Preparing for the January online Q&A and I am being inundated with questions about the Texas Independence Referendum. Here is where we are so far.

Rather than consuming the entire hour of the Q&A with questions about the TEXIT referendum’s status, I felt it was better to brief you here on the most common questions. I apologize in advance for the spoilers.

What is the bill number?

It hasn’t received a bill number yet. I was on a video conference with Representative Biedermann’s office yesterday to discuss changes made by the Legislative Council to the final draft. The legislation is significantly different than our initial proposal. Changes were required because of existing constitutional limitations that cannot be circumvented by statute. We’ve been back-and-forth with Lege Council since the bill was sent to them over these changes and are very close to the final product. There are two changes made by the Lege Council that are problematic, and those are being addressed. We anticipate that those will be corrected, and Rep. Biedermann will have the final product ready within days. Once we have the final product, it will receive a bill number.

Why does the legislation put the referendum of November of 2021? Why can’t we just have a special election?

In our original draft, we specified that the referendum should be held on the regularly scheduled constitutional amendment election in 2021. That would put the vote in November. This was a strategic decision. One of the biggest obstacles that a vote of this nature has to overcome is the cost to the taxpayers to have a one-off election. By specifying that it be held at the earliest scheduled election date, we completely took the opposition’s cost argument off of the table.

However, there was another benefit to doing it this way. It’s the only legal way to do it. The Legislature cannot constitutionally compel the Governor to call a special election. That is especially true for a vote of this nature, which has no current precedent in Texas law. Any language in the bill that purported to compel the Governor to act would be ruled unconstitutional, and the courts would throw the entire TEXIT vote in the trash can.

What legislators are currently supporting the TEXIT bill?

This is, perhaps, the most asked question on the bill. When I told Representative Biedermann that I’ve been getting this question, he asked that I tell all of you to keep contacting your State Representative and State Senator.

Right now, legislators are sporadically visiting with one another. But most of them are just now getting there desks and chairs moved around in their offices in the Capitol and there is very little discussion of business among the members. That all changes next week.

We’ve heard from some legislators directly that they are waiting to see the final product before committing. That’s fine. The question is whether or not that’s what your Rep and Senator are telling you. Some of you have reported back to us on the Legislators page on our website that you have communicated with your elected officials. However, we’ve not had enough reports to be confident in any assessment of overall support for the bill.

As Biedermann said, what matters is whether or not they march down to the clerk’s office on the opening day of the session to add their name to the bill. This is why we are imploring EVERYONE to contact your State Representative and State Senator, daily if possible, and tell them that you expect their support on Representative Biedermann’s Texas Independence Referendum bill.

Does the bill have a sponsor in the Senate?

Much like the answer above, we won’t know for sure until the session starts. We have received reports from members that Senators Creighton and Schwertner have expressed interest in sponsoring the legislation, but we do not have a firm commitment to the TNM from either. You should be asking your State Senator if they will commit to you that they will sponsor the bill in the Senate and report the results back to us.

What can I do right now to help?

1. Contact your State Representative and State Senator.
2. Help us reach more Texans by sharing the TEXIT page and signing up supporters using the methods on the Outreach page.
3. Make a donation of any amount to the TNM. Our work is actively being squelched by the mainstream media. Social media is doing their best to keep us from reaching more Texans. The only recourse left is paid media and advertising which is expensive. Every dollar helps us reach more Texans.
4. Volunteer to help us organize in your area. Go to https://tnm.me/volunteer and let us know that you want to help.
5. Get very familiar with the legislative process. Watch this video, this video, and this video. Read this article. Download this guide.

How long is this going to take?

It will take as long as we let it take. If we do everything that we need to, with everyone participating, we’ll have a vote on TEXIT in November. If we somehow fall short, we’ll push to the next battle in the 2022 elections and ensure that the Legislature is packed with pro-TEXIT, pro-TNM representatives and Senators who will not fail us.

The TNM is not a campaign to get a TEXIT referendum on the ballot. We are an organization with a perpetual mission to secure and protect the political, cultural, and economic independence of Texas. We will fight until we get and win a vote on TEXIT. Then we’ll continue to fight to be sure that our independence is never in question again.

As such, we are an organization wholly unsuitable for “sunshine patriots” and Texians of convenience. This is going to be tough but it’s the right thing to do. We don’t stop doing what’s right because it’s tough.

Are we going to do anything for the opening day of the legislative session?

After consulting with Representative Biedermann, we will not be conducting any in-person events at the Capitol on the opening day of the session. Instead, we are planning action days during the opening week of the session that you can participate in from home. We are actively coordinating with Representative Biedermann to organize and participate in a live panel discussion in the last week of January. Additionally, we are actively planning in-district events for both Senators and Representatives to bring pressure in their own backyards. As these events are finalized, you’ll be the first to know.