Legislative Action Alerts and Status Report

May 13, 2023 (Day 123 of 140 of the 88^th Texas Legislature)

I played basketball in my youth.  The nature of the sport is one of constant action and reaction.  The pace was so fast that I would go into a kind of haze when playing such that I often could not remember what happened after the game was over.  I think I may be in a legislative haze, now.  Just constantly seeing what action is next to advance and score.  Much is happening.  We have lots to do.

Huge Victory in House on HJR 146 Capriglione’s Right to Use Currency of Choice! Now the Senate.

On Wednesday, May 10, 2023, the Texas House cast a historic vote for HJR 146, Giovanni Capriglione’s addition of the right to use currency of choice to the Texas Bill of Rights.  The vote was 139 to 2, far surpassing the 2/3 needed to move a constitutional amendment to a vote of the people.  The Tweet about that victory has gone viral, having been seen 692 thousand times and with over 2100 hundred comments that are overwhelmingly positive.  The vote has gotten a good amount of press, as well.

HJR 146 has now been assigned to Chair Charles Schwertner’s Business & Commerce Committee.  The next step is for Chair Schwertner to hold a hearing on the bill and rapidly vote it to the Senate floor.  Senator Tan Parker is our Senate champion.

ACTION ITEM:  Send emails to each Texas Senator urging quick passage of HJR 146 using this link.  (I am told that by this group’s actions, we delivered more than 100 emails to each member of the House to deliver our victory there.)

Click here to read more background and rationale and to find a PDF one pager in support of HJR 146.

Setback on Border Security and Path Forward to Victory

The most important, comprehensive border security bill, Matt Schaefer’s HB 20 was killed on a point of order this week by the Speaker who had given the bill priority.  Fortunately, we have two vehicles for tide-turning, game-changing action still in play.  One is the other Speaker border bill of HB 7, which has passed the House and has been assigned to the Chair Brian Birdwell’s Senate Border Security Committee.  I have not confirmed it, but I am told by those in the know that Chair Birdwell will be the HB 7 sponsor in the Senate.

In the early morning hours of May 10, the Border Protection Unit (BPU) jumped in emasculated form from HB 20 to HB 7.  Our task in the Senate is to de-emasculate it by substituting a version of HB 7 that will:

• Remove the county veto on deployment of the BPU defending its portion of the border.
• Taking off restrictions on where the BPU can operate in Texas.
• Reinstating building a wall in BPU duties.
• Reinstating a two-tiered employee structure consisting of peace officers with full arrest authority and other “non-commissioned officers” to provide logistical support and less arrest authority in the border area. This idea is vital to rapidly staffing the BPU to meet the challenge.

The other vehicle is the Lois Kolkhorst declaration of imminent danger and cartel invasion with a robust rationale for invoking the power of Texas to defend itself as authorized under Article I, Section 10 (SCR 23).  I consider this to be the most important legislative need on border security this session because it gets Texas ready to respond to a federal challenge to the governor’s independent actions to repel at the border.  It tells the governor that the legislature and the people of Texas have his back as he does what is necessary to protect us.

ACTION ITEM:  Use this link to email Texas House State Affairs Todd Hunter to urge him to rapidly hear and pass SCR 23.

I will be pushing to meet with Chair Brian Birdwell and staff to determine what he is willing to substitute in HB 7.  If we don’t get progress soon on SCR 23, I may urge him to put its essence into HB 7, as well.  Standby for action on this one.

Note that we had a victory this week in getting the border interstate compact from the Senate passed with one minor amendment in the House (SB 1403 Parker w Spiller House sponsor).  That bill implements one third of the RPT Border Security Legislative Priority.  We only need the Senate to concur before going on to the governor.

Hearings The Week of May 15

Monday, May 15:

House State Affairs: (1:30 pm or after House Session, JHR 140, the Reagan Building is on the north side of the Capitol complex.  )

SB 1104 Birdwell w House sponsor Slawson – Fixes some of the separation of powers problems of Texas Disaster Act and Texas Emergency Act.  Prohibits future lockdowns.  Limits what laws can be suspended.  Note that this bill refers to constitutional language that would be created by SJR 58 if passed, but SJR 58 is not currently up for hearing.

I will be supporting passage to the floor, but urging floor amendments to:

• Eliminate open ended criminal penalties in Texas Disaster Act (see HB 107).
• Eliminate lying “force and effect of law” language in Texas Disaster Act equating executive orders with law. I call the attempt to elevate orders to law, “trans-law.”  It is executive orders IDENTIFYING as law, in violation of separation of powers.
• Add mask mandate prohibition (See HB 154).
• Clarify that elements of the Code of Criminal Procedure that protect due course of law cannot be suspended during emergencies.

Click here to provide remote online comments for the record between now and hearing end.

Senate State Affairs:  (Senate Chamber)

HB 2837:  Schaefer w Schwertner Senate sponsor -- Prohibits credit card companies from “surveilling, reporting, or tracking” purchases of firearms or ammunition.  Enforced via Attorney General civil suits.

A number of other interesting bills being heard in this committee:

HB 3506: Caroline Harris w Hughes Senate sponsor – Eliminates the DNA of victims of crime and suspects eliminated of suspicion from criminal DNA databases.

HB 5180: Wilson w Hughes Senate sponsor – Another bill requiring specific election records be made available to public.

HB 1243: Hefner w Hughes Senate sponsor – Takes penalty for illegal voting back up to felony.

Wednesday, May 17:

House State Affairs: (10:30 am or after House session, JHR 140, the Reagan Building is on the north side of the Capitol complex)

SB 330 Hall w House sponsor Schaefer – All hazards grid and critical infrastructure bill including protections against EMP and solar flares.  Senator Hall (and my group Protect the Texas Grid) have been working on this for 5 sessions.  If we can get a quick vote after this hearing, we may actually make it this session.

SJR 35 Birdwell – Constitutional amendment confirming that only citizens can vote.  This passed unanimously out of the Senate.

Note that this hearing will also include several other bills that Texas Constitutional Enforcement is not taking a position on, but will likely be of interest to many of you:

SB 1910 Bettencourt – Beefing up public information law to confirm need for making election records available to the public.  Bill is in context of election integrity wars in Harris County and Matress Mack’s lawsuit against Harris County seeking election records.

SJR 52 Birdwell – Extends sunset of Article V application made in 2017 from 8 years to 16 years. That extends the sunset date from 2025 to 2033.  This is the big bill being promoted by the Convention of States.

Because this is a House committee, you can make online written comments for the record using this link.

Status on Other Bills We are Supporting

Medical Freedom

Here are bills that are broad prohibitions on mandating vaccinations:

• HB 44 Swanson / SB 303 Hall – 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 and heard and pending in Senate HHS.
• SB 265 Perry – 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. Referred to House Public Health. No scheduled hearing, yet.
• SB 1024 Kolkhorst – 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.  Referred to House State Affairs. No scheduled hearing, yet.
• SJR 66 Hall – Addition to Texas Bill of Rights of right to decline medical treatment, including vaccination. Status:  Heard in HHS. Left pending.

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, out of House Pub Health and in House Calendars. SB 177 only bill eligible to be heard on House floor now.
• SB 29 Birdwell – Prohibits governmental vaccine mandates, lockdowns, or mask mandates for COVID-19. Status:  Passed Senate.  Heard in House State Affairs. Pending vote in House State Affairs.
• SB 426 Paxton – Prohibits Texas bureaucracies from interfering with doctors prescribing off-label medicines to address COVID-19. Status: Passed Senate. Referred to House Public Health. No scheduled hearing, yet.
• SB 403 Springer / HB 1313 Burrows – Texas study on adverse reactions of COVID-19 vax. Status: SB 403 passed Senate. Referred to House Public Health.  HB 1313 heard in Public Health, but no longer eligible to be voted in full House.  Need SB 403 hearing in Public Health.

Bills Relating to Practice of Medicine and Patient Rights:

• SB 301 Hall – 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.  Referred to House Public Health. No scheduled hearing, yet.
• SB 1583 Hall – 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:  Taken off Senate intent calendar. Likely dead.
• SB 666 Hall – 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. Unassigned in House.
• SB 299 Hall – 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.

Stopping Future Executive Overreach:

• SJR 58 / HB 1104 Birdwell w House lead Slawson – Constitutional amendment requiring legislative involvement after 30 days for large-scale disasters. Implementing HB 1104 statute stops future lockdowns and limits scope of what laws can be suspended.  Status:  Passed Senate. Referred to House State Affairs. HB 1104 scheduled for hearing Monday.  See above.
• HB 107 Schaefer – Removes separation-of-power-violating open-ended penalties provision in Texas Disaster Act. Since this bill is dead in the House, am urging Schaefer to add it as amendment to HB 1104 if we can get HB 1104 to the House floor.

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. Referred to House State Affairs. No scheduled hearing, yet.

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.  Heard in House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services. Interesting, wide ranging, robust, testimony, the morning after most legislators had gotten to sleep at 3 am.  See video of some of the hearing.
• 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.  The now dead HB 3619 heard in House Higher Ed, but still alive SB 1489 hearing not scheduled, yet.

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:  Passed House.  Hearing schedule in Senate State Affairs, Wednesday, May 17. See above.
• 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.  Amended SB 833 passed Senate, referred to House Insurance.
• SB 1060 Hughes -- Prohibits ESG related shareholder proposals from being adopted for Texas insurers and insurer holding companies. Status:  Passed Senate. Passed House Insurance. Paperwork languishing for 9 days, so not to Calendars, yet.
• SB 1607 Kolkhorst -- Prohibits money transmitters like Paypal from fining their customers for their speech. Status:  Passed Senate.  Heard to House Pensions, Investments & Financial Services. Waiting on committee vote.

Pre-emption of Municipality ESG Implementation

• SB 1860 Hughes / HB 4930 Craddick – Prohibits cities from passing charter amendments that create climate change policies. Status:  SB 1860 passed Senate and passed as amended in House. Pending Senate concurrence.

Stopping Social Media Suppression

• HB 3751 Cain / SB 1602 Hughes – Keeps trials against social media under Texas law in Texas, in other words the venue will be in Texas. Status: SB 1602 passed Senate, and House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence. On House Calendar for Monday, May 15.
• HB 3752 Cain / SB 2510 King – Adds statutory damages from social media companies to Texans who have been suppressed. Status: Author of HB 3752 postponed on House floor, killing own bill.  SB 2510 not heard in committee.  Appears dead.
• HB 4397 Cain / SB 2509 King – includes suppression of Texans speech on social media in definition of deceptive trade practice, enabling penalties of Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). Status: SB 2509 passed Senate. Referred to House Business & Industry. No scheduled hearing, yet.

Monetary stability/Opposition to CBDC

• HJR 146 Capriglione w Senate sponsor Parker – Addition to Texas Bill of Rights to recognize natural right to use currency of choice. Status: Passed House.  Referred to Senate Business & Commerce. (see above)
• SB 2334 Hughes / HB 4903 Dorazio – Digital warehouse receipts/currency backed by gold and silver in Texas Bullion Depository. Status:  SB 2334 is vehicle forward.  Heard in Senate Finance. Waiting on committee vote. HB 4903 was placed on last day Calendar, but now is dead as vehicle.
• SCR 25 Parker -- Texas resolution against Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Status: Passed Senate. Waiting to be heard in House State Affairs.

Election Integrity Enforcement

SB 1927 Hughes – The only bill that will be effective in seeing enforcement of election law in big counties in 2024 and beyond.  Beefs up existing State Prosecutor Office, delegating independent prosecutorial authority for election integrity, public integrity, abortion, and human trafficking.  Status:  Taken off Senate intent calendar.  Needs to be put back on track.  Click here to learn more and email Lieutenant Governor and Republican Senators.

Senate Bills that need a hearing in House State Affairs:

• SCR 23 Kolkhorst w Schaefer in House – Invocation of Article I, Sec 10 self-defense reservation of power to Texas, declaring cartel invasion and imminent danger. Also calls on feds to declare cartels terrorists. (Border Security)
• SJR 58 Birdwell w House lead Slawson – Constitutional amendment requiring legislative involvement after 30 days for large-scale disasters. Implementing HB 1104 by Birdwell statute is being heard Monday, May 15. (see above) It stops future lockdowns and limits scope of what laws can be suspended. (Medical Freedom)
• 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. (Great Reset)
• SB 1024 Kolkhorst – 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. (Medical Freedom)
• SCR 25 Parker – Texas resolution against Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Email the House State Affairs Committee Clerk, Ginny Holloway ([email protected]) to communicate to Chair Todd Hunter that you would like to see timely hearings for these important Senate Bills.

Senate Bills that need a hearing in House Public Health

• SB 301 Hall – 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.
• SB 265 Perry – 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.
• SB 403 Springer w House sponsor Burrows – Texas study on adverse reactions of COVID-19 vax.
• SB 426 Paxton – Prohibits Texas bureaucracies from interfering with doctors prescribing off-label medicines to address COVID-19.

Email the House Public Health Committee Clerk, Teri Avery ([email protected]) to communicate to Chair Stephanie Klick that you would like to see timely hearings for these important Senate Bills.

Senate Bills in House Calendars or headed to Calendars that have a chance and need pushing

Senate Bills that Have to Make it onto Calendar by Tue, May 23:

• SB 177 – Middleton w Harrison House sponsor -- 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. 
• SB 1060 Hughes -- Prohibits ESG related shareholder proposals from being adopted for Texas insurers and insurer holding companies.