89th Session | Fighting the War on Children | End Legal Loopholes

Mar 3, 2025 | 89th Session, TXLege

Conservatives, help us save kids from permanent damage!

FACT: Texas law should not continue to give appalling legal justifications for the blatant sexualization of children.

In the 88th Session (2023), 11 bills were filed to repeal legal loopholes that allow sexualization of children. Not even one of the bills received a hearing! The last time such corrective bills received a hearing in the TX House was in 2019. Children are harmed every day by these loopholes!

There is NEVER A REASON to give a child porn and there is NEVER A REASON to have a child perform sexually for an adult.

Yet, Texas law says otherwise!

The Texas Penal Code (law) allows unethical and downright disgusting legal justifications for giving a child pornography (Section 43.24), for sexual performance by a child (Section 43.25), and for possession of child pornography (Section 43.26).

These “loophole” legal justifications vary by statute, but include scientific, educational, medical, psychological, psychiatric, governmental, law enforcement, judicial, and legislative exemptions allowing children to be exposed to sexual materials and situations.

Great news! Your Texas Senate is prioritizing legislation that will remove these intolerable, unjustifiable affirmative defenses from the Texas Penal Code!

Senate Bill 412 by Sen. Mayes Middleton will remove shocking legal justifications for sexual crimes against children. We commend Senator Middleton for his effort.

We asked Senator Middleton to strengthen the bill’s child protections through a more narrowly tailored exception that allows law enforcement and judicial officers to investigate these horrible crimes, but makes it clear that they cannot induce, employ, or authorize the sexual performance of a child for investigative purposes. (This is consistent with current legal interpretation and investigative protocols.)

Senator Middleton included this in the committee substitute. The bill was passed in the Senate on 3.19.25 and it was received in the Texas House on 3.20.25.

Christin Bentley, SD-1 State Republican Executive Committeewoman Chair, Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids

JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director, Grassroots America – We the People PAC

Texas Conservatives | Let’s MAGA Austin

Feb 23, 2025 | 89th Session, TXLege

Who: Statewide conservative grassroots leaders JoAnn Fleming and Brandon Burden team up with Republican Party of Texas State Chairman Abraham George

What: Video discussion of the fallout from the Speaker’s race, the Empower Democrats Act (The TX House Rules vote/funding of Democrat Vice Chairs); how these actions should be viewed by conservatives serious about reforming the TX House; discussion features unintended consequences of premature actions.

Why does this matter? Establishment journos, politicians and special interest lobby groups claim the disagreements among Republicans in the Texas House are nothing more than bickering, driven by dastardly West Texas rich folks and their “Taliban” foot soldiers. Bless their hearts.

Far from trivial bickering, our disagreements are about nothing less than a fight for the heart and soul of Texas-style Liberty.

Grassroots conservatives know that just as Trump and Elon are in hand-to-hand combat with the DC Swamp – there is an Austin Political Sewer that’s a mirror image of DC cronyism, waste, and taxpayer abuse. Just as in DC, there are unprincipled Republicans in state leadership that would rather conspire with Democrats than support putting Texas citizens first.

This political reality keeps our movement growing stronger every day. Texans are increasingly aware that Austin is as broken as DC – just on a smaller scale. Change requires our active participation and dedication to the Long Game. Change requires strategic and wise actions – not impulsive, raw emotion.

Who should watch this video?

Conservatives who love their families, traditional values, and liberty principles
Anyone concerned that a handful of TX Republican State Reps. conspiring with the empowered House Democrat Vice-Chairs may roadblock Pres. Trump’s efforts to secure the border, protect the US, stop Big Gov’t, and destroy the Deep State
Anyone wanting to pass the best Republican conservative priority bills and kill bad bills filed by Democrats and Republicans in the 89th Texas Legislative Session
Anyone interested in holding Republican lawmakers accountable
Anyone interested in the March 2026 Republican Primary
The Praying Ekklesia
Anyone angry at the 36 Republicans who joined with a majority of Democrats to elect Dustin Burrows as Texas House Speaker
Anyone who agrees that Democrats should not be running the Republican-controlled Texas House!

The Past Record Begs the Question – Will the 89th Session Fully Back Trump?

Jan 14, 2025 | 89th Session, TXLege

Compiled by JoAnn Fleming

History of the 88th Session RPT Legislative Priority

Secure our Border/Protect Texans

(92.3% Voter Support 2022 TX Republican Primary)

(92% Voter Support 2024 TX Republican Primary)

The Governor should declare an invasion under Article 1, Sect. 10, Clause 3 of the US Constitution to PROTECT Texans from the invasion, stop illegal entry, send illegal border crossers back to Mexico.
STOP all taxpayer funded services and subsidies to illegal aliens.
Legislature shall direct the governor to enter an Interstate Compact for Border Security.

88th TX Lege Results?

Presented by Tom Glass 7/8/23 for TCG Coalition Summit as RPT Border Security Report

Two of the three parts of this priority were implemented. Legislatively, SB 1403, the interstate compact bill by Tan Parker (steered through the House by Rep. David Spiller) passed. Abbott declared an invasion, invoking US Constitution Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 in a November letter and started repelling during the session.

There were no bills passed to stop taxpayer subsidies to illegals; however, we accomplished something talked about for over a decade but never done. We actually got a comprehensive bill drafted to stop funding taxpayer services for illegal aliens. There was ZERO interest from any Republican legislator to file it!

A few minor border bills made it through (see below), but all the big items on border security – legislative support for the Governor’s invocation of Article I, Sec. 10 of the U.S. Constitution, the statutory authorization for Texas law enforcement to engage in tide-turning, game changing, “repel at the border” tactics, and a new force or unit to deploy those efforts all fell short. Along the way, we learned that neither Sen. Brian Birdwell nor Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick understand or support the need for Texas to repel at the border or to invoke Texas’ self-defense provision of Article I, Sec. 10. They consider border enforcement to be a 100% federal issue.

Abbott’s actions demonstrate that he believes he has the necessary tools to repel at the border – Texas Constitution Art. 4, Sec. 7 control of the Texas military to repel invasions and the Texas Disaster Act, which he invoked to involve Texas law enforcement in repelling illegals at the border. He also has a budget from the legislature to deploy millions of dollars in resources as he sees fit.

Rep. Matt Schaefer believed the Governor needed a new organization dedicated solely to border security to take pressure off the part-time Texas military and off the DPS which is designed to enforce Texas law in their home districts. This effort (HB 20) was killed late in session by Dade Phelan by upholding a Democrat point of order. No results were seen from any of the 88th Session Special Sessions.

Other border security bills that passed:

SB 1900 Birdwell – Designates cartels as foreign terrorist organizations; applies street gang laws to foreign terrorist organizations (approved by LP committee).
SB 602 Birdwell – Designates Border Patrol as Texas peace officers, allowing them to arrest for state crimes while detaining for federal border offenses.
SB 1133 Blanco – Compensates landowners for damage to property from border invasion.
SB 423 Paxton – Cleanup bill allowing Texas military to use unmanned aerial vehicles on border.

Smith County Commissioners Court Responds

Mar 14, 2025 | Smith County

Contacts: Tom Fabry, Board Member, Local Watchdog Committee Chair | (817) 721-6701
JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director, former County Commissioner | (903) 360-2858

March 14, 2025

RE: 3.11.2025 SMITH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT PRESENTATION ROAD BOND PROJECTS

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT SMITH COUNTY ROAD BOND PROJECTS

SMITH COUNTY JUDGE AND COMMISSIONERS:

On February 24, 2025, Grassroots America, called for a full public accounting of Smith County Road Bond Projects, saying “After receiving numerous complaints from Smith County citizens, we conducted an audit of Smith County Road Bond project documents. Our audit revealed that the Smith County Road Plan promised to the taxpayers is dramatically behind schedule and over budget. We call on the Smith County Commissioners Court to adopt a “business urgency” approach, work with the County Engineer to assemble all the facts and hold a public meeting in the very near future to inform citizens.”

At Commissioners Court on March 11, 2025, the County Engineer and Auditor responded with a presentation of the 2017 and 2021 Road Bond financials and the infrastructure work done with those bond funds. The forty-five-page presentation provided a detailed overview of projects in “closed out” Phase1 and current status of Phase 2 road projects. Likewise, the financial overview was thorough. It is important to note that with one exception (#5 below), the summary GAWTP presented to the Court on February 24th detailed the same financial and completion data as was presented to the court on March 11th, confirming both budget overages and schedule slippage. Specifically:

The Phase 1 bond ($39.5 million) promised 376.5 miles of improved roads.
- Only 204.5 miles were completed with bond funds
- $3.5 Million of supplemental funding had to be applied to complete the additional 175.2 miles of basic maintenance.
The Phase 2 Bond ($45 million) promised 282.2 miles of improved roads.
- Just 99.1 miles have been completed to date
- Just 38.4 miles are contracted or planned to date
- Nearly 145 additional miles have not yet been contracted.
- Supplemental funding of $10 million has already been appropriated

What was missing from the March 11th presentation were several critical points GAWTP had previously requested to be discussed. The failure to address these has clouded the goal of total transparency on the financials and deliverables.

The presentation stated a commitment to “complete the Smith County Road Bond Program.” Specific completion dates were not presented nor even discussed. The public has no benchmarks against which progress can be measured or against the FY26 completion, which was promised to the voters as the expected deliverable.
The financial report documented the current funding balance and additional $20 million of bond sale authorizations. However, there was no estimate of the funding required to complete those improvements due to inflation or other factors. Transparency requires both notification and quantification of risk.
Degradation has been reported on projects already completed. There was no discussion on this potentially significant financial risk to the taxpayers. There was no discussion regarding a need to perhaps extend the County’s current practice of a one-year contractor’s bond to two years. Again, this is an important topic that should have been discussed to protect taxpayer investments. Transparency requires a full discussion of project quality and what can be done to protect taxpayers.
The response to the above three issues will define the taxpayer exposure to the potential Interest & Sinking Fund (I&S) tax rate increase in the FY 2026 budget. Transparency requires disclosure of I&S tax rate impact as soon as possible so that the Commissioners Court can get to work cutting costs in other areas of the County Budget to ease the burden on taxpayers.
The Auditor reported that $2.2 million in Interest Income has been earned from the bond fund investments. This was new, and good, news. However, what was missing from the report was the approximately $40 million in interest expense, an incremental cost to the taxpayers. Full transparency requires both good and bad news.
No official has been charged with updating the strategically important Transportation Infrastructure Plan. That is critically important to prevent future crises that may require additional bond propositions. Full transparency in problem solving requires both short- and long-term strategic plans. (Should the Commissioners Court utilize a community task force approach, we strongly recommend that contractors who intend to bid on future projects or who have financial interests in those bidding companies are disqualified from serving on the task force.)

Unfortunately, the Court’s agenda packet did not include the slide deck. No opportunity was thus available to analyze or reinforce these concerns under “public comments.” Public comments can often stimulate the Court’s deeper discussions or an exploration of new concerns.

Moreover, this was styled on the agenda as a “presentation” agenda item, not a “discuss, consider and take any necessary action” item. There will be no opportunity for public comments or formal debate for SIX MONTHS until the first semi-annual update. Road conditions affect virtually everyone, every day. Road conditions are important not just to residents and businesses but to those providing public services – schools, emergency services, and law enforcement.

The taxpaying citizens of Smith County want, need, and deserve better from the Smith County Commissioners Court. A schedule of pending road projects must indicate to taxpayers WHEN and HOW the specific roads they travel every day will be fixed. Transparency depends upon our remaining six questions being fully discussed in public and answered.

We strongly urge members of the Smith County Commissioners Court to require full transparency of themselves as the administrators of Smith County.

JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director
Acting President

Thomas Fabry, Board Member
Chairman, Government Watchdog Committee

Political advertisement paid for by Grassroots America We the People™, PO Box 130012, Tyler, TX 75713.
Copyright © Grassroots America We the People™. All rights reserved.

Presentation Slidedeck

Download Press Release

Grassroots America Calls for Public Accounting of Smith County Road Bond Projects

Feb 25, 2025 | Smith County

Contacts: Tom Fabry, Board Member, Local Watchdog Committee Chair | (817) 721-6701
JoAnn Fleming, Executive Director, former County Commissioner | (903) 360-2858

February 25, 2025

Grassroots America Calls for Public Accounting
of Smith County Road Bond Projects

Tyler, Texas – Grassroots America, a statewide conservative public policy and citizen action group based in Smith County, Texas, today called for a full public accounting of Smith County Road Bond Projects, saying “After receiving numerous complaints from Smith County citizens, we conducted an audit of Smith County Road Bond project documents. Our audit revealed that the Smith County Road Plan promised to the taxpayers is dramatically behind schedule and over budget. There appear to be examples of “completed” road surfaces that differ from the improvements promised. Some completed projects are already showing signs of deterioration. The lack of financial and operational transparency in scheduling these road bond projects and reporting to taxpayers is just flat out unacceptable. Smith County taxpayers deserve better. We call on the Smith County Commissioners Court to adopt a “business urgency” approach, work with the County Engineer to assemble all the facts and hold a public meeting in the very near future to inform citizens.”

Background
In 2017, voters approved $39.6 Million in bonds to finance deteriorating and substandard
county road infrastructure – which by law – is a core responsibility of the Smith County
Commissioners Court. Even adjusting for the COVID shutdown, it appears that some of the
Phase I projects may not have been completed to the promised standards.

In 2021, a second bond for $45 Million was approved by voters as the second phase of road
infrastructure improvements.

Both bond proposals defined the specific projects to be completed within three years and provided the dates, road segments, and types of improvements that were scheduled.

In addition, the Smith County Commissioners Court appropriated another $13.5 Million of our tax dollars to supplement the borrowed bond funds.

To summarize, Smith County taxpayers will shell out more than $100 Million (when financing costs are added) to finally “fix” their roads. It is a reasonable expectation that in exchange for their tax dollars, Smith County citizens receive exactly what they were promised – nothing less!

Have Smith County taxpayers received their money’s worth?

Grassroots America conducted a review of both Phase 1 and Phase 2 Road Bond Project documents that were publicly available on the Smith County web site and other documents we received in response to a Public Information Act Request.

The analysis posed troubling findings in both the miles of roads repaired and the cost of repairs when compared to published approved project lists.

The Phase 1 Road Bond Program provided $39.5 million and proposed 376.5 miles of major reconstruction and widening, HMAC (Hot Mix Asphalt Concrete) overlay and reconstruction and miscellaneous improvements. According to the Phase 1 Bond summary, the county spent all $39.5 million to improve 204.5 miles of roadways, leaving a balance of 172 miles.
The Phase 2 Road Bond Program provided another $45.0 million to be spent in FY23, FY24 and FY25. Approved projects specified another 282.2 miles of road improvements. The county is now nearly half-way through the project calendar. The status report dated January 6, 2025, documents that just a third of the promised miles – 99.1 miles – have been completed. Only seventeen (17) additional miles are under contract and a mere seventeen (17) other miles are even planned to date!
To summarize, $98 million in financial commitments have improved 478.8 miles of the 658.7 promised miles of improvements (a shortfall of 179.9 miles). Just nineteen (19) months of the six-year road bond plan remains. Unfortunately, the County has not been transparent and forthcoming regarding either the performance shortfall or potential financial risk.

In addition to apparent slippage in the schedule and cost overruns, a non-scientific review of
the quality of improvements completed to date generate additional concerns. Segments of
completed roadways are already showing deterioration. In addition, improvements in other segments do not appear adequate to handle the volume and type of traffic experienced. Both issues indicate potential problems and financial exposure in the near future.

Grassroots America is publicly reporting our findings and concerns in response to the citizen
complaints we received. Our aim is to call attention to these increasingly serious issues, and to encourage a public accounting of the situation with a full discussion of solutions.

Much has changed since the project plans and bonds were approved. The County Engineer has been redirected to help oversee the courthouse construction project. Inflationary pressures have impacted both material and labor costs. Population and industrial growth have increased faster than projected. While these factors directly impact cost management, these factors in no way excuse the lack of disclosure to the taxpayers. Smith County received $44.5 million from the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Reasonable questions arise regarding the use of this funding as well as the priorities the Smith County Commissioners Court placed on projects other than county roads.

Recommendations
Smith County citizens deserve and rightfully demand quality road infrastructure that provides safe and convenient transportation around the county. Today, Grassroots America petitions the Smith County Commissioners Court to:

Provide the current status of funded road improvements, assess known concerns, summarize bond fund balances, specify any needed supplemental financing, and report a revised timeline to completion.
Convene a public workshop that includes County Judge Neal Franklin, all four County Commissioners, the County Engineer, any required Road and Bridge staff, and the County Auditor to:
- Vet and agree upon the County’s current ability to complete Phase 2 projects on time and on budget.
- Prepare an updated project plan with dates and road segments through FY26.
- Communicate the revised plans, dates to completion, and road standards to Smith County citizens the same way the road bond plan was “sold” to the voters – in community town hall meetings held around the county.
Assign responsibility to revise the county’s long-range Transportation Infrastructure Plan, which was instituted under former County Judge Nathaniel Moran. The multi-year plan should ensure that the County’s road infrastructure meets the scope, quality, and financing necessary to adequately address the projected needs of the taxpayers. The updated long-range plan must contain specific road construction, surface maintenance, and drainage standards to accommodate East Texas soils, weather conditions, and population density.
Utilize the road facts collected to set budget priorities for the next fiscal year and to construct a Business Plan for the Smith County Commissioners Court. This will set measurable performance expectations for the County’s governing body as well as demonstrate the Commissioners Court’s willingness to “lead by example.”

Finally, the dedicated Smith County Road and Bridge Engineer and his employees deserve the right tools, training, and consistent management from the Smith County Commissioners Court. We are deeply concerned that Mr. Davis’s attention has been redirected from his job – the Smith County Road and Bridge Department – to the courthouse construction project.

It is time to right this ship, which is badly “off course.” Smith County citizens need to see competence and caring from the Smith County Judge and Commissioners.