Unit that will report directly report to the governor, thereby taking pressure of the volunteer resources of the Texas National Guard and the stress on DPS when they are redeployed from protecting their communities to the border.
- Repel - Authorizes the Border Protection Unit to “deter and repel persons attempting to enter the State of Texas illegally at locations outside a port of entry,” to “return aliens to Mexico who have been observed actually crossing the Mexican border illegally, and were apprehended or detained in the immediate vicinity of the border,” and to “use force to repel, arrest, and detain known transnational cartel operatives in the border region.”
- Creates beefed up border trespass offense in the Penal Code – makes it a third degree felony and subject to $10K civil penalty each time a “person knowingly enters property of another without effective consent when knowingly entering the state of Texas from a neighboring jurisdiction.”
- Creates another constitutional way for Texas to act independently by invoking constitutionally clear state authority to protect health. HB 20 incorporates the totality of HB 1491 filed earlier by Rep Brian Harrison. It allows Texas to remove those who cross into Texas outside a port of entry as long as the feds have a vaccination mandate for anyone and “at any time which the U.S. Department of State has a travel-warning for COVID-19 for any country from which citizens have illegally entered the U.S. during the most recent year for which there is available data.”
- Creates a standing Legislative Border Safety Oversight Committee.
HB 82 – Spiller – Interstate Border Security Compact – This bill implements the third sentence of the RPT Legislative Priority on Border Security. This is a different variant of an implementation of an interstate border security compact than Senator Parker’s SB 1403, which has now passed out of the Senate Border Security. The differences between the two are that the filed version of HB 82 says that the compact only takes effect if Congress approves and it focuses on illegal immigration in addition to border security. CSB 1403 does not seek Congressional approval, crafting the content of the compacts in a way that supports not needing Congressional approval. I.e., it steers clear of immigration, focusing instead on border security. I have already suggested language to Rep Spiller amending the bill to not ask for Congressional approval if Texas has declared an actual invasion or imminent danger. After the hearings on SB 1403 and its passage by Senate Border Security, I have provided him an alternative suggestion that he sub CSB 1403 for HB 82. I plan to support moving forward on this bill, no matter what form it takes or remains. I told him that given the path of CSB 1403, it appears that reconciliation will be needed sooner or later, anyway and that sooner is better than later to make sure we get this urgently needed bill passed.
HB 7 – Guillen – creates support for the courts as they deal with the demand from securing the border, beefs up programs for training border protection unit personnel, provides process to fund border facility infrastructure, and duplicates the HB 20 legislative oversight of the Texas border security efforts as we progress. Note that this bill also has the Speaker’s low number designation. I am sure that he views HB 7 and HB 20 as complementary to each other, and presume that committee subs of HB 20 and/or HB 7 will handle any overlapping duplication.
HB 65 – Spiller – increases penalties for human trafficking across the border. I will probably sign in to support this bill without testifying.
Bills that Need Hearings by April 20:
Lots of good bills that will protect the lives and liberty of Texans have been filed this session. See the excellent progress being made in the section below. But because there is a multi-front war on everything we hold dear, even more needs to be done. Here are the big topics where we are stuck on Omaha beach and need a breakout soon. Since the urgent bills on border security are now in motion, I will not be focusing on pushing hearings in that area.
Texas Resistance to Great Reset (ESG, and CBDC)
All three of our bills resisting CBDC and providing alternatives need to be heard ASAP.
- SJR 67 / HJR 146 -- Parker / Capriglione – Right to Use Cash and Cash Substitutes add to Texas Bill of Rights – Because financial crisis and the privacy-destroying, police-state-implementing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is looming, this is my personal top priority this session (along with the substantive border security bills of SCR 23 and HB 20). SJR 67 is in Senate Business & Commerce. HJR 146 is in author Capriglione’s own House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services Committee.
- SCR 25 / HCR 88 – Parker / Capriglione – Resolution expressing opposition to CBDC. SCR 25 is in Senate Business & Commerce along with SJR 67. HCR 88, however, is assigned not to Capriglione’s committee, but to the jam-packed House State Affairs.
- SB 2334 / HB 4903 – Hughes / Dorazio – Texas establishment of exchangeable digital warehouse receipt backed by gold in the Texas Bullion Depository. Sadly, SB 2334 is assigned to the busy Senate Finance Committee. And HB 4903 is assigned to the busy House State Affairs.
I have confirmed with Senator Parker that he has asked for a hearing on SJR 67 and SCR 25 in Chair Charles Schwertner’s Business & Commerce. Business & Commerce meets on Tuesdays and several weeks this session has also heard bills on Thursdays as well. This Wednesday, I visited the Business & Commerce office, and verbally communicated our urgent request for a hearing on Parker’s bills as soon as possible. Since then, the notice for Tuesday, April 11 is out and our phone still ain’t ringing (although two bills of lower priority that we support are being heard as discussed above.)
I think it time to send polite emails to [email protected] or to urge that SJR 67 and SCR 25 be heard in the next Business & Commerce hearing.
Chair Capriglione will schedule HJR 146 in his own House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services when he thinks best.
I plan to communicate with House State Affairs about HCR 88 and HB 4903, as well as priority bills in other categories, soon. And, I plan to ask Senator Hughes about the needed strategy for SB 2334 and getting it through Senate Finance.
Federal Pushback
Our flagship legislation in this first area of interest for the group is the Texas Sovereignty Act (HB 384 Cecil Bell/ SB 313 Bob Hall). Both bills have been assigned to the State Affairs Committees in the respective chambers. We have to beat out lots of other bills for timely attention in both committees.
One other bill that in my opinion deserves to make the priority cut is State Rep Mike Schofield’s HB 294, the bill that separates state and local elections from federal elections as a way to head off any weakening of election integrity that comes from the federal level. It is in the House Elections Committee.
Medical Freedom
See below how many good medical freedom bills are in progress, but there are a lot more that have not gotten hearings. There are three more that I plan to push for hearings:
- HB 107 – Schaefer – Removes open-ended criminal penalties in the Texas Disaster Act. The legislature giving a stick to the executive so that he may define the acts to which the penalties can be applied is a textbook definition of a violation of separation of powers. As a backup, I am trying to get this added into SB 1104 to insure that we get that unconstitutional aspect of existing law fixed.
- SJR 84 / HJR 114 – Hall / Toth – Unalienable right to refuse vaccination added to Texas Bill of Rights. Both bills are assigned to the respective chamber State Affairs Committee. This was our moon-shot for the session. I want it heard this session to get the idea of unalienable rights applied to this topic into public discourse and thereby moving the Overton window.
- SJR 66 – Hall – Recognition of right to refuse medical treatments added to Texas Bill of Rights. In Senate Health & Human Services. This version of addition actually better represents the RPT Medical Freedom platform plank better than our SJR 84 /HJR 114 because it is broader than just vaccination, going to all medical treatments.
Status of Bills Texas Constitutional Enforcement Supports:
Bills on the Move:
Border Security
- SCR 23 – Kolkhorst – Legislative Declaration of Cartel Invasion – this is the other big bill for this session on border security. It complements HB 20 and sets us up for any challenges to Texas taking independent action to protect its citizens. PASSED OUT OF BORDER SECURITY! The vote on April 5 was unanimous and the bill was placed on the Local and Consent calendar, showing that the expectation is that there are no Texas State Senators that will stand in this bill’s way.
- SB 1403 – Parker – Interstate Border Security Compact – PASSED OUT OF BORDER SECURITY on March 30. See comments about this bill’s relationship to Rep Spiller’s HB 82 above.
- SB 602 – Birdwell – Enables Border Patrol agents to charge for state crimes when arresting and charging for federal crimes. PASSED SENATE. DELIVERED TO HOUSE.
- SB 1427 – Flores – Defines foreign terrorist organization and adds that concept to existing criminal street gang prohibitions. – WAITING ON SENATE FLOOR ACTION.
- SB 1709 – King – Includes transnational criminal organization action in sedition penal statute and increases penalties. – WAITING ON SENATE FLOOR ACTION.
Federal Pushback and Rule of Law
- HB 33 – Landgraf – Prohibits state agencies from participating w feds on regulations on oil & gas not in Texas law. In Federalist 46, Madison called this “refusal to assist officers of the Union.” This protects oil & gas in Texas the way we protected guns last session with HB 2622. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. ON WAY TO CALENDARS.
- SB 1927 – Hughes – Upgrades State Prosecuting Attorney to be able to independently prosecute election integrity, public integrity (including official oppression), human trafficking, and abortion law in Texas. Best solution for Court of Criminal Appeals decision that said AG could not independently prosecute criminal statutes (especially election integrity) in Texas. WAITING ON SENATE FLOOR ACTION.
Texas Resistance to Great Reset (ESG, and CBDC)
HB 1239 – Oliverson – Stops insurance companies from discriminating using ESG standards. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. ON WAY TO CALENDARS.
- HB 2837 – Schaefer – Prohibits credit card company surveilling, reporting, or tracking of firearm and ammunition purchases in Texas. HEARD IN COMMITTEE. COMMITTEE SUB BEING WORKED BEFORE COMMITTEE VOTE.
- SB 1060 – Hughes – Prohibits shareholder proposals implementing ESG for insurance companies serving Texas. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. AWAITING PLACEMENT ON SENATE INTENT CALENDAR.
- SB 1446 – Hughes – Requires Texas pension administrators to only use return to shareholder and not to invest in companies diverting attention to ideological and social goals. HEARD IN COMMITTEE. AWAITING COMMITTEE VOTE.
- SB 1017 – Birdwell – Stops Texas municipalities from regulating use of gas-powered engines and tools. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVE IN HOUSE.
Medical Freedom / Executive Overreach
- HB 44 – Swanson – Prohibits discrimination against Medicaid and CHIP recipients by medical providers based on immunization/vaccination status. IN CALENDARS.
- HB 81 – Harrison -- Informed consent for COVID-19 vax. PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
- SB 177 – Middleton – Companion to HB 81. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. AWAITING PLACEMENT ON INTENT CALENDAR.
- HB 1313 – Burrows – Texas study of COVID-19 vax adverse reactions. PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
- SB 403 – Springer – Senate companion to HB 1313. PENDING IN COMMITTEE
- SB 29 – Birdwell – For COVID-19, prohibits government vax or mask mandates and lockdowns of business or schools. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE.
- SJR 58 – Birdwell – Constitutional amendment to require legislative involvement in large-scale disasters after 30 days. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE.
- SB 1104 – Birdwell – Implements SJR 58. Prohibits future lockdowns. During disasters, only allows during first 30 days of disaster only, suspension of the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and Election Code to extend early voting by mail or for voters to deliver mail ballots to voting clerk on or before election day. Preempts localities from conflicting with state or expanding scope beyond state during disasters. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE. Note that I am in conversation with House sponsor, Rep Slawson, to urge additional protections be added to this bill.
- SB 1024 – Kolkhorst – the most comprehensive medical freedom bill filed this session. HHS Chair Kolkhorst is using this bill to consolidate lots of medical freedom ideas. PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
- SB 426 – Paxton – Stops Texas Medical Board from taking action against physicians who prescribe off-label drugs for COVID-19. PASSED SENATE. RECEIVED IN HOUSE.
- SB 301 – Hall – Stops disciplinary action against health care providers and pharmacists for prescribing and dispensing hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE. ASSIGNED TO SENATE LOCAL & CONSENT CALENDAR.
- SB 299 – Hall – Allows patients to be attended in hospital by physician who is not a member of hospital’s medical staff. PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
- SB 265 – Perry – Requires Texas reporting into FDA MedWatch Reporting System of vaccine adverse events for experimental or FDA emergency use vaccines. PENDING IN COMMITTEE.
Decisions are being made every day at the Texas Capitol that can protect Texans from the multi-pronged assaults on our lives, prosperity, children, way of life, and liberty. We are in the thick of battle, and focused attention and action over the next few weeks can benefit generations of Texans yet to come.
Texas Legislative Status Report
April 2, 2023
Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of April 3
Wednesday, April 5:
House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services:
HB 2837 – Schaefer -- Prohibits credit card companies from “surveilling, reporting, or tracking the purchase of firearms ammunition” in Texas. Use this link to comment remotely.
SB 1721 – Paxton – Requires Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Ten Commandments donated privately to be displayed in school classrooms.
NOTE: All hearing notices are linked from name of committee.
We Need to Push To Get Hearings on Key Bills
We are sitting at day 83 out of 140 in the 88th Texas Legislature. Time to start thinking about the end game.
If we have a bill that is coming only out of the House, to have a realistic shot at it passing the House and making it to the Senate, your bill needs to heard sometime in the next three weeks. The die is cast for this week, by and large, so we only have a chance at influencing what gets heard in the two following weeks. I hope to get another blog post and email out about what bills to prioritize for that push and how to help push.
Here are looming deadlines:
Thu, Apr 20 (101st day) House – last day for committee to hear a bill and have realistic shot at passing House
Thu, Apr 27 (108th day) House – last day for a committee to report a bill and have realistic shot of passing House
Fri, May 5 (116th day) House – last day for a committee to be reported out of committee and have long-shot chance of making through Calendars to House floor
Mon, May 8 (119thday) House – last day for committees to report HBs and HJRs
Thu, May 11 (122nd day) – House – last day to consider 2d reading on HBs daily/supplemental calendar
Fri, May 12 (123rd day) – House – last day to consider 2d reading on local & consent calendar
Fri, May 19 (130thday) – House – last local & consent calendar 2nd and 3rdreadings
Sat, May 20 (131st day) – House – Last day for House committees to report SBs/SJRs
Tue, May 23 (134th day) – House – last day for House to consider SB/SJRs on daily/supplemental calendar
Wed, May 24 (135th day) – House – last day to consider 3rdreading of SBs/SJRs
-- Senate – last day for Senate to consider all bills/JRs
Fri, May 26 (137th day) – House – last day to consider Senate amendments
Sun, May 28 (139th day) – Senate – last day to concur on House amendments
Mon, May 29 (140thday) – Last day of Texas 88th Legislature
Have Run Out of Time to Report on Progress last Week.
A number of bills we support moved forward last week. Some are sill pending in committee. More to come on that later.
Texas Legislative Status Report
March 26, 2023
Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of March 27
NOTE: All hearing notices are linked from name of committee.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: House committees allow comments to be submitted online remotely and are stored online and accessible to the public with the documents stored for each hearing. To comment on the record, use the hearing notice link, go to the bottom of the notice to click on the comments link, then leave comments for your bill of choice. The comment period lasts from the time the notice is posted until public testimony is concluded at the hearing.
Use the comments process this week to oppose three bills – HB 71 – digital driver’s license; HB 3573 – stablecoin/CBDC elevation; and HB 3418 – driving mileage tax pilot. See details for each bill below.
Monday, March 27:
Senate State Affairs ESG Resistance Bills:
- SB 1060 – Hughes – Stops ESG shareholder proposals for insurance holding companies.
- SB 1446 – Hughes – Requires Texas pension managers to only invest in companies that focus on fiduciary duty and not on social, political, or ideological interests.
House Energy Resources – Refusal to Assist Officers of the Union on fed oil & gas regs:
- HB 33 – Landgraf – Prohibits Texas officials from assisting feds in implementing oil & gas regs not in Texas law.
Local Government: Attack on Office of Sheriff
- SB 1124 – King – Raises very high bar on credentials needed to be sheriff – probably ousts lots of existing sheriffs.
Tuesday, March 28:
House Homeland Security & Public Safety:
- HB 71 – Canales – Creation of Digital Driver’s License (OPPOSE) – part of creation of digital police state.
- SB 330 – Hall – All Hazards Grid Protection Bill
Wednesday, March 29:
House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services:
- HB 3573 – Lambert – (OPPOSE) Allows non-Texas banking regulators to regulate Texas money transmitter business and elevates stablecoin (which includes CBDC) to being recognized as money.
- HB 3418 – Canales – (OPPOSE) Pilot program to add mileage tax for drivers. Part of larger globalist effort in war on private transportation.
While you are supporting or approving bills in House Transportation this week, Teri Hall suggests SUPPORTING SB 446 (Final red light camera removal), SCR 2 (taxes dedicated to roads) and OPPOSING SB 1663, which allows cities more leeway to lower speed limits within their boundaries.
Note that there are hearings on a number of good bills pushing the RPT Legislative Priorities that protect kids and on Election Integrity this week. I just don’t have time to take that dive.
A Retrospective on Last Week
Border Security
Probably the biggest deal this last week was the hearing on Lois Kolkhorst’s SCR 23 that declares a cartel invasion. We had a wonderful discussion on Thursday, March 23, and it looks like the bill will get a unanimous vote coming out of the Border Security Committee, which includes border Democrats Hinojosa and Blanco.
That same committee heard Senator Tan Parker’s interstate border security compact bill, SB 1403. Note that such a bill is the third part of the RPT Border Security Legislative Priority. The most interesting part of the discussion on that was resource witness testimony by a senior staffer at the Attorney General’s office. He told us that despite the Article I, Sec. 10 requirement to get Congressional approval for interstate compacts in normal times, that Supreme Court precedent has allowed them in most cases without Congressional approval. It was his opinion that this type of interstate compact will not require Congressional approval. SB 1403 does not mandate Congressional approval for the compacts formed by it.
Medical Freedom
We had three hear hearings on medical freedom and executive overreach this week.
In House Public Health on Monday, March 20, we testified for Valorie Swanson’s HB 44 to stop Medicaid and CHIP discrimination against unvaxed; Brian Harrison’s HB 81 to require informed consent for COVID-19 vax; and Dustin Burrow’s HB 1313 to create Texas study of COVID-19 vax adverse events.
In Senate State Affairs on Monday, March 20, we testified for three bills by Senator Brian Birdwell:
- SB 29 which prohibits for COVID-19 government vax mandates, mask mandates, and lockdowns of businesses and schools.
- SJR 35 which creates constitutional amendment to require the governor to call legislature into session to renew large scale renewals of declared disasters or emergencies.
- SB 1104 which enables SJR 35, including prohibiting lockdowns by emergency decree and limiting local governments from going beyond any gubernatorial directives.
The big medical freedom day was Wednesday, March 22 in Senate Health & Human Services. The hearing started at 8:30 am and we did not go home until 9:30 pm. The day was a magical, cathartic day, where LOTS of information was shared with the Senate and public by activists and luminaries. Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Richard Fleming, Dr. Gloria Gamboa, Dr. Bryan Ardis, and Jennifer Bridges, the RN fired for refusing Memorial Herman’s vax mandate provided gravitas to the hearings. Activists Jackie Schlegel, Michelle Evans, Rebecca Hardy, and I tag-teamed with each other. And then, we had a number of people testify about the harm done to them by COVID tyranny. It was a great day for medical freedom in Texas!
Here are the main bills that were heard:
- SB 1024 by Kolkhorst – probably the most important omnibus bill for medical freedom this session, authored by the Chair of Senate HHS, herself.
- SB 1583 by Hall – limiting Texas universities from conducting the Orwellian named “gain-of-function” research and requiring all who do to register with Texas.
- SB 426 by Paxton and SB 301 by Hall – a pair of complementary bills that stop discrimination against off-label use of drugs – especially hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.
- SB 177 by Middleton – the COVID-19 informed consent bill that is the companion to Harrison’s HB 81.
- SB 299 by Hall – allowing patients to be treated by visiting doctors of their choice in the hospital, even if not credentialed or approved by the hospital.
- SB 265 by Perry – requiring Texas vaccine adverse event database for pandemic vaccines.
- SB 403 by Springer – the Texas COVID-19 vaccine adverse event study companion bill to Burrow’s HB 1313.
Chair Kolkhorst said at the end of the hearing that due to overlap of a number of these bills, that not every one will come out of committee. She implied that some will be merged into others before being voted out.
Rule of Law
I also testified on Thursday, March 23 in Senate State Affairs for Chair Bryan Hughes’ SB 1927 which expands the State Prosecutor Office in the judiciary to be able to independently prosecute election integrity, public integrity, human trafficking, and abortion statutes. The bill is designed to respond to a Court of Criminal Appeals opinion that stopped the AG from independently prosecuting election integrity crimes.
Texas Medical Freedom Bill Status
Texas Medical Freedom Legislative Status Report
March 19, 2023
One of the four areas covered by Texas Constitutional Enforcement this session is medical freedom and stopping future executive overreach in Texas. This is a status report on filed bills, and a preview of what is up in hearings in this area during the week of March 20.
First, there is no one sweeping bill this session that addresses these issues in either the House or the Senate this session. There exist a large number of filed bills in the space, and getting a big picture view of what is being proposed in light of our goals is challenging.
To begin, let’s talk about the strategic vision of our goals this session. I summarize our approach with an adaptation of the line delivered by Clint Eastwood playing Dirty Harry in Magnum Force: “A government’s GOT to know its limitations!”
Our ultimate goal is to limit government action in the following ways:
- Never again will a governor, county judge, or mayor think it has delegated authority to define new acts to which the police power of the state can be deployed against citizens during an emergency. Only the legislature can create law, and even the legislature cannot constitutionally create laws that violate the natural rights of Texans.
- Never again will any private or governmental actor be allowed to violate the unalienable right of a Texan to bodily autonomy when it comes to refusing vaccination.
- Never again will any level of government think it has the authority to lock us down in our homes or to shut down businesses.
- Never again will any level of government think it has the authority to mandate the wearing of masks.
- Never again will the Big Pharma/Health Care Industrial Complex suppress life-saving treatments so that they can sell more expensive "solutions" that actually do more harm than good.
We only crafted one piece of legislation in this space this time – the addition to the Texas Bill of Rights to recognize the unalienable right to decline vaccination. On everything else, we are looking at the bills filed through the lens of the principles outlined above and prioritizing them against those standards.
Note, a number of the filed bills will be heard in committee in the House and Senate this week. See section below for the bills that have been set for hearing and which are likely to be heard this week.
So, let’s analyze the bills that have been filed in that framework. Note that the bills are being assigned to two committees in each chamber – Public Health and State Affairs in the House and Health & Human Services and State Affairs in the Senate:
Bills Limiting Executive Overreach and Honoring Separation of Powers
- HB 107 Schaefer (St Affairs) – Removes separation of powers violation by eliminating the Texas Disaster Act open-ended criminal penalties to which any act can be applied by a emergency plan or by the governor, county judges, or mayors. I want to also add removal from the Texas Disaster Act of the phony “force and effect of law” designation for emergency orders or plans by the executive branch. Saying a regulation has the “force and effect of law” makes it a trans-law. It lies to say that the regulation identifies as a law enacted by the legislature when it is really a regulation.
- HB 154 Schaefer (St Affairs) – Amends the Texas Disaster Act to prohibit the governor, county judges, and mayors from mandating masks.
- HB 777 Vasut (Pub Ed) – Stops K-12 schools from mandating masks and COVID-19 vaccinations for attendance.
- SB 307 Hall (St Affairs) – Requires state departments and subdivisions to refuse to assist officers of the Union when they try to implement aspects of a declared federal public health emergency that are not authorized under Texas law.
- SB 1104 / SJR 58 Birdwell (St Affairs) / HB 2654 / HJR 121 Slawson (St Affairs) -- A constitutional amendment to require that only the legislature can extend wide-scale declared emergencies or disasters, coupled with implementing modifications to the Texas Disaster Act and Texas Emergency Act A decision not to extend a disaster by the governor becomes veto-proof and giving a legislator standing to judicially enforce the requirement to call the legislature into session for extensions of declared disasters or emergencies. The statute prohibits executive order lockdowns and subdivision orders that go beyond gubernatorial orders. It narrows exceptions for suspension of laws.
Bills Regarding Vaccination and Vaccine Mandates
Our moon-shot legislation this session is the push to add to the Texas Bill of Rights the recognition of the unalienable right to refuse vaccination. This bill partially implements what is called for in the first sentence of the very long Medical Freedom Plank 137:
We call for an addition to the Texas Bill of Rights that explicitly states that Texans have the natural, inalienable right to refuse vaccination or other medical treatment.
We have the proposed add to the Texas Bill of Rights filed in both chambers. SJR 84 by Senator Bob Hall and HJR 114 filed by Representative Steve Toth (assigned to St Affairs). The language to be added to the Texas Bill of Rights is:
An individual has the unalienable and natural right to refuse vaccination. The vaccination status of an individual may not be made a condition of employment, travel, school or other educational institution attendance, conducting business, receiving medical treatment, receiving governmental services, or any other action in this state.
There are a lot of statutes to implement the vision of stopping vaccine mandates. They vary between very targeted and limited to more comprehensive. First I will say that as a matter of principle, any legislation that narrowly focuses on COVID-19 is nice in terms of a political state and precedent, but has very little long term value. Narrowly focusing on the last war, instead of principles that can be applied immediately to the next is very short sighted. If you are going to devote energy to legislate, why not make it apply in the future instead of to the past.
Here are bills that are broad prohibitions on mandating vaccinations:
- HB 44 Swanson (Pub Health) / SB 303 Hall (HHS) – Health care providers who participate in Medicaid and the child health plan program “may not refuse to provide health care service” to enrollees based on “refusal or failure to obtain a vaccine or immunization for a particular infectious or communicable disease.” Penalty to a violating provider is disenrollment from the program.
- HB 319 Oliverson (Pub Health) – Prohibits “adverse action” against individuals receiving or engaged in education or training of physicians or health care providers due to declining a health care service “for reasons of conscience.” Conscience is broadly defined in the statute.
- HB 807 Harrison (Pub Health) – Repeals delegation of authority to Texas Department of Health and Human Services to determine the list of required vaccinations for attendance in K-12 schools, leaving only traditional statutorily required vaccinations and requiring future additions to the list to be made legislatively. Also repeals exclusion during emergencies or epidemics from school for students whose parents refuse due to conscience or religious beliefs.
- HB 3151 Schatzline (Pub Health) – Prohibits health care providers from denying or refusing to provide health care treatment based on an individual’s vaccination status. Enforced via civil action by AG with $50K penalty per violation.
- SB 298 Hall (HHS) – Requires informed consent of parent or guardian before immunization of a child. Violation if the child suffers an adverse event without parental informed consent is civil penalty via private action of not less then $5K.
- SB 302 Hall (St Affairs) – Employers liable for damages from adverse health events that result from employer vaccine requirements. Loophole for employers if have policy that allows conscience, religious, or opinion of physician exceptions to mandate.
- SB 304 Hall (St Affairs) – Comprehensive prohibition of discrimination against the unvaccinated by public accommodations, long-term care facilities, health care providers or facilities, health insurance, employers (including health care employers), labor unions, occupational licensing authorities, issuance of driver’s licenses or other IDs, K-12 schools, higher education, or governmental entities.
- SB 305 Hall (HHS) – Person administering a vaccine must provide patient written information on benefit and risks.
- SB 1025 Kolkhorst (HHS) – Hodgepodge bill that tweaks various vaccination matters. Keeps Texas Department of State Health Services involved in all childhood and K-12 immunization lists. Sets up a Texas vaccine adverse event reporting system. Updates prohibition on COVID-19 vaccine passports to prohibit passports for any vaccine.
- SB 265 Perry (HHS) – Requires reporting by physicians about experimental, investigational, and emergency use vaccine or drug-related injuries and adverse events to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Noncompliance subject to disciplinary action by Texas Medical Board.
Here are the bills I know of that are introduced as narrowly focused on COVID-19 vaccination:
- HB 81 Harrison (Pub Health) / SB 177 (HHS) Middleton – The good part of this bill is that it casts the unalienable right to refuse using the language of informed consent, which has good legal precedent to back it up. The legislative finding section of the bill is very good. The bill stops anyone from taking an adverse action or imposing a penalty of any kind for refusing a COVID-19 vaccination and imposes $5,000 or more damages against health care providers who administer such. The only problem is the sole application to COVID-19.
- HB 1015 Vasut (St Affairs) – prohibition on receipt of state COVID-19 money by businesses that require employees, customers, vendors, or contractors to get COVID-19 vaccinations.
- HB 1032 Noble (St Affairs) – prohibits discrimination against those refusing COVID-19 vaccinations by employers, schools, and a wide range of service providers.
- SB 29 Birdwell (St Affairs) – Prohibits governmental vaccine mandates, lockdowns, or mask mandates for COVID-19.
- SB 308 Hall (St Affairs) – a comprehensive prohibition of discrimination by employers, schools, and other service providers from discriminating against those who refuse COVID-19 vaccination.
- SB 426 (HHS) Paxton – Prohibits Texas bureaucracies from interfering with doctors prescribing off-label medicines to address COVID-19.
- SB 1026 Kolkhorst (St Affairs) – a comprehensive prohibition of discrimination by employers, schools, and other service providers from discriminating against those who refuse COVID-19 vaccination. Includes the Texas judiciary in its prohibitions.
Bills Relating to Practice of Medicine and Patient Rights
- HB 189 Toth (Pub Health) – Tweaks law about hospital visitation.
- SB 297 Hall (HHS) – Hospital Patients’ Rights – stops hospitals from never again prohibiting doctors from prescribing the drugs of choice to patients, restricted visitation of one person at a time, interfere with the care a doctor prescribes or with informed consent, bullying or shaming patients, or refusing requests within the capacity of the hospital of the patient or their surrogate.
- SB 299 Hall (HHS) – Hospitals must allow care by physician of choice even if physician is not a member of the hospital’s staff, but hospital not liable for damages resulting from treatment provided by the visiting physician.
- SB 301 Hall (HHS) – Texas Medical Board prohibited from disciplinary action against physicians who prescribe ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine and pharmacists are prohibited from disputing or otherwise providing medical advise on the safety of those drugs. Pharmacists are shielded from liability for dispensing the drugs.
- SB 306 Hall (HHS) – Beefs up due process for those being ordered to isolation or quarantine.
- SB 666 Hall (HHS) – Requires standing and prohibits anonymous complaints in the Texas Medical Board disciplinary process and beefs up due process in the disciplinary process.
- SB 514 Hall (HHS) – Voids/dismisses disciplinary actions by the Texas Medical Board against doctors who used their own judgment to prescribe off label drugs, refusing to wear masks, or speaking out against mask mandates. This is a COVID-19 specific bill that is needed to address the wrongs perpetrated by the establishment against heroic front-line health-care providers.
- HB 1313 Burrows (Pub Health) / SB 403 Springer (HHS) – Requires the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study “to assess the full and complete adverse reactions, including death, and effectiveness of each type of vaccine used in Texas to defend the human body against “COVID-19”” due by January 1, 2024.
Bills Set for Hearing on Monday, March 20
See details of listed bills below in the comments above.
House Public Health (Starts at 8:00 am in JHR 120):
I will testify in favor of all three, but they have different degrees of priority.
- Rep Shelby Slawson’s HB 44 is a solid prohibition of discrimination against children served by Medicaid and CHIP from being denied service due to lack of immunization.
- Brian Harrison’s HB 81 has excellent argumentation using “informed consent” language to protect the unalienable right to decline vaccination, but it fights the last war by only focusing on COVID-19.
- Dustin Burrows’ HB 1313 requires Texas to study vax injuries because we don’t trust the feds. The study is needed, but it is not nearly enough, and not a justification for not proceeding on protecting our unalienable right to refuse vaccination.
Senate State Affairs (Starts at 10:00 am in Senate Chamber)
Senator Birdwell has all three bills to be heard in this space:
- SJR 58 is the constitutional amendment to require that only the legislature can extend wide-scale declared emergencies or disasters and to make refusal of the legislature to extend a disaster veto-proof.
- SB 1104 implements SJR 58 and prohibits lockdowns and subdivision orders that go beyond gubernatorial orders. It narrows suspension of law exceptions. It does not address the open-ended criminal penalties or “force and effect of law” provisions of the Disaster Act. I also think the suspension of laws delegation on Code of Criminal Procedure is too broad.
- SB 29 prohibits governmental vaccine mandates, lockdowns, or mask mandates, but only for COVID-19.
Bills that could be heard in Senate Health and Human Services, as early as this Wednesday, March 22
The Senate HHS agenda is not yet released, but it could very well include the following on Wednesday:
Broader Vax Bills:
Senator Kolkhorst’s SB 1025, Senator Hall’s SB 303, SB 298, SB 305, SB 514, Senator Perry’s SB 265.
Addressing Flaws in the Health Care System:
Senator Hall’s SB 297, SB 299, SB 301, SB 306, SB 514, SB 666, Senator Springer’s SB 403.
Narrow COVID-19 Bills:
Senator Middleton’s SB 177, Senator Paxton’s SB 426.
Albert Einstein said that time is what keeps everything from happening at once. We are in the stage of the legislature when a whole lot of things happen at once, and we have very little time.
Toward liberty,
Tom Glass
Texas Constitutional Enforcement
www.txce.org
832-472-4726
Texas Resistance to Great Reset Status
Status Report on Texas Resistance to the Great Reset
March 15, 2023
The bills are all filed in the 88th Texas Legislature, and we have already started testifying on bills related to the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset. This is a report on the lay of the legislative land in Texas on resistance to ESG, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and the Great Reset.
Texas Resistance to Implementation or Use of Central Bank Digital Currency
Our flagship legislation is our attempt to get ahead of the introduction of CBDC in the U.S. by adding a recognition of our natural right to store our wealth and use the medium of exchange of mutual choice. Those bills are SJR 67 by Senator Tan Parker and companion HJR 146 by Representative Gio Capriglione, famous for his creation of the Texas Bullion Depository. Click here for background info and a downloadable one pager in PDF form. SJR 67 is assigned to the Senate Business & Commerce Committee. HJR 146 is assigned to House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services chaired by Capriglione.
Note also that Senator Parker has also filed a wonderful resolution to put Texas on record as opposed to the implementation by the Federal Reserve of a CBDC. That is SCR 25, assigned to Senate Business & Commerce. Rep Gio Capriglione has the companion HCR 88, assigned to House State Affairs.
Bad CBDC Bills
Stablecoin Elevation and Regulation
Then there are the bad CBDC bills we need to kill. The first to surface is a bill pushed by a national consortium of state bank regulators, the Conference for State Bank Supervisors. You could call the conference a bureaucracy of bureaucrats. They are pushing two companion bills which they call the Model Money Transmission Modernization Act, SB 895 by Democrat Senator Nathan Johnson and its House companion HB 3573 by Republican Rep Stan Lambert.
The bill replaces the existing money transmission statute in Texas which regulates money transmitters like Paypal and Venmo with the eye-glazing, complex “model” regulator language. There are a number of differences between the two. The most significant of which is that it elevates the terms “money” or “money value” to include stablecoin. The bill does not define stablecoin, but definitions found on the Internet say stablecoin is digital currency whose goal is to maintain parity with a sovereign currency. The best known private stablecoin that I know of is US Dollar Coin (USDC) created by a company called Circle.
A Central Bank Digital Currency is a stablecoin issued by a central bank. The Federal Reserve started a pilot CBDC program last fall.
The bill also explicitly gives the Conference for State Bank Supervisors and another national group, the Money Transmitter Regulators Association the ability to supervise and coordinate regulatory efforts in Texas. You read that right. This bill gives New York and California bureaucrats a way to get involved in going after companies doing business in Texas.
I mentioned the non-Texan running the lives of Texans problem to a staffer at the legislature, and he said, well this is comity between states. I informed him that Texans are becoming less and less inclined to allow other states the ability to run our lives.
I was the sole person testifying about SB 895 when it was heard yesterday in the Senate Business & Commerce hearing yesterday. Click this picture to see that testimony:
UCC Slap at Private Cryptocurrencies and Implicit Aid to CBDC
A few weeks ago, Glenn Beck surfaced the issue that the national organization that recommends modifications to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in state law around the country has recommendations to update each state’s UCC to bash private crypto and implicitly pave the way for CBDC. At the time, the provisions had already passed both chambers South Dakota.
The resultant firestorm caused South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to veto the bill using a VETO brand on the bill. Governor Noem tweeted:
This bill adopts a definition of ‘money’ to specifically exclude crypto like Bitcoin. And it opens the door to the risk that the federal government could adopt a Central Bank Digital Currency. South Dakota will always stand for Economic Freedom.
When the news broke, I searched to see if we had a filed bill in Texas to that effect, and at the time we did not. But, on the next to last day of filing, Senator Angela Paxton filed a large UCC update bill including the offending language (SB 2075). Senator Tan Parker has since signed on as a joint author. The next day, the last day of bill filing, Representative Gio Capriglione filed the companion (HB 5011).
Because, as you saw above, Tan Parker and Gio Capriglione are our champions on resisting CBDC this session, I have sent them and Senator Paxton an email notifying them about the South Dakota experience and recommending stripping out the private digital currency bashing and CBDC enabling language out of those comprehensive UCC update bills, and pointing out the inconsistency of the existing language with the other efforts Parker and Capriglione are leading.
Texas Resistance to ESG
When those who want to control you have deep pockets, are relentless, and are very creative in figuring out ways to do so, you have to be as relentless and creative in your resistance.
Other than to define the ESG acronym (Environment, Social, and Governance) created and being pushed by an ever growing ecosystem of groups and companies on companies via pressures via investment entities, financing entities, and insurance firms, as well as local and federal governments, I am not going to go into the great danger that ESG presents to the livelihoods, wealth, and liberty of Texans.
This will be a survey of the filed bills that we are tracking/pushing this session. Before I dive in, I will point out that there are a number of tools available to push back on ESG in Texas statutes.
The approaches I can think of are:
- Denying companies who push ESG from doing business with Texas or its subdivisions
- Mandating that Texas employees (teachers, firefighters, municipal and county workers, law enforcement, state workers, etc.) be protected by preventing those pension systems from investing in companies pushing ESG.
- Prohibiting ESG based discrimination in Texas (with different methods of enforcement – from private cause of action to attorney general civil suits to criminal penalties.
- Add recognitions of natural rights to the Texas Bill of Rights
- Pre-empting local governments from foisting ESG notions on local businesses
I will present the bills, organized by the statutory tool deployed. Because each tool can be deployed narrowly or more broadly, see also the matrix below that classifies the bills by topic and by tool of resistance.
Denying Doing Business with Texas or its Subdivisions
Last session, Senator Charles Schwertner and Representative Gio Capriglione, both of whom are now chairs in their respective chambers) passed SB 19 that protected firearms or ammunition sellers from financial discrimination by discriminators from doing business with Texas or its subdivisions. The law created by that bill is already having a positive impact.
State Representative Steve Toth has filed HB 982 this session to apply this tool to companies that “use prohibited ESG criteria to evaluate a business decision or investment strategy.” It has been assigned to House State Affairs.
Texas Public Employee Pension Disinvestment
Last session, Senator Birdwell and then Representative (now Senator) Phil King passed SB 13 which mandates Texas pension systems to disinvest in investment firms that discriminate against oil & gas companies. This, too, is already bearing fruit.
This session, Senator Brian Hughes has filed SB 1446 to stop Texas public employee pensions from investing in companies “furthering social, political, or ideological interests.” Presumably, this bill will be assigned to Senate State Affairs, which Senator Hughes chairs.
Prohibiting ESG Discrimination
Senator Hughes has also filed SB 1683 which discriminates ESG and DEI discrimination by finance companies. This bill for which I wrote an initial draft came from the idea that Glenn Beck put forth in his Great Reset book and which is listed in RPT Plank 46 Texas Resistance to the Great Reset, needs a bit more work to insure that it applies to the complete range of finance companies, including money transmitters like Paypal, who has engaged in ESG discrimination recently. But that work is in progress. This also will likely be referred to Chair Hughes’ State Affairs.
State Rep Tom Oliverson, who chairs the House Insurance Committee, has introduced the wonderful HB 1239, which with the current (unposted) committee substitute prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage, discriminating on rates using ESG or DEI factors, or targeting disfavored industries. Senator Phil King, another anti-ESG stalwart, has filed the Senate companion (SB 833). It has been assigned to Senate Business & Commerce, on which King sits. House Insurance Chair Oliverson had a hearing on HB 1239 yesterday March 14. A representative of Texas Public Policy Foundation and I presented testimony in favor.
State Rep Matt Schaefer, the head of the Texas Freedom Caucus, has filed HB 2837 to prohibit credit card companies from “surveilling, reporting, or tracking” purchases of firearms or ammunition. It enforces via Attorney General civil suits.
State Rep Steve Toth has filed HB 645 which prohibits general ESG discrimination, but includes an exception (loophole) that allows it if the company doing the discrimination gives notice that it does so. I will only get excited about this bill if it gets rid of the loophole. If I get the chance, I intend to ask Rep Toth to amend the bill before being heard the assigned House State Affairs Committee.
State Rep Cody Harris has filed the very narrowly applied HB 709 to prohibit ESG discrimination. The bill has two major deficiencies. First it has the loophole that allows discrimination upon notice. Second, it very narrowly applies only to state chartered financial institutions who only make loans to Texas residents or businesses organized under law of the state. This bill has been assigned to the House Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee chaired by Gio Capriglione.
Pre-emption of Municipality ESG Implementation
Senator Brian Birdwell has introduced SB 1017 stopping municipalities from banning use of gasoline engines. This bill was heard in Senate Business & Commerce yesterday, March 14.
Here is a matrix classifying the Texas Resistance to the Great Reset bills discussed here:
We will be watching for the hearings on these bills, and I expect there will be a large turnout for them. Will try to keep this email list posted.
Toward liberty,
Tom Glass
Texas Constitutional Enforcement
www.txce.org
info at tomglass.org