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Texas Republican Party Announces 2023 Legislative Priorities

Republican Party of Texas
Texas Republican lawmakers set a preliminary list of 15 legislative priorities. | Image by Karin Dyer/The Dallas Express

The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) unveiled its list of eight legislative priorities that delegates at its biennial convention in Houston this past weekend chose.

The legislative priorities committee narrowed down a list of priorities to 15, which the delegates then voted on to choose their top eight. The priorities serve as directives for lawmakers on what party members want to see accomplished during the 140-day legislative session beginning in January.

The top eight legislative priorities and their description as proposed by the RPT’s legislative priorities committees are:

  • Protect Elections: “Restore felony penalties and enact civil penalties for Election Code violations, which shall be enforceable by any Texas jurisdiction, including the Texas Attorney General. Require citizenship verification of each voter. Restrict the distribution of mail-in ballots to only disabled, military, and citizens that are out of county. Reduce the time allowed for early voting, and eliminate the three-day gap between early voting and election day. Establish closed primaries in Texas. As technology evolves, we encourage the passage of legislation that ensures the security of our elections.”
  • Ban Democrat Chairs: “To ensure all legislative Republican priorities are given a fair opportunity to become law, the Republican-controlled Texas legislature shall adopt a rule that would end the practice of awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats.”
  • Abolish Abortion in Texas: “Abolish abortion by ensuring the right to life and equal protection of the laws to all preborn children from the moment of fertilization, including adopting effective tools to ensure the enforcement of our laws to protect life when district attorneys fail to do so.”
  • Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids: “Repeal Texas Penal Code “Obscenity Exemption” 43.24(c), which allows children access to harmful, explicit, or pornographic materials and 43.25(f)(2 3), which allows sexual performance by a child. In addition, prohibit teaching, exposure, and/or discussion of sexual matters (mechanics, feelings, orientation, or “gender identity” issues), and prohibit use or provision of related books and other materials using criminal, civil or other enforcement measures.”
  • Ban Gender Modification of Children: “Texas must ban chemical castration, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, genital mutilation, bodily alteration surgery, psychological/social transitioning, and any other methods applied to or performed on children.”
  • Secure the Border: “Texas shall immediately deny all taxpayer funded services and subsidies to illegal aliens. We call upon the Governor to assert his duty under Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the US Constitution to declare an invasion on our Texas border and do everything in his power to protect Texans from this invasion. The legislature shall direct the Governor to enter into an Interstate Compact with one or more states for Border Security.”
  • Parental Rights and Educational Freedom: “Parents are the primary decision makers for their children in all matters. This authority shall be protected as an inalienable right. This shall include the choice of schooling where the money follows the child without strings attached, and enforcement and penalty mechanisms when parents’ rights are violated. The right to education shall be free from any social theories.”
  • Defend Gun Rights: “Protect our gun rights against threats, such as red flag laws, federal, state or other restrictions, by strengthening and preserving our inalienable rights under the second amendment to protect our life, liberty and property. The Texas Legislature should eliminate gun-free zones.”

“We are proud to be a grassroots led party and look forward to supporting these priorities next legislative session,” RPT Chairman Matt Rinaldi said. “These priorities indicate that Republican delegates want our legislature to prioritize protecting our rights, our borders, and our children.”

Among the priorities in the top 15 that did not make the top eight were banning taxpayer-funded lobbying, protecting medical freedom, bolstering the electric grid, and eliminating the property tax.

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16 Comments

  1. Ed Lopez

    These priorities will insure that the normal same 75% of texans will get squat !

    Reply
    • Raymond Davis

      100% of all Texans deserve only what they have succeeded in providing for themselves. We all are products of the choices we make. If you do not like your position in life, make different choices.

      Reply
    • R Sage

      Normal Texans don’t need squat from government other than to stay out of our way and let us live our lives. As Raymond said we are the products of our choices. You can either sit and do nothing and wait for government to hand you something out or go out and get it yourself. I believe we call that hard work.

      Reply
      • Steve

        I wish we had your ethics here in the People’s Republic of Kalifornia! As a staunch conservative my opinion doesn’t count here.
        And I will NEVER give up my gun!

        Reply
        • Keepin it real!

          Neither party should have a strangle hold on the levers of power. Texas is just as bad, but in the opposite direction!

          Reply
      • Keepin it real!

        Normal Texans don’t need squat from government other than to stay out of our way and let us live our lives.”

        At least half of these “priorities” interfere in some Texans personal life, just not yours! The sooner you realize the modern Republican party is bordering on Fascism the more terrified you’ll be.

        Reply
        • Steve

          You have NO IDEA what fascism is!
          I escaped a fascist country for the kind of freedom you have in Texas.
          Accusations of fascism is a common tool of the left. People like you are called ” useful idiots” by the communist party
          Get over yourself and study REAL history.
          Hitler wanted to disarm the people before taking over the government. So did Mao
          and every other despot.
          Drop spouting the party line like the true
          leftist you obviously are!

          Reply
          • Steve

            By the way, your “fascist” State has reduced homelessness in Houston by 65%
            LOOK IT UP!

          • Pam L

            By the way, maybe you should look up how that was paid for–the housing, the medical care, the mental health care–all by a Democratic-led government to fund $200,000,000 in permanent housing for the homeless. Republicans in Texas voted against any care or help and, in fact, voted to make homelessness a crime and the person either thrown in jail or fined, which of course means jail. Do your research to discover who repugnants support.

  2. Lanie

    I’ve been a Republican my whole life but after reading these “priorities” representing them I will no longer be a Republican. They have taken away my right to choose regarding abortion, which should only be up to that individual, they are interfering with individual rights per their sexual identity, they are banning books and other materials, and have pretty much taken away people’s right to make their own decisions about anything and allowed the government to make all those decisions for them. This is not a democracy but a dictatorship and I want no part of it.

    Reply
  3. Doug

    Looks like a pretty good list to me!

    Reply
  4. Madeleine

    What about the impossible burden of property taxes on seniors and others who are struggling to pay these ever-increasing gravy trains for way too many taxing entities. My parents paid off their mortgage and were able to enjoy retirement without this burden. why can’t their children?

    Reply
  5. RobinQuivers

    And the fools will keep voting for these lunatics.

    Reply
    • Steve

      Useful idiots!

      Reply
      • Steve

        Kalifornia is rotten with them! They are creeping into Texas now!

        Reply
  6. gporg

    The cruelty is the point

    Reply

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