Good morning,

School districts have been caught keeping the "gender identity" of students a secret from parents. In today's One Click Survey, we ask for your opinion of that practice.

This is the Texas Minute for Monday, January 29, 2024.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Texas Officials Slam Biden as Border Standoff Continues

• As the standoff between the Texas National Guard and the U.S. Border Patrol at Shelby Park continues, state officials are blasting the Biden administration for facilitating illegal entry into Texas. Will Biagini has the details.
     
• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the Biden administration of working with the cartels to increase illegal immigration.
     
• Gov. Greg Abbott said that Texas is doing just one thing: "The Biden administration has really truly abdicated its responsibility to secure the border and enforce the laws. Texas, very simply, is securing the border."
      
• Meanwhile, more than half of the states in the union are condemning the Biden administration.
       
• "The authors of the U.S. Constitution made clear that in times like this, states have a right of self-defense, under Article 4, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation." – statement issued by the Republican Governors Association

White House Shuts Down Liquid Natural Gas Exports

• The White House announced Friday that the president is putting a “temporary pause on pending decisions of Liquified Natural Gas exports.” As Sydnie Henry explains, Texas is the third largest exporter of LNG in the world.
      
• The move has drawn criticism from state officials, particularly Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham.
     
• “This reckless move is nothing more than retaliation against Texas — for standing up to this administration over the border crisis.” – Dawn Buckingham
       
• The Biden administration claims the "pause" is for environmental reasons.
       
• Even Democrats have come out against the decision, including State Rep. Eddie Morales (D-Eagle Pass).
       
• Gov. Greg Abbott said, “This reckless decision is a gut punch to the hard-working men and women in the energy industry.”

Appeals Court Sides With Taxpayers on Debt-Hiking Constitutional Amendment

• Justices on the 7th District Court of Appeals ruled that a constitutional amendment put before Texans in 2021 by the legislature was not honest with the voters. Brandon Waltens has the story.
      
• At issue was Proposition 2, which passed with 63 percent of the vote. It authorized counties to issue bonds—taxpayer-backed debt—to fund infrastructure and transportation projects in underdeveloped, unproductive, or blighted areas and to use increases in property taxes from those areas to pay off the debt. The problem? The ballot mentioned nothing about new taxes and debt.
     
• As such, a lawsuit was filed by grassroots organizations, and the program was put on hold.

      

• An identical proposal had previously failed at the ballot box when it included information about debt and taxes. In 2021, lawmakers simply removed that language.
      

• "Hidden from view was the ultimate responsibility for payment and its positioning over the voter’s head like the sword of Damocles," explained the court's opinion.

Special Election Pits TLR and Abbott's Treasurer... Against Abbott

• Gov. Greg Abbott's campaign treasurer, Houston businessman John Nau, is spending big in tomorrow's House District 2 special election... against Gov. Abbott's endorsed candidate. Daniel Greer has the full story.
       
• The runoff race features Brent Money and Jill Dutton in a race to fill the unexpired term. Money came in first place in the original election with 32 percent of the vote. Abbott is backing Money in the race, which culminates tomorrow.
        
• Nau, who has been a vocal supporter of Nikki Haley's presidential campaign, is backing Jill Dutton. Also backing Dutton against Abbott's candidate is Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
        
• TLR was behind the effort to remove Attorney General Ken Paxton from office and has been working against Abbott in a number of high-profile races. The group is backing loyalists to House Speaker Dade Phelan, including Republican incumbents Glenn Rogers, Steve Allison, and DeWayne Burns.

Williamson County GOP Faces ‘Power Struggle’ Over Securing Election

• Members of Williamson County’s Republican Party are accusing the party’s chairman of failing to obtain the required approval before contracting with the county elections office to run the March 2024 GOP primary. As Erin Anderson reports, this allegedly involved bypassing party rules and disregarding members’ requests to make primary election voting more secure.

        
• Last fall, a group of Williamson County GOP precinct chairs wanted to amend the party’s primary election contract to include a manual sign-in along with the electronic voter check-in process. They said this would make the election more secure. The party chairman, Steve Armbruster, refused to review the proposal.
     
• Armbruster signed a contract with the Williamson County Elections Department to administer the party’s March 5 primary election without the review or approval of county GOP's executive committee members.
      
• Members of the committee are now considering legal action to force the county to amend the contract to include the more stringent requirements.

Hays High School Clerk Charged with Grooming Student for Sex

• An employee at Hays Consolidated Independent School District has been arrested and accused of having an improper relationship with a student. Danielle Dunn is facing felony charges for grooming a student for a sexual relationship. Emily Medeiros reports the woman has been fired by the district.

Quote-Unquote

"If the family goes, so goes our civilization."

– Ronald Reagan​

ONE CLICK SURVEY

A lawsuit filed against Arlington ISD is rooted in questions over the district's policies regarding gender-confused students. Meanwhile, an investigation into Anna ISD found the district allowed a student to dress and identify as the other gender without informing the parents.

Should Texas school districts be required to inform a parent (or other legal guardian) when a minor asks to be known by a different name or gender in class? 

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!