Good morning,

Whether or not Gov. Greg Abbott had the power in 2020 to impose a statewide mask mandate and authorize local mandates, his ability to ban such mandates in 2021 is being ignored by many. In today’s One Click Survey, we ask if the Legislature should step in.

First, here is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

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Finally, A Quorum!

• No, not really.
      
• That’s the header I would have used, if House Speaker Dade Phelan and the Republican leadership had gotten their act together and compelled Democrats to attend the legislative session.
       
• Instead, we’ve gone 34 days with the Texas House unable to conduct the people’s business because Speaker Phelan and the Republican majority refuse to assign penalties to the quorum-busting Democrats. Despite the House voting to arrest the absent Democrats a week ago, not a single arrest has been made. Not a single Democrat has been stripped of a committee chairmanship. Not a single Democrat has been fined.
      
• Why are Dade Phelan and the House GOP protecting the Democrats?

Battle Brews On Redistricting

• A perfect storm of political posturing is taking place in Austin, potentially affecting the disposition of political districts and policy for Texans going forward. Jeramy Kitchen reports the delayed U.S. Census data was received last week. That data confirms what everyone knew: not only that Texas’ population has been booming, but that much of that growth is concentrated in the urban and suburban areas that surround the largest cities.
       
• The 2020 census data officially puts Texas’ population at 29,145,505 – accounting for a 16 percent increase from the population reported in 2010. This increase has afforded Texas two additional congressional seats of the fixed 435 allotted to U.S. Congress, as well as additional representation as a part of the presidential Electoral College.
      
• Attention now turns to map-drawing; using that census data to reset the state’s representational and legislative districts. With the House incapable of drawing a quorum, the calendar for setting the lines – and establishing the 2022 election calendar – is extremely fluid.
   
• “The one constant in this whole process thus far has been uncertainty. A redistricting cycle made more complicated in the wake of a pandemic, coupled with a tumultuous political situation in the Texas House of Representatives, makes the pathway forward extremely unclear.” – Jeramy Kitchen

Masks Demanded!

• Confusion reigns around the state, with elected “executive branch” officials continuing to quarrel over who has the authority to impose mask mandates on the citizenry. Jacob Asmussen reports this leaves Texans caught in the middle, uncertain if they are to follow unscientific dictates that didn’t work the first time around.
     
• The saga began last year, when Gov. Greg Abbott issued executive orders closing businesses and imposing mask mandates in response to the Chinese coronavirus. More recently, in July, the governor issued a new order forbidding local officials from imposing the same mask mandates on citizens he allowed them to enact last year.
       
• On Sunday, the Supreme Court of  Texas announced they had sided with Abbott and temporarily halted local officials’ mask mandates in Dallas and Bexar counties. Yet those jurisdictions remained defiant – insisting they would keep the mandates in place.
      
• And despite a ruling from the Supreme Court of Texas halting school districts’ mask mandates, multiple districts have announced they will enforce them anyway.
       
• Of course, these same school districts expect kids to follow the rules in their student handbooks on everything from attendance to dress code to in-class behavior. As the school districts model lawlessness, they shouldn’t be surprised if they reap lawlessness.

Cruz Blocks DEM Takeover

• U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has blocked congressional Democrats’ latest attempt to give the federal government control over states’ voting rules. Erin Anderson explains why this represents a serious blow to Democrats in D.C. and the Texas Legislature, and what it means for voters.

Seliger Gets Another Challenger In SD31

• Oil and gas businessman Kevin Sparks of Midland has become the second Republican to challenge State Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) in the 2022 primary. Thomas Warren has the details.
   
• Sparks joins Coahoma ISD Trustee Stormy Bradley in the 2022 Republican primary for Senate District 31. Seliger has not yet stated whether he will be seeking re-election.

Mobilizing Liberty

• Not a day goes by in which we don’t hear about Big Tech colluding with the left to censor and silence conservatives. That’s why we are so proud of our relationship with the great men and women of Patriot Mobile.
   
• By switching your cell service to Patriot Mobile, you’re not only denying cash to Big Tech… but you are supporting good causes like Texas Scorecard. Patriot Mobile will be a sponsor of the Conservative Leader Awards in December – so you’ll get to meet this amazing team of patriots.
   
• I’m a Patriot Mobile customer, and hope you will be, too. When you sign up, be sure to let them know Texas Scorecard sent you!

‘Sasquatch-in-Chief’

• Last week, the national publication Politico did a deep dive on Gov. Greg Abbott’s political problems. Central Texas consultant Peter Tucker offers a summary, leading with a comparison Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller made of Gov. Abbott to ‘Sasquatch.’

ONE CLICK SURVEY

For more than a year, Texans’ lives have been governed by fiat mandates issued by the governor and local officials on everything from lockdowns to business restrictions to mask mandates. 

Should the Texas Legislature be the one making the laws we live under, or should “executives” be allowed to issue mandates?

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