Special Session #4 Updates: Education & Border Security Focus
Bills Passed in Special Session #4
SB 3 - Signed by the governor, effective March 5, 2024. Provides $1.54 billion for border barrier infrastructure, increases law enforcement overtime pay, and funds additional law enforcement at Colony Ridge in Liberty County. Signed by the governor.
Montgomery County Legislators
Coauthors: Senators Bettencourt, Creighton, and Kolkhorst
Cosponsors: Representatives Bell & Metcalf
SB 4 - Signed by the governor, effective March 5, 2024. Makes it a crime to enter Texas illegally and authorizes six months to two years in state jail. Illegals also may be returned to port of entry and ordered to leave the country or face additional jail time. This bill has been sent to the governor to sign.
Montgomery County Legislators
Coauthors: Senators Bettencourt, Creighton, and Kolkhorst
Cosponsor: Representative Metcalf
Latest Updates
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If you are concerned about an issue that has not been addressed by the 88th Texas Legislature, contact Governor Abbott to urge him to call for a fifth special session to conduct the people’s unfinished business.
Contact Governor Abbott
(512) 463-2000
Send an emailSuggested Phone Script or Email
I am concerned about [issue or bill, such as legislation to stop election crime] not being passed by the 88th Texas Legislature. I urge you to add this to the current agenda or the next special session to ensure progress in this area.
Sincerely, [your name]
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Governor Abbott has been endorsing challengers to Republican incumbents who voted against School Choice. Attorney General Ken Paxton also has been endorsing challengers to incumbents who voted for his impeachment in an effort to remove RINOs and Uniparty Republicans from the Texas House.
Governor Abbott’s Endorsements
Governor Abbott recently announced endorsements against Representative Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches and Representative Drew Darby of San Angelo. This brings his list of endorsed Republican incumbent challengers to five so far.AG Paxton’s Endorsements
Attorney General Paxton has endorsed the following against Republican incumbents:1) David Covey (challenging House Speaker Dade Phelan)
2) Wes Virdell (challenging Rep. Andrew Murr)
3) Andy Hopper (challenging Rep. Lynn Stucky)
4) Mike Olcott (challenging Rep. Glenn Rogers)
5) John Perez (challenging Rep. Mano DeAyala)
6) Matt Morgan (challenging Rep. Jacey Jetton)
7) Dale Huls (challenging Rep. Gary VanDeaver)
8) Devvie Duke (in the open race to replace Rep. Doc Anderson)
9) Wade Cowan (challenging Rep. Dustin Burrows)
If AG Paxton’s endorsed candidates are successful, he will have done Texans a huge favor by helping to take out the so-called “Dirty Dozen.”
Learn more about the “Dirty Dozen” by watching The Texas Heist.
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Border security legislation to create a state penalty for illegal entry into Texas has been sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, as well as increased funding for border barrier infrastructure. See “Bills Passed in Special Session #4” above.
Education legislation, including Education Savings Accounts, was killed in the House. Governor Abbott has talked about calling a fifth special session and working through Christmas, but no word yet on his final decision. He has been calling new sessions as soon as the previous session ended, so it will be worth watching closely on December 6 to see what he does.
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When lawmakers left town for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Texas House had removed Education Savings Accounts from HB 1, their Education & School Choice bill. Governor Abbott has said he will continue calling special sessions until School Choice passes.
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With a Republican-Democrat coalition of 20+ Republicans and all 64 House Democrats, the House removed Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) from HB 1 on a vote of 84-63.
An amendment brought by Republican Rep John Raney to remove the legislation was approved, despite two points of order by Rep. Tony Tinderholt to save the Article establishing ESAs.
Ernest Bailes (HD 18), who represents a section of Montgomery County, voted in favor of the amendment to remove ESAs.
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HB 1, which includes the education savings account program, was considered in the House Calendars Committee yesterday and placed on the General State Calendar today.
HB 1 - Relating to primary and secondary education, including the certification, compensation, and health coverage of certain public school employees, the public school finance system, special education in public schools, the establishment of an education savings account program, measures to support the education of public school students that include certain educational grant programs, reading instruction, and early childhood education, the provision of virtual education, and public school accountability.
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The House passed the wall construction bill SB3 with the amendment to provide support to local law enforcement agencies with funding. The bill also provides for $40 million for TDPS to police Colony Ridge, providing monetary support to SB 4. The amended bill now goes to the Senate for approval.
The House also passed SB 4 without amendment, though not for lack of trying. Twenty-four (24) amendments were attempted on the house floor, all failing, reportedly, thankfully as Jared Patterson (HD 106, R) motioned to end debate, which passed. This bill provides for criminal penalties for illegally entry and presence in the state.
The House adjourned until Friday.
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Update from Representatives Steve Toth, Nate Schatzline, Tony Tinderholt, and Brian Harrison.
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From Tom Glass, Texas Constitutional Enforcement
It looks like we are breaking through on a good border bill that will not only criminalize the act of an alien crossing the border outside a port of entry inSB 4to Texas, but will allow removal after due process of that alien after collection of biometric data in lieu of a criminal conviction.
SB 4 has already passed the Senate and has passed unamended out of House State Affairs, headed to the House floor (if quorum can be obtained, but that is another story).
The backstory on this is HUGE. Especially to this group that understands that in the current situation of deliberate lawbreaking by a stolen, corrupt federal government that is endangering and killing Texans, a state sovereignty mindset is vital.
The problem has been that Senator Birdwell does NOT have a state sovereignty mindset. He is a federal supremacist, deferring the security of Texans to the very feds that are deliberately endangering us. Birdwell is an honorable man and committed to honor his oath to the Constitution as his independent judgement dictates.
The problem is that Birdwell is DEAD WRONG in his interpretation of the U.S. Constitution on this issue. And because he had been appointed the lead in the Senate on border security by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, he has been stopping the legislature from passing legislation that will actually defend Texans from the collusion between the feds and the cartels that endangers us all.
The news here is that Birdwell's fellow Republican Senators behind the scenes persuaded Dan Patrick that Birdwell had it wrong and to turn over the bill for this session to Senator Charles Perry, so that an effective bill could be passed.
Attorney General Ken Paxton appeared as an invited witness in front of Birdwell's Border Security Committee at the beginning of the regular session early this year. In that presentation, Paxton told Birdwell that US v Arizona was wrongly decided and that he predicted that given the facts of today and the current composition of the court, that SCOTUS opinion could be overturned. US v Arizona has been viewed as saying that the federal government has complete control over "immigration" issues and that states are powerless when the feds either do not do their duty, or worse as is the case now, deliberately destroy the security of Texas.
I told Senator Birdwell later in that hearing that the U.S. Constitution reserves the natural right of self-defense to Texas in the final exception clause of Article I, Sec. 10. It is a pre-Tenth Amendment reservation of power to Texas that Texas gets to decide when and how to implement without second guessing or permission from the federal judiciary. But he could not hear or accept that.
The fact is that We the People of Texas are the bosses. Through our state government and the U.S. Constitution, we are the masters of the feds, delegating a few defined powers to them. We did not Constitutionally and should not turn over our security and surrender our sovereignty to a corrupt, stolen federal government when it "evinces a design to reduce [us] under absolute Despotism."
I salute Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and the other members of the Senate for holding firm to THEIR interpretation of the Constitution on this matter!
Senator Birdwell voted with the Democrats in the Senate against SB 4. But every other Republican Senator who was there voted for it to pass it.
Toward liberty,
Tom Glass
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Montgomery County Representative Steve Toth posted an update on Twitter/X this afternoon. He was joined by Representatives Nate Schatzline, Brian Harrison, and Tony Tinderholt.
“This is the third time that we could not make quorum in this special session,” said Representative Toth. “Thirty-four Democrats out of 64 didn’t bother to show up and of course some Republicans as well.”
“We’ve still got border security bills to pass and education freedom,” said Representative Harrison. “We’ve got important work for the people of Texas that we’re not doing today.”
Governor Abbott has vowed to continue calling special sessions until these agenda items are passed.
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HB 1 - Relating to primary and secondary education, including the certification, compensation, and health coverage of certain public school employees, the public school finance system, special education in public schools, the establishment of an education savings account program, measures to support the education of public school students that include certain educational grant programs, reading instruction, and early childhood education, the provision of virtual education, and public school accountability.
HB 1 was heard on Thursday in the House Select Committee on Educational Opportunity and Enrichment and was approved in a 10-4 vote on Friday.
This is the first School Choice bill to make it past committee in the House. Governor Abbott has vowed to continue calling special sessions until School Choice legislation is passed.
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Last night, the Texas Senate passed bills meeting both agenda items on Governor Abbott’s Special Session 4 agenda.
Bills passed in the Senate:
Senate Bill 1, Senator Brandon Creighton (R–Montgomery) - Relating to the establishment of an education savings account program. This is the same Education Savings Account bill the Senate passed during Special Session 3.
According to Texas Scorecard, “students enrolled in the program would receive an $8,000 education savings account, which they could use to pay for tuition at a private school in the state.
“Families could also use the funds to pay for materials their school requires, academic assessments, a private tutor, transportation to school, or fees for educational therapies.”
Senate Bill 2, Senator Brandon Creighton (R–Montgomery) - Relating to a local optional teacher designation system implemented by a school district, the basic allotment and guaranteed yield under the public school finance system, and certain allotments under the Foundation School Program; making an appropriation.
SB 2 includes teacher pay increases and school safety funding.
Senate Bill 3, Senator Joan Huffman (R–Houston) - Relating to an appropriation to provide funding for the construction, operation, and maintenance of border barrier infrastructure and border security operations, including funding for additional overtime expenses and costs due to certain increased law enforcement presence.
This bill would provide $1.54 billion for border barrier infrastructure, increase law enforcement overtime pay, and fund additional law enforcement at Colony Ridge in Liberty County.
Senate Bill 4, Senator Charles Perry (R–Lubbock) - Relating to prohibitions on the illegal entry into or illegal presence in this state by a person who is an alien, the enforcement of those prohibitions and certain related orders, including immunity from liability and indemnification for enforcement actions, and authorizing or requiring under certain circumstances the removal of persons who violate those prohibitions; creating criminal offenses.
This bill would make it a crime to enter Texas illegally and would authorize six months to two years in state jail. Illegals also may be returned to port of entry and ordered to leave the country or face additional jail time.
The Senate is recessed and will reconvene on Monday at 2 pm.
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The House Committee on State Affairs heard citizen testimony and discussed HB 4 today in a hearing.
The bill passed out of committee 8-4 and will next be heard by the full House.
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It’s official. The third special session of the Texas Legislature has ended and the fourth begins, right on its heels.
The score is two bills from the Senate passed onto the governor’s desk, none from the House.
SB 7 by Senator Mayes Middleton will prohibit employers from requiring COVID vaccines for employees as a condition of employment.
SB 4 by Senator Pete Flores will increase penalties for human smuggling and operating a stash house, establishing a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for violations.
Other bills regarding border security, Colony Ridge and Governor Greg Abbott’s priority, School Choice legislation, died in the House.
We didn’t keep track, but it would be interesting to see a record of the days and times that the legislature was actually in session during the past monSpecial Session Agendath that they had to handle the items on the governor’s call. It wasn’t much.
The fourth special session begins this evening, focused on education and border security.
Read Governor Abbott’s Fourth Special Session Agenda
A draft of a new School Choice bill, this time from the House, has already been placed on the table for consideration in the fourth special session.
The bill, HB 1 by Representative Brad Buckley would set up Education Savings Accounts, but would additionally include teacher pay raises and additional monies for school districts. As currently written, each qualified child would be allocated $10,500 for private school tuition and expenses and home schooled children would qualify for $1,000 a year toward expenses.
The business of testing students would be a beneficiary under this plan, as each student that receives an ESA would be required to take a state assessment or a nationally norm-reference test. Student testing is big business and all sorts of government-required learning can be wrapped up into them.
The lack of productive outcomes in Austin is essentially a reflection for the battle of control of the Texas Legislature. As the fourth session prepares to gavel in, it remains a mystery as to what might be different that might produce more or better results for the State of Texas that one regular and three called sessions could not.
Has Texas representative government fallen prey to the old adage about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? We shall see.
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Governor Abbott announced the fourth special to begin November 7th to deal with two items: Education and Border Security.
Senator Brandon Creighton (SD 4)
(512) 463-0104 (Austin Office)
(281) 292-4128 (District Office)
Send an email
Senator Paul Bettencourt (SD 7)
(512) 463-0107 (Austin Office)
(713) 464-0282 (District Office)
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Senator Lois Kolkhorst (SD 18)
(512) 463-0118 (Austin Office)
(979) 251-7888 (District Office)
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Rep. Cecil Bell (HD 3)
(512) 463-0650 (Austin office)
(281) 259-3700 (District office)
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Rep. Steve Toth (HD 15)
(512) 463-0797 (Austin office)
(346) 220-0300 (District office)
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Rep. Will Metcalf (HD 16)
(512) 463-0726 (Austin office)
(936) 539-0068 (District office)
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Rep. Ernest Bailes (HD 18)
(512) 463-0570 (Austin office)
(936) 628-6687 (District office)
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