Wake us when something happens.
Next week
Who knows? If the House Democrats come back during this first called session, their best bargaining position would be found in the waning days before it ends on Friday, August 6—any return before those final few days will likely result in them getting steamrolled. But that assumes either side has a plan, and as of right now, there is insufficient evidence to draw such a conclusion.
Legislative Update CLEs
We’ll continue to monitor the special session while finalizing our Legislative Update course for launching next month. As of yesterday, we have accepted:
- 218 registrations for the in-person course in Rockwall (August 12, room capacity of 250);
- 369 registrations for the in-person course in Galveston (September 21); and
- 1,024 registrations for the online course that will go live in the latter half of August.
Registration details are available by clicking any of those links, so click on the one that interests you and sign up now—especially if you are taking the course online, as early registration guarantees that you will receive your 2021–23 Legislative Update book in time to follow along with our speakers as you take the course.
Scattershooting
Some articles that you might find interesting:
- “In Texas, Top Two Republicans Steer Ship of State Hard to the Right” (New York Times)
- “Democrats who stayed behind as colleagues fled to D.C. quietly try to take care of business in Texas” (Dallas Morning News)
- “Converted Texas prison gets first immigrant detainees as Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security effort ramps up” (Texas Tribune)
- “Texas Supreme Court may decide next plot twist in the Democratic walkout, and the fate of 2,100 state employees” (Texas Tribune)
Quote (singular) of the Week
“If you’re a fully vaccinated individual and you’re meeting with somebody who has COVID, you really don’t have much to fear from the virus. The vaccines are very robust. … What we’re seeing now in the United States, as the CDC director said, is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. That’s where the risk is.”
—Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in a national story about the latest COVID-19 surge.
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