Where is Everyone?
What to know: Fewer Texans tend to vote in May than in the November, despite many large, costly bond propositions being put on the ballot. This has prompted some Texas lawmakers to push hard for a new requirement that “all local bond measures authorizing new public debt obligations only be placed on the November general election ballot.”
The TPPF take: The Legislature should require all bond elections to be held in November.
“In some of Texas’ largest, costliest bond elections, voter turnout was anemic, meaning that a tiny fraction of Texans obligated every one of their neighbors to new debt and higher taxes,” said TPPF’s James Quintero. “This is not a good way to make big, important decisions.”
For more on election dates, click here.
Summer Travel
What to know: Summer travel season is heating up with lower gas prices and inflation.
The TPPF take: Americans are getting back on the road—where they belong.
“Had either the Biden or Harris tickets prevailed last November, gas prices could look quite different,” says TPPF’s Robert Henneke. “The Biden administration’s war on domestic energy, including the former president’s ham-fisted approach to gas prices, only led to energy prices. And that was the point—the Democratic agenda includes driving up energy prices to force Americans into electric vehicles and into the kind of low-carbon lifestyle they never seem to adopt themselves.”
For more on summer travel, click here.
Wait a Minute
What to know: A biological man swept the women’s awards at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National in San Antonio last week. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is now investigating.
The TPPF take: Radical gender ideology is doing real damage.
“The man, Hugo Caldas, won the 50-yard breaststroke, the 100-yard breaststroke, the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard freestyle, and 100-yard individual combination,” says TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “According to a United Nations report, more than 600 biologically female athletes have lost at least 890 medals to transgender competitors in 29 sports. This is OK with U.S. Masters Swimming, but it is not allowed in Texas, so it is good Paxton is on the case.”
For more on sports and gender ideology, click here.