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Texas Freedom Caucus
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| Texas Freedom Caucus | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Austin, Texas |
| Type: | Legislative caucus |
| Affiliation: | Republican |
| Top official: | Matt Schaefer, Chairman |
| Year founded: | 2017 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Texas Freedom Caucus is a legislative caucus in the Texas House of Representatives that, according to the group's website, aims to support "liberty-minded, grassroots Texans who want bold action to protect life, strengthen families, defend the U.S. and Texas Bills of Rights, restrain government and revitalize personal and economic freedoms in the State of Texas."[1]
The caucus works to further their priorities through grassroots outreach, public messaging, legislative action, and cooperation with state senators who the group considers to be "liberty-minded members of the Texas Senate."[2]
Mission
As of June 2017, the website for the Texas Freedom Caucus listed the following mission statement for the group:[2]
| “ | We recognize that the United States was founded upon the truth that our unalienable rights are given to us by God, that government is instituted by God to protect those rights while deriving its authority from the people, and that the U.S. and Texas Constitutions are the guiding limits on government action. Recognizing this truth, the Texas Freedom Caucus is founded in the Texas House of Representatives with a mission to:
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History
The Texas Freedom Caucus was founded in February 2017 with the aim of connecting conservative grassroots activists with legislation being considered in the Texas House of Representatives. At that time, Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler) explained the group's perspective, saying, "We don’t want our priorities to be determined from Austin down, but from the grassroots up. That includes taking things like the Texas Republican Party platform seriously. ... There are thousands of people too busy working and raising their families to embed themselves in the legislative process. Their voices matter too, and we want to make sure they are heard, and their efforts are multiplied."[4]
Work
2017 Texas legislative session
The Texas Freedom Caucus took early action during the 2017 Texas legislative session by opposing any legislation that increased taxes, including bills to create local taxes or utility districts that had not received significant opposition in the past. The caucus proceeded to amend legislation in favor of its policy positions and support its priority bills, such as Senate Bill 6 and House Bill 2899, which called for individuals to use bathroom facilities that correspond with their biological sex, and Senate Bill 4, which called to eliminate sanctuary cities in the state.[5][6]
Austin's KUT reported that although the group's strategy irritated fellow legislators from both sides of the aisle, most Republican state legislators ultimately voted with the caucus' proposals. However, on May 11, 2017, the caucus used procedural tactics in the House rules (blocking bills from getting listed "on the local and consent calendar, which fast tracks legislation not expected to generate debate") to kill more than 100 pieces of legislation.[7] The Texas Tribune reported that the caucus killed the bills "in retribution for what they called the 'petty personal politics' of the Republican-controlled chamber." According to the Tribune, "they were punishing House leaders after what they called a session of routine obstruction of key anti-abortion, 2nd Amendment and property rights bills."[7][6][8]
Tensions came to a head on May 29, 2017, when caucus member Matt Rinaldi told fellow Democratic House members that he had called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a group of protestors in the House gallery who opposed Senate Bill 4. The comment culminated in a skirmish on the House floor and alleged shooting threats between Rinaldi and Democratic state Representative Poncho Nevarez.[6][9][10]
Members
As of June 2017, the website for the Texas Freedom Caucus listed James Bernsen as the group's executive director and the following representatives as members of the group:[11]
- Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), Chairman
- Bill Zedler (R-Arlington), Vice chairman
- Matt Shaheen (R-Plano), Grassroots liaison
- Jeff Leach (R-Plano), Policy director
- Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington), Secretary and treasurer
- Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg)
- Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park)
- Matt Krause (R-Ft. Worth)
- Mike Lang (R-Granbury)
- Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving)
- Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford)
- Valoree Swanson (R-Spring)
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Texas Freedom Caucus'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Texas Freedom Caucus, "Home," accessed June 7, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Texas Freedom Caucus, "Mission," accessed June 2, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Local News Only, "Freedom Caucus Formed in the Texas House to Empower Grassroots Texans," February 15, 2017
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Texas lawmakers, 'bathroom bill' opponents prepare for round two," June 6, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 KUT, "How The Texas Freedom Caucus Won The 2017 Legislative Session," June 5, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Texas Tribune, "House Freedom Caucus blocks maternal mortality bills, more than 100 others," May 12, 2017
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Tears and shouting on Texas House floor as Freedom Caucus delays bills to death," May 11, 2017
- ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "On the last day of the Legislature, an ICE call and ‘I’ll put a bullet in your head,'" May 30, 2017
- ↑ Texas Monthly, "Session Ends In a Fit of Rage," May 29, 2017
- ↑ Texas Freedom Caucus, "Members," accessed June 2, 2017
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