(C) Texas Tribune This story was originally published by Texas Tribune and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Blast: House Insurance agenda’s policy adjustment [1] [] Date: 2024-06 Jun 7, 2024 | View in browser By Renzo Downey and The Texas Tribune Politics Team 20 days until the first presidential debate THE HOUSE’S INSURANCE TUG OF WAR Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has left the House Insurance Committee with a laughable short list of topics under this year’s interim charges — literally just to monitor legislation on amusement rides and retail fireworks permits. But that isn’t stopping his first speaker challenger, committee Chair Tom Oliverson, from sticking to the committee’s regular order of business. The House Insurance Committee is going outside the bounds of the interim charges (to bring back a Lege procedural phrase) with an agenda for Tuesday that runs the gamut of insurance topics, including two topics Phelan explicitly assigned to the State Affairs Committee. The committee will hear invited testimony on the following five subjects during its 8 a.m. meeting: Examining the appraisal process within property and casualty policies Reviewing the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association funding mechanism and reinsurance and catastrophe funding as they relate to TWIA Studying AI’s role in the insurance industry Examining the growth of the surplus lines market Studying the factors affecting the property and casualty market The TWIA bullet point and the property and casualty market bullet point are the items Phelan handed to State Affairs, which Chair Todd Hunter leads. That committee will meet at 9 a.m. Monday but won’t take up any insurance matters. State Affairs isn’t scheduled to take up any insurance matters during its following meeting on July 8, either. That’s fair, considering the State Affairs Committee’s workload. The word count on the Insurance Committee’s interim charges is 51 words while the word count on the State Affairs Committee’s interim charges is 389 words, two minor matters versus five beefy sections. On top of insurance matters, State Affairs has also been tasked with addressing ERCOT and grid legislation, the border and the Panhandle wildfires. However, that hasn’t stopped members of the committee from receiving questions from constituents about rising premiums. Plus, members of the Insurance Committee are generally better versed in insurance matters than those on State Affairs. “The House Insurance Committee takes seriously its responsibility and jurisdiction under the House Rules to oversee important insurance matters on behalf of the people of Texas and will continue to perform its duties to the best of its ability without distractions,” Oliverson said in a statement to The Blast. “I appreciate the willingness of the State Affairs Committee to also consider some of the issues before our committee and do desire to collaborate with them.” It will be interesting to see how this game of tug of war plays out. How much are bodily injury insurance premiums these days? The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. HIDDEN AD MORE THRC THOUGHTS The Blast spilled a lot of ink on Wednesday about this Texas House Republican Caucus executive committee investigation into House’s feisty four. However, there are a few more thoughts out there that didn’t make the cut, and now is as good of a time as any to share them. The first is that Texas Scorecard, citing an “inside source,” claimed that state Reps. Cole Hefner and Jared Patterson are behind the push to punish state Reps. Brian Harrison, Nate Schatzline, Tony Tinderholt and Steve Toth for campaigning against fellow Republicans. Hefner has denied involvement, and it doesn’t seem like the effort would require much urging, considering the complaint came from state Rep. Glenn Rogers, who filed a similar complaint two years ago and lost this time thanks to some of the four’s campaigning. Patterson is involved, but only in so much as he serves on the THRC executive committee that is investigating the four and will ultimately submit a recommendation for the full caucus to vote on. Until then, caucus leadership says the four will have time to respond to the complaints before the matter goes before the full caucus. Their initial statement channels their inner Nathan Hale: “We only regret, that we have but one caucus membership to lose for our country.” Some members also feel that, well, House Speaker Dade Phelan effectively did the same thing to Toth. The Associated Republicans of Texas endorsed Toth’s primary challenger, Skeeter Hubert, and dropped $297,000 in that race in the form of advertising, polling, oppo research and more. Despite ART being a distinct entity, some people around the Capitol view it as the speaker’s campaign arm. “Phelan had nothing to do with it,” ART President Jamie McWright told The Blast, addressing the Hubert endorsement. Phelan also hasn’t contributed to the ART campaign fund in the 2023-24 cycle. The final consideration here is that Rogers is making this complaint from a position of low leverage. While two members of the executive committee, Chair Tom Oliverson and Treasurer Shelby Slawson, are running for Phelan’s gavel, Rogers won’t be back next session. Why piss off four members that you would need to sway in the speakership numbers game as a favor to another who will be gone in a few months? And why do that with a punishment that wouldn’t carry over to next session anyway? But here’s the level-headed tweet response to Tinderholt from executive committee member Jacey Jetton, who lost his primary to a candidate to whom Tinderholt gave $1,300, Matt Morgan. “Hey broken dipstick, I know your followers eat of your made up drama; but, all should know that you know as much about what is happening here as you do how to pass a bill. Quick summary: you joined the caucus and agreed to the rules, you broke the rules, a complaint was filed, and the caucus will decide how to handle it. We haven’t discussed what to do internally yet. Your self righteous bullshit doesn’t rinse clean the mess made by your lack of integrity.” BALLOT SECRECY SOLVED? The Texas Secretary of State and the Office of the Attorney General have issued advisories on how counties should handle public records requests given the ballot leaks that have been circulating the past month. After huddling with the OAG, the Secretary of State’s office issued emergency guidance telling counties to redact data points that, when cross-referenced with other data points, effectively amounts to personally identifiable information. This patch will likely be a sufficient short-term fix. The House Elections Committee will meet Tuesday to discuss ballot secrecy, among other topics, which will help give the Capitol a sense of where lawmakers’ heads are at on the matter. That’s all fine and good, but there’s a campaign-related concern from political consultant Derek Ryan, who notes that this could be the end of counties providing information about which voters voted at which polling place. That’s information that campaigns can use to figure out which polling centers they should commit personnel to be stationed at, because voters don’t always vote at the polling center that is geographically obvious to their precinct. But if that’s the trade-off to ensure ballot secrecy, if the state wants to keep making ballot images available for auditing purposes, Ryan says he’s OK with that. paxton on the record Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s team acknowledges that it is not contesting the whistleblowers’ evidence in the team’s latest response to the whistleblower lawsuit. As KUT’s Lauren McGaughy first reported, Paxton’s team also told the Supreme Court of Texas that the case should be dropped because the office has “conceded liability” over whether the firings violated the Whistleblower Act. One flag that crossed The Blast’s desk today was that Paxton appeared on former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s show on May 29 and acknowledged that the FBI is investigating him for the firings. It’s unclear whether this is the first time Paxton has acknowledged the suit or the reason behind it, but now we know he’s on the record about it (around the 11-minute mark): “Supposedly, because of that complaint, then now they can do whatever they wanted in my office and I couldn’t get rid of them,” Paxton said. “That has led to the FBI investigating me, saying that I don’t have the right to fire these people, that that’s a federal crime and now I’ve committed a crime.” “That’s what happens when you go after … the FBI and the Department of Justice.” The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. HIDDEN AD TX-23 IS OVER. BUT HERE COMES THE RECOUNT, AND MAYBE 2026 YouTuber and internet firearms personality Brandon Herrera concedes that he has lost the Republican primary runoff election to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. But, Herrera says he’s requesting a recount anyway. As your lead Blast writer first reported yesterday, Herrera is filing the requests in Bexar, El Paso, Medina and Uvalde counties. “I don’t expect the results to change, but I feel I owe it to my volunteers, voters, and supporters to leave no stone unturned,” Herrera told The Blast, given the 407-vote margin in the unofficial results. Herrera debriefed his campaign and elaborated on the recount in a 16-minute video titled “The Election is Over” that he posted on YouTube this afternoon, his first video since election day. The candidate said he had heard several questions asking about a recount, given “a couple of inconsistencies due to the counting the night of the election.” “We don’t have any real evidence of anything that we think would move the needle enough to overturn the results,” Herrera noted. As for funding the recount, Herrera said a couple people have offered to pay for part of it and that he would pay for the rest out of pocket. Given how close Herrera came, the natural question is whether he’ll challenge Gonzales again two years from now. Gonzales dwarfed Herrera’s spending, and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team parachuted in to assist Gonzales. Meanwhile, Herrera admitted that while he held over 100 campaign events and ran everything from text to TV ads, he’s had other commitments. Throughout the campaign, he ran multiple businesses, his YouTube channel and his podcast, and he finished building a gun that has been his project the past eight years. Herrera didn’t rule out a future campaign. “I had one of the best teams you could ever ask for, people I was privileged to work with and would gladly work with again if we,” Herrera paused to laugh, “ever ended up doing this again. Which I’m happy to never have to do if I don’t need to, but what I want has never been the most important factor in decisions like this.” After signing off in a Marvel Studios-style “Brandon Herrera will return” screen that progressively faded in additional details. “Brandon Herrera will return … in 2026 … Just kidding … ?” Stacey Abrams, Laura Barrón-López, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, George Conway and We’ve added to the stellar lineup of leaders, lawmakers and newsmakers hitting the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival , Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Get an up-close look at today’s biggest issues in conversation withand many others Buy tickets today! HIDDEN IMAGE The House State Affairs Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Monday. Monitor the following agencies, their programs and legislation affecting them: Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Office of Public Utility Counsel, Public Utility Commission of Texas, Texas Department of Information Resources and Texas Sunset Advisory Commission The House Insurance Committee will meet at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Examine appraisal process within property and casualty policies Review TWIA funding mechanism/reinsurance/catastrophe funding Study AI’s role in insurance industry Examine growth of surplus lines market Study factors affecting the property and casualty market The Senate Border Security Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Securing the Texas-Mexico border The Senate Business and Commerce Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Electricity market design Transmitting Texas power Impact of Bitcoin mining on the grid The House Elections Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Implementation of Senate Bill 1070 Implementation of Senate Bill 1750 Ballot secrecy The Senate Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee will meet at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Preserving Texas history Minimizing damage from federal policies on LNG exports, supply chain, net-zero carbon and other air emission provisions Examining local option hotel occupancy taxes View the list of upcoming meeting notices here and here. HIDDEN IMAGE Ben Mostyn , the Republican nominee challenging state Rep. Philip Cortez , D-San Antonio, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and unlawful carry of a weapon on Wednesday. He was arrested shortly after midnight after a single vehicle crash along Interstate 10. According to records, he wasn’t released on bond until yesterday afternoon. His court date is July 5. Bexar County GOP Chair Jeff McManus told The Blast he is not making any arrangements to find a replacement candidate until the legal process plays out. , the Republican nominee challenging state Rep. , D-San Antonio, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and unlawful carry of a weapon on Wednesday. He was arrested shortly after midnight after a single vehicle crash along Interstate 10. According to records, he wasn’t released on bond until yesterday afternoon. His court date is July 5. Bexar County GOP Chair told The Blast he is not making any arrangements to find a replacement candidate until the legal process plays out. KXAN’s Monica Madden reports that state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, an Austin Democrat who hasn’t been quiet about her plans to announce her bid for lieutenant governor, doesn’t plan to make it official until after the next legislative session. HIDDEN IMAGE Gov. Greg Abbott will be in Luling on Monday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for America’s largest Buc-ee’s, off Interstate 10. He’ll be joined at his lunchtime fueling stop by President and CEO of Buc-ee’s Arch “Beaver” Aplin III, Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden, Luling Mayor CJ Watts, former Mayor Mike Hendricks and other local officials. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. HIDDEN AD HIDDEN IMAGE Does anyone know if George W. Bush watched The West Wing? HIDDEN IMAGE HIDDEN IMAGE (June 7) State Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston (June 7) State Rep. John Lujan, R-San Antonio (June 8) State Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress (June 8) State Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano SPONSOR MESSAGES Chad Cantella is a political insider specializing in education, healthcare, criminal justice and workforce. Learn more about his work. Meet the University of Austin, a new university dedicated to the fearless pursuit of truth. Drop by June 14 and dare to think with us. Texas Association Against Sexual Assault - Dive into the Multiverse, and join us August 19-21 in South Padre Island for the 2024 TAASA conference. [END] --- [1] Url: https://mailchi.mp/texastribune/the-blast-house-insurance-agendas-policy-adjustment Published and (C) by Texas Tribune Content appears here under this condition or license: Used with Permission: https://www.texastribune.org/republishing-guidelines/. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/texastribune/