*snickering intensifies*
And Gene Wu gets pointed.
Because I like to have fun, I’m going to start with this early-morning unanimous vote in the House State Affairs committee against Briscoe Cain’s ridiculous bill to take over the City of Austin. Rep. Cain’s own colleagues can’t even take him seriously.
I wish the committee had approached much of today’s bill testimony on the sovereignty of Texas and fighting against the U.S. government with as many eyerolls.
I mean, some did. We’ll see if they vote these bills out of committee. Here’s just a little bit of Rep. Cecil Bell defending his bill that would allow the Texas legislature to litigate everything Congress or the Supreme Court does and just…ignore it all. Which is funny because I don’t know if Congress or the Supreme Court will ever again allow anything as radical as desegregation of schools or allowing same-sex marriage, so what’s his problem?
Cecil Bell is somehow only 62 years old. You know who is just a few years younger at 55 years old?
Yes, I do regularly look up Paul Rudd’s age because I can never remember it.
Yesterday, the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee held hearings on a slew of bills about sex crimes. As I mentioned, one is personal to me, and it’s House Bill 324, authored by Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston) which attempts to codify consent. Texas doesn’t have a law that defines consent. Not only does
capture this moment where Rep. Brent Money (R-Greenville) did the whole “there’s horrific stories on both sides” thing, but also points out that Money holds the same seat as former Rep. Bryan Slaton.If you’re not familiar with Bryan Slaton, he was a married Republican representative in his 40s, a Baptist youth minister even, and expelled from the House last session for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a 19-year-old intern in his office. I read the House’s findings and they were horrific. Far worse than inappropriate.
Slaton’s expulsion followed an almost monthlong examination by the House General Investigating Committee after receiving complaints of Slaton's behavior from three Capitol employees and four representatives. On Saturday, the committee released a 16-page report detailing actions taken by Slaton, 45, in furnishing the young woman with large amounts of alcohol before the April 1 encounter and recommending that Slaton be expelled from the House.
In a heartfelt speech, Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, said Slaton had exhibited a “systematic pattern of manipulation” and questioned whether the aide was able to consent at the time of the encounter after Slaton supplied her with several large mixed drinks. And she excoriated Slaton, calling him the “type of man who steals innocence” and who was “not worthy of a position of trust.”
TW: sexual assault. I am going to provide just one part of the House report here in an image. Please just scroll through if you think it will be triggering.
During the hearing, Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) alluded to Slaton while discussing the bill, which I can only assume was a pointed dig at Rep. Money trying to both-sides consent.
The Texas Senate passed its budget yesterday. Here is an overview of what’s in it.
Both chambers would put nearly 70% of the state budget toward health and human services and education, roughly in line with past spending cycles.
In the Senate draft, that includes about $71 billion for the Foundation School Program, the main source of state funding for Texas’ K-12 public schools. More than $4.3 billion would be reserved for targeted teacher pay raises under a Senate bill that proposes salary boosts for instructors based on years of experience and student performance.
Both proposals funnel $6.5 billion to border security, which would bring total state taxpayer spending on such efforts to nearly $18 billion since Texas launched Operation Lone Star in 2021.
Additionally, both chambers have budgeted $6.5 billion for new property tax cuts. Of that, $3 billion is slotted to go to local school districts so they can bring down their tax rates, a cost that lawmakers already committed to in prior tax-cut legislation.
Lawmakers have also proposed dedicating nearly $10 billion to the state’s energy, water and broadband infrastructure.
More light reading:
“How many seniors must die during disasters for Texas to act? Backup power shouldn’t be a privilege.” — op-ed by Carol Alvarado (D-Houston), regarding SB 481: Relating to emergency preparedness and response plans for the continued care and safety of nursing facility and assisted living facility residents.
“Texas' THC ban is unlikely to pass. Expect lawsuits harassing shops while sales persist” — I’m not sure this column actually lays out what the headline claims, but worth understanding the state of this THC business.
Texas speaker says House has more than enough votes to pass school vouchers — It’s time to urge your friends and relatives in areas with Republican House representatives to CALL THEIR REPS AND SAY NO.
Not lege-related, but Houston related: Gov. Greg Abbott showing no rush to replace late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner — “Republicans hold a tiny majority in the House, creating an incentive for Abbott to hold off on calling an election for Turner’s seat, which would likely be filled by a Democrat.”
Texans Might Soon Have to Show Photo ID to Buy a Dildo Online — If this bill authored by Angela Paxton gets a hearing, I’ll write more about it.
Three. Good. Things.
Getting our floors deep cleaned tomorrow. Trust me: they need it. Fostering Houston’s filthy street animals, while incredibly rewarding, can also be pretty disgusting.
I was re-skeeted (ugh, I hate that word) by JERI RYAN today on Bluesky. *hyperventilates*
Cloudy and relatively cool today. Won’t get too many more days like this before the horrors befall us.
Appreciate you Sara! You are one of my best reads for TX news.