The most frustrating part of politics is hearing people (including elected officials) make incendiary claims about legislation that seem to have nothing to do with the actual bill. At a time when it has never been easier to read bills for yourself, it seems very few actually do so before commenting. People seem content to shout their team's slogans and accuse others of having the worst of motives.
I have outlined some of my thoughts on what HB 3--the election integrity bill making the news recently--actually does on the following pages, but if you'd like to read the bill yourself, you may do so by going here. You may not agree with everything that's in it or you may have specific questions. If that's the case, I invite you to reach out to me at votejamesfrank@gmail.com and I'd love to respond.
The Texas Constitution requires 100 of the 150 House members be present for the body to act. Enough House Democrats fled the state a couple of weeks ago to deny that quorum. Regardless of your thoughts about HB 3 or other elections bills, there are several other important issues that should be before the Legislature during this special session, but are currently on hold due to the lack of quorum. Among these items are increased benefits for retired teachers, property tax relief, and important reforms to the bail system that would keep our state safer.
With the decision by House Democrats to leave the state, the members remaining took the extraordinary step of issuing a Call of the House. It's been a procedure rarely used in the past and I explain the specifics later on in the newsletter. If you're interested in reading about elected members of the Legislature being locked inside the House chamber, read on!
May God bless you and your family,
 Representative James B. Frank
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HB 3 - The Facts
There's been lots of misinformation floating around regarding HB 3 -- the House's election integrity bill. I wanted to address the major concerns I've heard and set the record straight on what this bill would and would not do.
First of all, the intent of HB 3 is to apply the Texas Elections Code consistently across the state, reduce the likelihood of election fraud, promote voter access, and ensure all legally cast ballots are counted. In short, we want to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.
Now let's talk about some of the concerns you may have heard from my Democratic colleagues:
- "HB 3 suppresses the vote by limiting polling hours."
- In reality, this bill would actually expand early voting hours for most of the state. Early voting would have to be available for at least 9 hours on weekdays, 12 hours on Saturdays, and 6 hours on Sundays. These hours must occur between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Frankly, there is very little way to adequately staff and secure voting at 2 a.m.
- "HB 3 makes it harder to vote in person."
- Most voters probably won't notice anything different the next time they head to the polls. You'll go inside, show your ID, and fill out a ballot - just as in the past. One thing that may be different, depending on where you live, is the practice of drive-through voting offered in some counties. This bill clarifies that drive-through voting may only be offered to individuals who cannot physically enter the polling place without assistance.
- "HB 3 makes it more difficult to vote by mail."
- The changes made to mail-in ballots should make everyone feel better about the security of their vote. You'll need to provide either your driver's license number or the last 4 digits of your social in order to verify your identity. Once the ballot is sent off, this bill creates a notification system to alert voters if something on their ballot is missing or incorrect.
- "HB 3 allows for voter intimidation."
- This bill simply makes it clear that poll watchers are allowed to monitor the election process in order to provide for increased transparency and greater trust in the outcome. They are not allowed to speak to voters, they are only allowed to alert election officials if there is a concern. Additionally, a presiding judge can call law enforcement for the removal of a poll watcher who commits a breach of the peace or violates any law.
I hope this helps clarify the actual parameters of the bill and eases concerns. As always, my office is open and available to answer any additional questions you may have.
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What's a Call of the House?
On July 8, the Legislature convened in Austin to begin a special session covering a variety of issues. Unfortunately, most of the House Democrats fled the state to deny a quorum--the Texas Constitution requires 100 of 150 members present to vote--and avoid doing their duties. As a result, my colleagues and I took the extraordinary step of issuing a Call of the House. In effect, this order authorizes Texas law enforcement officers to compel the attendance of all members whose absence is not excused - by arrest if necessary. Keep in mind, this is an action that is outlined in the House rules that were approved unanimously by both Republican and Democrat House members at the beginning of the regular session. While the Call of the House is in place, the doors of the House chamber are locked so that members who are present can only leave with written permission from the Speaker (I've attached a photo of what our "permission slips" look like below).
Due to the Call, the House is unable to conduct official business until a quorum is present. Because of that, we were also forced to cancel a Human Services hearing originally scheduled to investigate the impact to child protective services programs of children crossing the Texas-Mexico border. As you might imagine, the people on the ground working with these kids have reported substantial abuse and neglect as well as human trafficking. It was my hope to hear from those directly involved with serving these children to see what actions the state could take to improve the situation.
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Our "hall pass" which is necessary to leave the House chamber while under a call.
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Weekend Reading
Below is an excerpt from a recent National Review article by Russell Withers that does a great job of debunking some of the falsehoods and myths regarding HB 3, the election integrity bill.
"The bill restores the rule of law in elections. It prohibits many of the well-meaning, but not sustainable, efforts by local officials in Harris County to make pandemic voting easier, including sending unsolicited mail-in ballot applications, implementing drive-through voting, offering 24-hour voting, or simply changing procedures beyond what is authorized in the Texas Election Code. Opponents refer to this rollback as "voter suppression," but what they don't tell you is that these practices, while not expressly illegal, were never clearly legal in the first place - and certainly had never been done before. From the perspective of voters in Texas, these provisions change nothing.
"The bill expands voting access in several key respects. First, it amends the election code to increase the hours that polling locations are required to stay open (i.e., polls required to operate for "eight" hours will have to be open for "nine"). It expressly states that if a person is in line when polls close, that person shall be allowed to vote. The bill even expands a current law prohibiting employers from discriminating against a person for attending the polls on election day to cover voting at any time during the early-voting period. No honest person would look at these changes and see voter suppression."
Read the full article here.
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Constituents in Austin
Members of the House Republican Caucus had the opportunity last week to visit with retired teachers who had made the trip to Austin to discuss pending legislation on a 13th check. Among the group was a contingent from the Wichita Falls Area Association of Retired School Personnel. Thanks to them for making the trip!
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STAY CONNECTED 
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