Day 16: Paper Files, Border Lies, And The Ethics Commission On Life Support
From outdated records to overblown border costs, Texas faces crisis after crisis.
Although the House didn’t meet yesterday, the Dunn crew still was out, causing chaos, starting with J. M. Lozano (R-HD43). Lozano has been in the Texas House for 14 years and, up until this year, has primarily served as a background character, rarely speaking out or making his presence known. But he’s been enticed by Tim Dunn’s money, and hoping to cash in during the next election cycle, he’s putting himself out there as an extremist this year. Starting with this memo, he sent out yesterday:
Let’s pretend like the far right didn’t spend the last week crying about the rules, the Housekeeping resolution, their 62 Democratic peers, the long weekend, and try to push through the extremist’s version of Housekeeping. Lozano’s Housekeeping proposal includes:
Requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in the House. A gross violation of the separation of church and state.
Protect women’s restrooms, which is just anti-trans nonsense.
Eliminate restrictions on House resources for political purposes. Because there isn’t enough partisan bullshit as it is?
Prohibit pronouns. Since Lozano does not have preferred pronouns, members can call him a “she, it, or demon” as they see fit.
Restrict alcohol on the House floor and public spaces. This is the only thing I agree with since the majority of Republicans are drunks.
Lozano’s proposals are not serious, and it’s doubtful Speaker Burrows will take them seriously.
Day 14 - Senate Finance Committee, Budget Hearings - Day Four.
The first testimony yesterday was from Secretary of State Jane Nelson. Y’all. It’s so bad. The Secretary of State in Texas is responsible for managing our elections, and as it turns out, they are running their department on paper. Yes, paper, as in the way we used to do business back in the 1900s.
Not only that, but they’ve used so much paper over the last several decades that their building is so full of paper records, filing cabinets, and microfiche machines that they’ve run out of workspace. Nelson spoke about how closets, the basement, and entire offices are unusable because they’re full of filing cabinets. All it would take is one match, and the history of Texas elections is up in flames.
The Secretary of State’s website was built in 2002 and has not been updated. The Rudder Building, where they are located, has not been renovated since the 1980s. Since all the election data is on paper, this raises many security concerns.
The Secretary of State’s office is so understaffed that it struggles to keep up with the workload. Nelson has requested money to digitize records and free up workspace in the office, but we’ll see if the Legislature gives it.
Next up is the Office of the Governor.
Since much of Operation Lone Star passes through the Governor’s office, it’s important to note that yesterday’s representative said that Texans would save $200 million per month by transferring the National Guard to federal control. This implies that it doesn’t make sense to fund another $6.5 billion on the border with our tax dollars.
Abbott’s office has also requested nearly $700 million for semiconductor manufacturing development and has received 66 applications for this funding. How can they accept applications for a program before they even ask the Legislature for the money? It’s pure corruption.
They also requested $5 million to protect synagogues and churches from acts of terrorism, but not mosques.
What happens when the Ethics Commission is understaffed and underfunded?
Some of you may even be surprised that Texas has an Ethics Commission, considering the level of unadulterated corruption we see from Texas Republicans. But keeping them underfunded and understaffed helps more Republicans get away with breaking the laws.
Since the last legislative session, the Ethics Commission has seen a 62% increase in calls to the legal helpline and a 175% increase in complaints filed. The legal team consists of only five enforcement attorneys, making it challenging to manage the growing volume of complaints and inquiries.
If you’re interested in hearing about more departments that are underfunded and overworked, here are the YouTube links to some of the other agencies that testified yesterday:
The Senate Finance Committee is just getting started.
Next week, we’ll hear testimony from even more agencies struggling with outdated infrastructure, budget shortfalls, and rising service demands. Meanwhile, the House will finally reconvene after their long weekend, and all eyes will be on Speaker Burrows as we anticipate the release of House committee assignments. Expect plenty of drama as the power plays and political ambitions that have simmered since the session began to come to a boil.
Stay tuned for next week’s fireworks. We’ll see which lawmakers are ready to step up and govern and which are just here to push their far-right agendas at taxpayers’ expense. Same circus, different clowns.
January 31: Left In Texas Podcast - Representative Christina Morales
February 2: Senate Finance Committee - Article III (Education and voucher scheme funding)
March 14: The last day Legislators can file bills.
June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.
Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.
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