Legislative Status Report

April 16, 2023 (Day 96 of 140 of the 88^th Texas Legislature)

Upcoming Bill Hearings Week of April 17

Monday, April 17:

Senate State Affairs:

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.