Dear Friends,

You've probably heard by now about the chaos at the Capitol on Tuesday as the House was beginning to debate and vote on SB14 (ban gender modification bill).  It was a totally CRAZY day!  The gallery was about two-thirds filled with supporters in red shirts that said "Protect Texas Kids".  The others were the opposition to the bill, mostly wearing blue shirts that said "Protect Trans Kids". 

When the bill was called, the opposition people started screaming, chanting, unfurling banners over the railing, and generally shouting down the lawmakers on the House floor with their noise.  DPS immediately stepped in to remove the disrupters, but that only escalated the screaming.  Eventually, Speaker Phelan called for DPS to clear the entire gallery.  Arrests were made and people went to jail, but the Travis County DA refused to prosecute, citing "insufficient evidence", so the people were released later Tuesday night.

A point of order was called before the chaos began, and the bill was recommitted to the committee to fix a minor detail in the analysis report.  The committee did that quickly, and Calendars Committee has re-scheduled the vote for today, Friday May 5.

We will probably see a repeat of this activity on Friday when they try again.  And the trans supporters will be back, probably in bigger numbers.  And why not?  There are no consequences to their bad behavior, so there's nothing to stop them. 

We can't let the other side win just by being loud.and obnoxious! There are 65 sponsor or co-sponsors on this bill.  I know there are another 11 who could vote for it, so there is no reason it should not pass.

SB14 is the first thing on the Major State Calendar today.  The House gavels in at 10:00 am.  If you cannot be there, you can watch the live feed at this link.

What else is happening at TexLege? (besides mooning the House of Representatives, shouting down the Speaker of the House, and people getting arrested?)  Still work to be done!

The House Elections Committee is sitting on a pile of good election bills that need attention.  Four of them were heard in public hearing on Thursday.  There are also a lot of other bills stuck in the committee.  See my detailed report on all the bills by clicking here. (including what YOU can do).

**NOTE:  The 4 bills that were in public hearing Thursday are showing no updates today.

Some important bills that need action:

SB1927 is the only approach to actually getting effective enforcement of election integrity law in time for the 2024 presidential elections this session. It creates a special prosecutor department to specifically prosecute election crimes.  It was placed on the Senate intent calendar and then removed.  We've been told that Lt. Gov. Patrick is the hold up.  Read Tom Glass' article about SB1927 here.  He does a good job of relating why this bill in particular is better than the others that address the AG not able to prosecute election crimes issue.

ACTION:  Contact Lt. Gov Patrick - urge him to bring 1927 back to the floor for a vote.  You can share your opinion with Lt. Dan using this form.  Or by phone at  (512) 463-0001

ACTION:  Contact Your Senator - ask him/her to press Lt. Gov Patrick to bring 1927 back for a vote.

SB163 is the bill that would make permanent the "opt in" status for sex ed.  It has passed the Senate and is now set for hearing in House Public Ed committee on Tuesday May 9.

ACTION:  Go to the Capitol and testify in support of SB163 on Tuesday, or make an on line comment at this link.

SB12 - restricting drag shows on public property, on the premises of a commercial enterprise, or in the presence of a child, has passed the Senate, and been assigned to the House State Affairs Committee, where it is about to die a quick death.

ACTION:  Contact members of the House State Affairs Committee and demand that they protect Texas children from these obscene performances by passing this bill. (NOTE:  there are not a lot of friendlies on this committee, so you need to persuade them that it's politically profitable to do the right thing)

BORDER SECURITY BILLS stuck in the swamp - HB7, HB20, and HB82 are stuck in committees.  7 and 20 have been reported to Calendars, but not scheduled.  20 has not yet been reported to Calendars.

ACTION:  Contact members of the House State Affairs Committee and tell them to get HB20 reported to Calendars.

ACTION:  Contact members of the House Calendars Committee and tell them to get HB7 and HB82 scheduled for a floor vote.

HB1605 - education bill that will weaken local control, add more technology to classrooms, and cost taxpayers a bundle has passed the House, and has been referred to Senate Education Committee.  We would like to see the Senate Ed Committee kill this bill.  It's an uphill climb because it's very popular, but it looks like the lobbyists and the TEA commissioner have convinced the lawmakers it's a good thing.  It is not!

ACTION:  Contact YOUR Senator, and members of the Senate Education Committee.  Urge them to NOT move this bill forward.

NOTE:  There is also a Senate bill, SB2565, which started out identical to HB1605, but has now been amended.  It has passed Senate and is now in  House Public Ed Committee.  Kill this one too!

Here's what's up for our Tuesday at the Capitol next week, May 9

Let's meet up at 9:00 am in front of Hearing room E2.036.

• We will register for some bills being heard in committee that day
• We have papers to deliver to ALL legislators (181 of them!)
• We can drop green or red cards in calendars committee
• We will have TTP position papers that can be delivered to key committees.

Thanks to everyone for all your efforts!  Let's be in prayer today for the lawmakers and activists at the Capitol and pray that the House does the right thing, and passes SB14 without amendment so that it can move swiftly to the Governor for signing into law.

God blessed Texas!,

Fran Rhodes, President, True Texas Project

PS:  Citizen Advocate Training is happening on May 13, hosted by Robertson County GOP.  It will be 8:30 am to 12:30 pm in Calvert, TX.  You can register here.  The workshop is free, but they need registrations.  For detailed information on all our training programs, and upcoming schedules, visit our Certified True Texan Program page on our website.  Next one up after May is June 2 & 3 in Katy.