RESOLUTION ON LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Republican Party of Upshur County

WHEREAS the 86th Texas legislative session did not conclude with any of the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) legislative priorities passed intact into law, and

WHEREAS it is of paramount importance to the Republican Party of Upshur County for the 87th legislative session to pass the 2020 RPT legislative priorities into law, and

WHEREAS our elected representatives in the House and the Senate must deliver our voice to the other members in their respective legislative bodies, and actively pursue, without capitulation or compromise, those legislative priorities which have been passed by the RPT convention delegates, as well as additional priorities of the Republican Party of Upshur County listed below, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Party of Upshur county will publicly publish this resolution and send a copy of this resolution to State Senator Bryan Hughes, State Representative Jay Dean, State Republican Executive Committee Committeeman Dr. Charles Blankenship and State Republican Executive Committee Committeewoman Rhonda Anderson requesting action in the 87th session, and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each shall be requested to reply in writing to the Republican Party of Upshur County as follows:

-  clearly communicating their position on each legislative priority listed below, and

-  describing their commitment to advocate for, author, co-author, sponsor, or co-sponsor and vote for a bill in furtherance of the priority, including existing bill numbers, if known.

The following are the current Republican Party of Texas legislative priorities, which are issues that have overwhelming statewide support by Republicans.  The one item added at the end is from the 2018 legislative priorities and the Republican Party of Upshur County believes it to be of such importance that it needs to be included.

2020 RPT Legislative Priorities:

Election Integrity

Require citizenship verification of each voter, whether voting in person or by mail-in ballot; and require proof of a medical disability in order to receive a ballot by mail when a disability is claimeddue to the massive fraud perpetrated by Democrats in harvesting illegal ballots. 

Religious Freedom

Restore the rights of individuals, organizations, and businesses, to exercise their sincerely held religious beliefs by prohibiting local ordinances, state laws, or executive orders that violate those rights.

Children and Gender Modification

Abolish the following practices for minors: intervention to prevent natural progression of puberty; administration of opposite sex hormones; and performance of any type of gender reassignment surgery.

Abolition of Abortion

Abolish abortion by ensuring the right to life and equal protection of the laws to all pre-born children from the moment of fertilization.

Constitutional Carry

Restore legal Texas firearms owners’ rights to carry them openly or concealed without a permit, while maintaining the option of a permit for reciprocity purposes.

Monument Protection

All monuments or markers in our state shall be protected by law from being removed, defaced, destroyed, or otherwise dishonored. Specific protection shall be given to the Alamo Cenotaph which shall not be removed from its current location off the Alamo Battlefield footprint.

School Choice for All

Empower parents and guardians to choose from public, private, charter, or homeschool options for their children’s education using tax credits or exemptions without government restraint or intrusion.

Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying

Abolish all forms of taxpayer-funded lobbying.

Additionally,

Ban and prohibit the use of payroll deductions to collect and/or remit union dues for any employee of an entity with statutory taxing authority with no carve-outs / exceptions.  

It is not the responsibility of a taxpayer-funded entity to collect and remit union dues.  That practice is an unjust use of taxpayer funds and must be eliminated.

John Melvin Dodd