Chad’s Morning Brief: Open Carry Not a Priority in the Texas Legislature, Property Tax Relief Proposed in Texas Senate, and Other Top Stories
Here is your Morning Brief for January 28, 2015.
Dan Patrick No Longer Fighting for Open Carry
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick on Tuesday told Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune that open carry isn't a priority in the Texas Senate and that he doesn't believe the support is even there for it to pass. According to the Houston Chronicle, that is a much different attitude than the one Patrick took when running for office.
While Patrick’s comments on open carry Tuesday morning were nothing new – he ‘s made similar statements on news programs and at town hall meetings – they seem to contradict campaign material that said the state senator and radio show host would more actively support the effort. On his campaign website, one of the five “Second Amendment” issues Patrick lists as priorities is to “fight for open carry.” A campaign ad also includes the same promise.
In a retweet of a San Antonio Express-News story from November 2013, Patrick campaign consultant Allen Blakemore also stated, “@DanPatrick supports open carry.”
@DanPatrick supports open carry http://t.co/r5TpRrapqE#txlege#tx2014#txltgov
— Allen Blakemore (@AllenBlakemore) November 11, 2013
The tweet was sent just a couple weeks after then Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples claimed neither then Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst nor Patrick supported open carry. The link circles back to the same Express-News report in which Open Carry Texas founder CJ Grisham accuses Dewhurst of being wishy-washy on the issue.
The comments by Patrick are sure to upset the open carry crowd as well they should. Dan Patrick was swept into office due to the conservative backlash against David Dewhurst. I believe Patrick will get a taste of that backlash over this. Patrick should also remember that conservatives have had no problem turning on each other before.
Tax Cuts!
Texas State Senator Jane Nelson presented the Texas Senate's version of the budget on Tuesday. While the budget spend a bit more money than the House version, it also allows for big tax cuts according to the Texas Tribune.
The Senate budget is $3 billion larger than the $202.4 billion House budget that Speaker Joe Straus released nearly two weeks ago. However, the Senate budget includes $4 billion allocated for tax cuts. Straus opted to leave tax cuts out of the House’s opening proposal to allow members to formulate their own ideas on how to cut taxes.
At a Tuesday news conference, Nelson said that the Senate budget plan includes $3 billion set aside for “meaningful” property tax relief that homeowners would notice, as well as $1 billion for business franchise tax cuts. She and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the mechanisms by which they intend to cut property and margins taxes were still being worked out and could end up higher than the $4 billion currently proposed.
The Senate version allows for $815 million in border security funding while defunding the Texas Racing Commission and the public integrity unit.
Other Must Read Links:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard on our KFYO YouTube page after the show and online at kfyo.com.
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