Rather than defend Texans rights, Gov. Abbott is urging lawmakers to find “consensus.”

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Here is today's Texas Minute.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Thursday, September 5, 2019

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Texas Democrats rallied Wednesday to demand a special session on gun-control measures, but Gov. Greg Abbott has refused to rule out any of the Democrats’ proposals. Instead, Cary Cheshire reports [[link removed]], Abbott is urging Democrats to stop speaking from behind the media and “start talking to colleagues in the Capitol to reach consensus.”

Among the proposals pushed by Texas Democrats are “extreme risk protective order laws,” which Abbott himself has previously pushed. These laws – known as “red-flag” laws – would circumvent the Constitution’s due-process clause by denying Texans’ rights on the basis of hearsay.

Consensus? Compromise? On our Second Amendment rights? Maybe the governor should tell the Democrats to pound sand [[link removed]].

For what it’s worth, the Texas GOP Platform opposes every item promoted by the Democrats in their latest run against Texans’ right to keep and bear arms.

In this week’s edition of Texas Scorecard Radio [[link removed]], Tony McDonald interviews former U.S. Rep. Allen West, a candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Texas. Meanwhile, Cary Cheshire has a commentary on the failure of Gov. Greg Abbott’s ill-considered tax swap scheme earlier this year.

Another one drops out... A fifth incumbent Republican member of Congress from Texas is calling it quits ahead of the 2020 election. U.S. Rep. Bill Flores announced via Twitter [[link removed]] yesterday that he won’t be seeking re-election. Brandon Waltens has the details [[link removed]]. ​

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​ County commissioners and city councils around the state [[link removed]] are grabbing as much cash from taxpayers’ wallets before next year, when a new state law will require them to ask citizens’ permission before raising taxes more than 3.5 percent in a year.

The Travis County Commissioners Court is about to take more of the taxpayers’ money... and they’re pocketing some it. Jacob Asmussen reports [[link removed]] Travis County will take about $126 more from the average homeowner’s wallet. Some of those higher taxes will go to pay the raises county commissioners are giving themselves.

In north Texas, the Saginaw City Council is proposing a tax rate that would raise Saginaw homeowners’ city tax bills 57 percent from six years ago. Robert Montoya has the details [[link removed]]. Meanwhile, the city council in Arlington is proposing [[link removed]] a property tax rate that would raise the average homeowners’ tax bills 8.99 percent from last year, and nearly 53 percent from just six years ago.

Did you know... Even if Texas Scorecard Radio [[link removed]] isn’t broadcast locally, you can catch every edition on Spotify [[link removed]], iTunes [[link removed]], Google Play [[link removed]], SoundCloud [[link removed]], or Stitcher [[link removed]].

Number of the Day

5,119

The number of votes Sam Houston received to become the first president of the Republic of Texas, out of 6,449 ballots cast.

[Source: author calculation]

Today in History

On Sept. 5, 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas. His vice president, and successor to the presidency, was Mirabeau Lamar.

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PO Box 36875 | Houston, TX 77236 The Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day that we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is produced on week days and distributed at 6 a.m. (though I'll probably take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

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