Credit: Image by Maggie Q. Thompson / Getty Images

A new video from Ken Paxton’s financiers has Republicans questioning objective reality. Paid for by the billionaires who are clutching fast to Paxton as he circles the drain, the video claims the attorney general’s impeachment in the House of Representatives proves the House is run by – wait for it – Democrats.

It’s a hilarious reach because, no, the House is run by very conservative Repub­licans. You can tell by the education bills they passed this session.

For example, Republicans were under pressure to do something about school shootings this session, after last year’s murder of 19 kids and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Rather than raise the minimum age to buy a gun, as Robb Elementary parents asked, the legislators responded by adopting House Bill 3, which will require every public school in the state to employ at least one person with a gun. The bill will force Austin ISD to double the number of police officers it employs and cost an estimated $8 million. The Lege provided $2 million to implement it.

The video claims the attorney general’s impeachment in the House of Representatives proves the House is run by – wait for it – Democrats.

Those extra officers will come in handy in arresting students who are caught with vapes this school year. HB 114 will require any school student caught with a vape to be placed in an alternative learning center. Travis County Juvenile Board Judge Rhonda Hurley recently predicted that the law will double the number of kids arrested for felony offenses, because possession of a THC vape is a felony in Texas.

Finally, Senate Bill 763, the school chaplains bill, will not affect Austin’s public schools because our trustees are not going to allow religious zealots to masquerade as school counselors. But that’s what the conservative Texas House voted for this session: a scheme to allow schools to replace certified counselors with uncertified, Christian-only chaplains who can refuse to help students from other faiths.

Those are the bills sure to take effect; two others have been challenged by lawsuits. SB 14 would ban medically necessary treatment for trans kids experiencing gender dysphoria, treatment that greatly reduces anxiety and suicide risks. (The bill doesn’t address schools directly but does affect students, so we’re counting it.) Ricar­do Martinez of Equality Texas calls SB 14 the worst anti-LGBTQ legislation passed this session. Equality Texas has signed onto an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit arguing that it blatantly discriminates against trans kids. District Judge Maria Cantú Hexsel ruled Aug. 25 to block the bill from taking effect Sept. 1, but the Office of the Attorney General reversed that ruling later that day.

HB 900, the book banning bill, also targets LGBTQ kids. It will force businesses that sell books to schools to slap ratings on those with sexual content. Anti-censorship groups say HB 900 will accelerate the book banning movement underway in Texas, which mostly targets books about racism and LGBTQ identities. Booksellers including Austin’s BookPeople have sued to stop it.

This article appears in September 1 • 2023.

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Brant Bingamon arrived in Austin in 1981 to attend UT and immediately became fascinated by the city's music scene. He's spent his adult life playing in bands and began writing for the Chronicle in 2019, covering criminal justice, the death penalty, and public school issues. He has two children, Noah and Eryl, and lives with his partner Adrienne on the Eastside.