Good morning!

Have you noticed state and local governments were quick to label lots of businesses and their employees “non-essential,” yet they aren’t moving to reduce their own spending... or cut your taxes?

Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Modify your email preferences.

• It appears the Texas Workforce Commission hasn’t updated the state’s unemployment numbers since Thursday. In this situation, no news probably shouldn’t be regarded as good news.
      
• The Lone Star State is just 70 days from the July 14, 2020, primary runoff elections that the governor delayed from late-May. This week, Texas Scorecard will be profiling the GOP runoffs, the candidates, and the issues. The first two...
      
• Incumbent Dan Flynn of Van finds himself in the untenable position of being in a runoff against conservative activist Bryan Slaton in east Texas’ House District 2. As Brandon Waltens reports, Dan Flynn was a “Taxpayer Champion” in 2009 and 2011, but his rating on the Fiscal Responsibility Index declined first to a B, then a C. And for the last two legislative sessions, Flynn has earned an F for his dismal record of voting against taxpayers and supporting bloated budgets and new taxes. 
       
• In Brazoria County, Ro’Vin Garrett and Cody Vasut are vying to replace disgraced House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who was forced to retire from public office. Cary Chesire notes both Garret and Vasut come into the GOP runoff with experience being on the ballot, winning campaigns, and serving in elected office.
      
• As Republicans on the national level look to grow Republican majorities in statehouses across the nation, they are looking to an unlikely source for assistance: former Texas House Speaker Joe Straus. For those who may not recall, Straus got the speakership by being the Democrats’ choice along with a dozen disaffected Republicans. Since leaving the legislature, Straus has started his own PAC, which has largely helped fund establishment Republicans against conservative challengers. Brandon Waltens has the details.
      
• A North Texas elementary school teacher shares with Erin Anderson an inside look at how educators are coping with the mandated school closures. Conservative activist Terry Wade is one of more than 350,000 educators who have been teaching remotely since mid-March, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered schools closed.
      
• “It’s been a lesson in patience, prayer, and not sweating the small stuff.” – Terry Wade

• At 4pm today, a coalition of conservative organizations will host a live virtual townhall meeting. It will include leaders of Grassroots America, Gun Owners of America, True Texas Project, Direct Action Texas, Young Americans for Liberty, Texas Home School Coalition, Texas Right to Life, and Empower Texans. Most of all, we want you there! Participate live on Empower Texans’ Facebook page, or watch it afterwards on our YouTube Channel.

• With record unemployment hurting Texas families now, local governments in Tarrant County have a record of making things worse. Robert Montoya reports property tax bills are continuing to climb despite claims from lawmakers that those burdens would go down.
        
• Julie S. of Collin County wrote to me yesterday afternoon: “The county appraisal boards pegged the values as of January 1st, which is way higher than values now. People are out of work, can't pay their mortgage, can't pay their property taxes. Who's going to buy the house at January prices?”
     
• Has your property tax burden gone down? Are your local governments scheming to raise your tax burden this year and next?
       
• The Texas House Freedom Caucus issued a statement yesterday calling for state government to tighten its belt. The group of legislators want “every agency should use zero-based budgeting methods to identify a minimum of 10% of non-essential expenditures to eliminate.”
       
• FWIW, state agencies are run by the governor and the governor’s appointees.
   
• Meanwhile, former State Rep. Talmadge Heflin believes the economic situation in which the state finds itself should cause government agencies to quickly reduce spending. The former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee writes in the Denton Record Chronicle: “Given what we know now, it’s reasonable to ask agencies (with some exemptions, such as Medicaid), to find 15% of their current budgets to cut.” 
        
• Great ideas, fellas! Someone should tell Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. So far, they have refused to even mention spending cuts or the state’s looming budget problems.