Fresh off winning the chairmanship of the Republican Party of Texas, James Dickey sent public letters to the leaders of the House and Senate with a simple message: the Republican grassroots are ready for the special session.
“Many of the items included in Governor Abbott’s call directly reflect planks of the Republican Party of Texas Platform which as approved by more than 5,700 delegates at the 2016 State Republican Convention,” Dickey wrote. He then lists the items items and corresponding planks:
Municipal annexation reform – Plank 37
Cracking down on mail-in ballot fraud – Plank 59
Privacy – Plank 87
Prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion providers – Plank 91
School choice for special needs students – Plank 147
Strengthening patient protection relating to do-not-resuscitate orders – Plank 100
Property tax reform – Plank 175
Prohibition of taxpayer dollars to collect union dues – Plank 197
School finance reform commission – Plank 120
Caps on state and local spending – Plank 167
Dickey is also asking Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus to work with Abbott “to include our remaining Legislative Priorities” for special session action. That would include “constitutional carry” and the “abolition of abortion,” to name just two.
The letter comes a day after Straus appeared at a meeting of the Texas Association of School Boards and referred to the items on Abbott’s call as “horse manure.”
Straus also encouraged school board members to challenge to sitting state senators, presumably the conservatives he regularly opposes.
