Monday, February 7, 2022

Calculating Just Compensation

From the LII: 

- Click here

From Investopedia

- Click here.

Just compensation refers to the compensation individuals receive when their property gets seized by the government for public use. For example, when the national highway system was constructed in the 1950s, many homeowners had their property seized because the government needed the land to build the interstate highway system.

The just compensation remedy is provided by the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause and is usually considered to be fair market value.1 However, what the government considers just compensation may not be regarded as "just" by the person whose property is seized. The government’s ability to take private property for public use is called eminent domain.

Fair Market Value.

- Click here.

What Is Fair Market Value?

In its simplest sense, fair market value (FMV) is the price an asset would sell for on the open market. Fair market value has come to represent the price of an asset under the following usual set of conditions: prospective buyers and sellers are reasonably knowledgeable about the asset, behaving in their own best interest, free of undue pressure to trade, and given a reasonable time period for completing the transaction. Given these conditions, an asset's fair market value should represent an accurate valuation or assessment of its worth. The term is commonly used in tax law and the real estate market.

 


Sunday, February 6, 2022

For Week 4

TEKS - First, Second Grade
Magna Carta
English Bill of Rights
US Dec of Ind.
- Loyalists Rebuttal
Texas Dec of Ind.
Articles of Confed.
US Bill of Rights
- 14th Amendment
TX Bill o Rights

From Edweek: Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack

 For this week's written assignment.

- Click here for it.

Republican state lawmakers have continued their crusade against “critical race theory” into the 2022 legislative session, introducing more bills that attempt to regulate how teachers can discuss racism, sexism, and issues of systemic inequality in the classroom.

In some states, this new slate of proposed legislation also expands the boundaries of prohibited speech for educators and gives parents more oversight when it comes to what their children are learning in school.

The trend promises an ongoing minefield for teachers and school leaders, some of whom have already faced challenges to lessons and professional development courses in states where these laws have passed.

Since January 2021, 37 states have introduced bills or taken other steps that would restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism, according to an Education Week analysis. Fourteen states have imposed these bans and restrictions either through legislation or other avenues.

Basic characteristics of the three types of political cultures

 


For images on political culture across the United States

Can't get these to upload

- Click here

From the MPSA: Political Culture in American States: Elazar's Formulation Examined

For our look at political culture.

- Click here for the article

For more on Elazar: 

State and Local Political Culture.

HB3979 - Relating to the social studies curriculum in public schools.

- Click here for it.

Friday, February 4, 2022

2022 US Income Tax Brackets

 



https://taxfoundation.org/2022-tax-brackets/

The Colonization of Texas: 1820-1830

- A Masters Thesis from 1940. 

How Did Empresarios Attract Colonists? Empresario Series Part 3



https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/publications/Education/VFTd_SFDA_Attracting%20Colonists_3.pdf

http://www.texasslaveryproject.org/sources/LawsOfTexas/display.php?f=TSP0132.xml

Complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

A complaint issued to the Federal Department of Transportation regarding the disparate impact of the widening of I-45 on racial groups.

- Click here for it.  

From Community Impact News - 2/3.22

Tom Ramsey talks redistricting, priorities for Harris County's new commissioner Precinct 3.

- League of Women Voters of Texas launches online Vote 411 tool in advance of primary elections.

- The Woodlands Township board of directors to decide on future of One Water Task Force.

Thursday, February 3, 2022

American Genius - Wright Brothers vs. Curtiss

Frp, Scotusblog: Profile of a potential nominee: Ketanji Brown Jackson

- Click here for it.

https://time.com/4143574/wright-brothers-patent-trolling/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers_patent_war

 https://www.alvincollege.edu/about/financial-information/pdf/Legislative-Appropriations-2022-and-2023.pdf

https://www.alvincollege.edu/about/financial-information/index.html

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_tbonds_glance.htm

https://hgsubsidence.org/

https://www.lonestargcd.org/

https://www.ncsl.org/research/energy/new-fees-on-hybrid-and-electric-vehicles.aspx#map

https://www.lbb.texas.gov/

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/01/texas-redistricting-lawsuit-primary/

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/02/texas-winter-snow-storm-2022-power-grid/

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/02/national-butterfly-center-conspiracy-threats/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Labor_Standards_Act_of_1938

https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us-public-finance/fitch-upgrades-alvin-community-college-district-tx-ltd-tax-bonds-to-aa-on-criteria-change-19-12-2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-centric_warfare




Landshark - SNL

Wright Brothers vs Glenn Curtiss

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Sections 8, 9, 10

- Section 8.

- Section 9.

- Section 10.

The Neighborhood That Sank Into The Water

Brownwood Subdivision now a Nature Center

Brownwood Subdivision - January 20, 1985

From Community Impact News: Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District opens public comments for subsidence study

- Click here for the article

The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, the entity responsible for managing groundwater and its usage in Montgomery County, opened a 60-day public comment period on Jan. 26 following a stakeholder meeting to evaluate its subsidence study.

Residents who wish to offer a public comment should email info@lonestargcd.org with the subject line “Subsidence Study Phase 2 Public Comments.” Comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. March 25.

Subsidence, which the U.S. Geological Survey defines as the sinking of land due to excess groundwater pumping, has been tracked in Montgomery County for decades, according to previous Community Impact Newspaper reporting and data from the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, a special-purpose district devoted to water conservation.

Subsidence was addressed in the creation of the 2022 desired future conditions for Groundwater Management Area 14, which includes the LSGCD. However, during the drafting process for the DFCs, the LSGCD opposed making a subsidence metric mandatory, and GMA 14 approved conditions that made enforcing subsidence optional Jan. 5.

LSGCD General Manager Samantha Reiter told Community Impact Newspaper that the district would enforce the subsidence metric following the Jan. 5 vote, when she voted to approve the DFCs.

The subsidence study, first approved in July 2019, is expected to release a draft report in May following the public comment period, according to the LSGCD's website. The study is being conducted by the Round Rock-based Thornhill Group, Denver-based LRE Water and Houston-based Advanced Groundwater Solutions.

At the Jan. 26 meeting, Reiter said the study is intended to provide monitoring “just for Montgomery County.”

From Community Impact News: Harris County commissioners name new flood control director, county engineer on Jan. 25

- Click here for the article.  

Harris County welcomed five new directors on Jan. 25, who will head county entities such as the Harris County Flood Control District and the Harris County Engineering Department.

In an unanimous vote, commissioners named Christina Petersen as the flood control district’s executive director on Jan. 25. During the last three years, Petersen served as deputy general manager for the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, according to a Jan. 25 press release from the Harris County Office of County Administration.

Petersen will be the first female director since the district’s inception 85 years ago.

“For the first time in the history of Harris County ... there will be a woman, a female engineer, who is leading that organization,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said during the Jan. 25 commissioners court meeting. “It's exciting. It's been a long time coming.”

Alan Black served as interim executive director for HCFCD after former director Russ Poppe resigned in June 2021. Matthew Zeve, who served as deputy executive director for the district, confirmed in a Jan. 26 email to Community Impact Newspaper that he will be resigning from his position, effective Jan. 28.

Milton Rahman—who previously served as the deputy chief of staff for Garcia—was unanimously approved for the position of county engineer on Jan. 25. He will be the first South Asian to hold that position, Garcia said.

“The roles of flood control district director and county engineer are integral to Harris County’s regional leadership in developing drainage and transportation infrastructure, including the implementation of the 2018 Flood Bond as well as hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in flood mitigation projects along the county’s waterways and roadways,” a press release from the office of county administration said.

The county administrator’s office also announced on Jan. 25 other county director positions that were filled: Daniel Ramos will lead the office of management and budget; Lisa Lin will pilot the office of sustainability; and Sara Mickelson will head early childhood initiatives.

Ramos will be filling County Administrator David Berry’s shoes after he was promoted from the budget director position to his current role in June 2021. His last position was as deputy city administrator for the mayor in the city of Baltimore, where he was employed for nearly a decade, according to a Jan. 25 press release.

Lin and Mickelson will be the first individuals to serve in their new roles for Harris County. Lin will bring over 15 years of sustainability experience for institutions, including the Houston mayor’s office, the city of San Antonio and Rice University. For almost 10 years, Mickelson held a career in public service, most recently as an independent consultant working with various institutions.

- Meeting Agenda.
- 2018 Bond Program.
- Harris County Flood Control District.
- Harris County Engineering Department.
- Harris-Galveston Subsidence District.

From Community Impact News: League City to target projects from 2019 road bond

More road construction

- Click here for it.

The city of League City will make headway this year on two projects to improve the city’s mobility: the Grissom Road reconstruction and traffic signal improvements to League City Parkway.

Both projects are part of the city’s $72 million bond proposition passed by voters in May 2019, which included 10 mobility projects.

League City will break ground this spring on the reconstruction of Grissom Road, which will be widened between Abigail Lane and West NASA Boulevard from two lanes to a four-lane divided roadway. The $11.2 million project will wrap up in the first quarter of 2023, city officials said.

League City is also installing traffic signals and making turn lane upgrades at League City Parkway intersections. Improvements at Brittany Lakes Drive and Fennigan Lane were completed in December, city staff said.

Meanwhile, work on the Landing Boulevard and Magnolia Meadow Lane signals will begin in early 2022, and work on the West Bay Area Boulevard signal will begin in late 2022.

Additionally, the city will also continue acquiring land this year for the North Landing Boulevard extension project, which is also a bond project. The $66.4 million project, which is expected to break ground in 2023, will extend Landing Boulevard to the north at its end at FM 518 and connect it to the I-45 frontage road.

Two bridges are included in this project, including one which will go over Clear Creek, as well as bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.

The project is a partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation, which will serve as the manager of the project due to its use of $35.1 million in federal dollars; League City is paying for $31.3 million of the project.

NORTH HOUSTON HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

Relevant links: 

- City of Houston: North Houston Highway Improvement Project.

- TX Dot: North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) - Segment 3: I-69 (SH 288 to I-45S) Design-Build Project.

- H-GAC: North Houston Highway Improvement Project.

- GHP: North Houston Highway Improvement Project.

- Dept. of Transportation: Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions on the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) in Texas.

From Community Impact News: TxDOT commissioner optimistic about I-45 agreements

- Click here for the story

The Texas Department of Transportation’s Transportation Commissioner Laura Ryan said the agency was confident that agreements could be reached with Harris County and the Federal Highway Administration over the controversial I-45 widening project.

Ryan’s comments came at a luncheon hosted by the North Houston Association, a regional nonprofit business association. Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who voted against the county's initial lawsuit against TxDOT, moderated the conversation with Ryan.

Ryan said the Federal Highway Administration, which opened an investigation into possible violations of the Civil Rights Act in October, was open to a “voluntary resolution agreement.” That agreement would allow some modifications to the design but the purpose of the project would not change. Ryan did not clarify which aspects of the design would be modified.

Ryan also reiterated TxDOT’s efforts to involve the public in meetings and argued that most of the issues raised have already been incorporated into the planned expansion. Groups such as Stop TxDOT I-45 have raised concerns about the project’s projected displacement of over 1,000 homes in Harris County.

Air Alliance Houston, Stop TxDOT I-45, Link Houston, Texas Appleseed and Texas Housers filed a Dec. 16 Civil Rights Act complaint against the project, alleging intentional racial discrimination and that the agency had violated established procedures in moving forward with the project.

Ryan did not comment on the Dec. 16 suit.

Ryan also said TxDOT is still waiting on the timeline for funding to flow from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed in November, citing rulemaking processes as a reason for delays.

TxDOT estimated about $28 billion will arrive to the state over five years. The vast majority of the funds will go to surface transportation such as roads and bridges.

Ryan highlighted new grant programs available for application that would fund electric vehicle charging stations as well as the Protect program, which grants $8.7 billion to boost resilience for transportation systems, including upgrading existing infrastructure and strengthening evacuation routes.

Harris County temporarily pauses lawsuit over I-45 expansion in pursuit of negotiations with TxDOT.

Harris County sues TxDOT over I-45 overhaul proposal.

I-45 expansion on hold as federal investigation plays out.

- Harris County, Texas v. Texas Department Of Transportation.

2020 will be the year Houston decides I-45 project’s future.

North Houston Highway Improvement Project 3D Visualization of the Propos...

Finance in the United States

- 2019.

- 2020.

Bill of Rights

- US.

- Texas. 

Texas Election Code

- Click here for it.

Let's review. 

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Powers prohibited to the states

Section 10 - States prohibited from the exercise of certain powers.

1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

2. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress.

3. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in a war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.

Links - 2/1/22

https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/publications/96-280.php

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/amgovernment/chapter/state-political-culture/

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/executive-management/CAM%20Program%20Complaint.pdf

https://texascottagefoodlaw.com/charging-sales-tax/

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1960/6

https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2019/01/when-a-quote-is-not-exactly-a-quote-the-business-of-america-is-business-edition/

https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_2021_ballot_measures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._78

Sunday, January 30, 2022

links from 1/28/22

https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/GLT/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/42866335?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

https://www.jstor.org/stable/30234752?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

https://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1190&context=luc_theses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Lion

https://www.findlaw.com/state/texas-law/property-line-and-fence-laws-in-texas.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Austin

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/newport-christopher-1561-after-august-15-1617/#heading0


From the Texas Tribune: Congress allocated $19 billion in federal stimulus money to Texas public education, but schools have yet to see an extra dime

From last April.

Fiscal federalism in action.

- Click for the article.  

For more than a year, the federal government has been pumping billions of dollars into school districts across the country to help them meet the demands of the pandemic. Most states have used that pot of stimulus funds as Congress intended: buying personal protective equipment for students and teachers, laptops for kids learning from home, improved ventilation systems for school buildings to prevent virus transmission and covering other costs.

But in Texas, local schools have yet to see an extra dime from the more than $19 billion in federal stimulus money given to the state. After Congress passed the first stimulus bill last year, officials used the state's $1.3 billion education share to fill other holes in the state budget, leaving public schools with few additional resources to pay for the costs of the pandemic.

Now, educators and advocacy groups worry that the state could do the same thing with the remaining $17.9 billion in funding for Texas public schools from the other two stimulus packages. Because of federal requirements, Texas has to invest over $1 billion of the state’s own budget in higher education to receive the third round of stimulus funding for K-12 public schools. Experts said the state has applied for a waiver to avoid sending that added money to higher education, but the process has caused major delays in local districts receiving funds they desperately need.


From Ballotpedia: Texas elections, 2022

For future reference.

- Click here for the entry

The Texas Primary is set for March 1.

From EdWeek: What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?

For this week's written assignment.

- Click here for it

Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.

The basic tenets of critical race theory, or CRT, emerged out of a framework for legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s created by legal scholars Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado, among others.

A good example is when, in the 1930s, government officials literally drew lines around areas deemed poor financial risks, often explicitly due to the racial composition of inhabitants. Banks subsequently refused to offer mortgages to Black people in those areas.

Today, those same patterns of discrimination live on through facially race-blind policies, like single-family zoning that prevents the building of affordable housing in advantaged, majority-white neighborhoods and, thus, stymies racial desegregation efforts.

CRT also has ties to other intellectual currents, including the work of sociologists and literary theorists who studied links between political power, social organization, and language. And its ideas have since informed other fields, like the humanities, the social sciences, and teacher education.

This academic understanding of critical race theory differs from representation in recent popular books and, especially, from its portrayal by critics—often, though not exclusively, conservative Republicans. Critics charge that the theory leads to negative dynamics, such as a focus on group identity over universal, shared traits; divides people into “oppressed” and “oppressor” groups; and urges intolerance.

Thus, there is a good deal of confusion over what CRT means, as well as its relationship to other terms, like “anti-racism” and “social justice,” with which it is often conflated.

To an extent, the term “critical race theory” is now cited as the basis of all diversity and inclusion efforts regardless of how much it’s actually informed those programs.

For more: 

- Wkipedia: Critical race theory.
- ABA: A Lesson on Critical Race Theory.
- NYT: Critical Race Theory: A Brief History.

From the Texas Tribune: Frontrunners for Texas’ new congressional seats look to send message with decisive primary wins

A look at the first election held after district were redrawn last year.

- Click here for the article

Headlining a rally here recently in one of Texas’ new congressional districts, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz made a proclamation that will likely be boilerplate across many U.S. House races this year as Republicans seek to retake the majority.

“Turning this country around starts in November 2022,” Cruz said, “and it starts right here in Texas in new CD-38.”

But here, the rallying cry carries a particular urgency, as Republicans press to deliver Army combat veteran Wesley Hunt an outright primary win over a crowd of underdog opponents vying for the solidly Republican seat. And it is a similar story in Texas’ other new district — a bright-blue seat in the Austin area — where there is also a clear frontrunner, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, out for a decisive win.


Neither of the races for the state’s two new seats may end up being all that competitive, but they carry worthwhile implications for each party and candidate. Hunt’s election would send a Black conservative to Congress at a time when the GOP is eager to diversify, while an outright Doggett victory would show the 27-year incumbent remains a political force despite the fast-changing city he represents — and would represent even more of after this year.

To the extent either is facing competition in their primaries, it is not necessarily over issues but the assets that are fueling their heavy-favorite statuses — Hunt’s backing from Republicans in Washington, D.C., and Doggett’s long tenure in Congress.

“It’s always good to get new perspectives, but we don’t have a ‘new faces’ problem as much as we have a need for more faces,” Doggett said in an interview, alluding to Democrats’ thin majorities in both chambers. He added that he was “excited that Austin continues to be a youthful, energetic, vital community” and pointed to endorsements he has received from groups like the Texas College Democrats.

The Social Studies TEKS - Kindergarden

§113.11. Social Studies, Kindergarten, Beginning with School Year 2011-2012.

- Click here for the whole thing.

(a) Introduction.

(1) In Kindergarten, the study of the self, home, family, and classroom establishes the foundation for responsible citizenship in society. Students explore state and national heritage by examining the celebration of patriotic holidays and the contributions of individuals. The concept of chronology is introduced. Students apply geographic concepts of location and physical and human characteristics of place. Students identify basic human needs and ways people meet these needs. Students learn the purpose of rules and the role of authority figures in the home and school. Students learn customs, symbols, and celebrations that represent American beliefs and principles and contribute to our national identity. Students compare family customs and traditions and describe examples of technology in the home and school. Students acquire information from a variety of oral and visual sources. Students practice problem-solving, decision-making, and independent-thinking skills.

. . . 

(8) Government. The student understands the purpose of rules.

The student is expected to:

(A) identify purposes for having rules; and
(B) identify rules that provide order, security, and safety in the home and school.

(9) Government. The student understands the role of authority figures. The student is expected to:

(A) identify authority figures in the home, school, and community; and
(B) explain how authority figures make and enforce rules.

(10) Citizenship. The student understands important symbols, customs, and responsibilities that represent American beliefs and principles and contribute to our national identity. The student is expected to:

(A) identify the flags of the United States and Texas;
(B) recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag and the Pledge to the Texas Flag;
(C) identify Constitution Day as a celebration of American freedom; and
(D) use voting as a method for group decision making.

Friday, January 28, 2022

 


1/28/22

https://www.glo.texas.gov/history/archives/collections/resource-page/Austins-Colony-Records.html

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/de-leons-colony

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sovereignty

https://www.txdot.gov/

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swath#:~:text=Definition%20of%20swath,as%20if%20by%20a%20scythe

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/virginia-company-of-london/

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/gates-sir-thomas-d-1622/

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/26/texas-redistricting-kel-seliger-redistricting/

https://www.alvinisd.net/Page/39779

https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/full-text


TEXAS 1836 PROJECT

GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 4. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
SUBTITLE D. HISTORY, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION
CHAPTER 451. TEXAS 1836 PROJECT

- Click here for it.

From CIN: Friendswood ISD sees jump in college admissions with elimination of class rank

interesting ...

- Click here for the article

Friendswood ISD has started to see an increase in college admissions after removing class ranks.

Class rank was removed from the district in spring 2019 after the board of trustees voted to remove it from schools, as previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper.

Though Texas law requires schools to report the top 10% of each class for automatic admission to public universities, FISD does not report any rankings outside of that.

Data presented at the Jan. 24 board workshop showed that students who fell outside of the top 10% were admitted to various public universities at a higher percentage than in 2019 before class rank was voted out.

Through a Naviance student survey, admission by any method to Texas A&M University grew from 2019 to 2020 for students who fell into the second, third and fourth quartile by a large percentage. For example, only 4% of students in the third and fourth quartile were accepted into Texas A&M in 2019. In 2020, 50% of students were admitted.

“With the second, third and fourth quartile, it's already shown that they're accepting those kids even more,” FISD Superintendent Thad Roher said.

A survey sent out to the class of 2020 at FISD also showed many students were choosing courses based simply on how it would affect their GPA and class rank.

“It was merely for a rank. Some of those students will sit down and say, “'Tell me what courses to take to put me in the top 10%,'” said Kim Cole, FISD’s executive director of secondary teaching and learning, during the presentation about how students chose their classes.

For the first phase of looking into changing how GPA is ranked, the recommendation for the board is for schools to calculate rank GPA with core and world language classes only. Personal GPAs would be calculated with all courses.

- For more on the top ten percent rule, click here.

Thursday, January 27, 2022

From the Houston Chronicle: Candidate filing underway in Brazoria cities near Pearland

- Click here for the article

From the Texas Tribune: Texas Republicans pressure court to reverse decision blocking attorney general from prosecuting election cases

The Texas Attorney General does not have the power to prosecute criminal law cases, that is given to the county district attorney. Some want to change that, and they hope to do so by pressuring the Texas judiciary.

- Click here for the article.

Texas' highest criminal court is facing intense pressure from fellow Republican elected officials to revisit a recent ruling that gutted the attorney general's ability to unilaterally prosecute election cases.

In recent days, the state's top GOP leaders — including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — have weighed in on the matter and sided with those imploring the Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider the decision. The all-GOP court issued an 8-1 opinion last month that struck down the attorney general's power to go after election cases without the permission of local prosecutors, saying it violates the separation-of-powers clause in the Texas Constitution.

Attorney General Ken Paxton has been vocal in his criticism of the decision and has filed a motion for rehearing. And in recent interviews with conservative media, he has called on supporters to pressure the court to reverse the ruling.

Texas' highest criminal court is facing intense pressure from fellow Republican elected officials to revisit a recent ruling that gutted the attorney general's ability to unilaterally prosecute election cases.

In recent days, the state's top GOP leaders — including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — have weighed in on the matter and sided with those imploring the Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider the decision. The all-GOP court issued an 8-1 opinion last month that struck down the attorney general's power to go after election cases without the permission of local prosecutors, saying it violates the separation-of-powers clause in the Texas Constitution.

Attorney General Ken Paxton has been vocal in his criticism of the decision and has filed a motion for rehearing. And in recent interviews with conservative media, he has called on supporters to pressure the court to reverse the ruling.

635: 1/28/22

DA: No charges to be filed against former Brazoria County clerk accused of jury stacking.

- Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County.

- Brazoria County Economic Indicators.

Manvel Economic Development Corporation.

Manvel Economic Development Project Listing.

- Minutes: Manvel Planning Development and Zoning Commission.

- From 2014: Manvel City Council moving to put more property in its ETJ.

- Meridiana.

- Wikipedia: Meridiana, Texas.

- Rise Communities.

- HBJ: Exclusive: Nevada developer to move to Houston.

- Public Notices from the Brazosport Facts
- - one.
- - two.
- - three.
- - four.
- - five
- - six.
- - seven.

City of Manvel History

 


The (Secret) City of London: Government Edition

The (Secret) City of London: History Edition

 


https://www.bl.uk/magna-carta/articles/magna-carta-english-translation

https://www.instagram.com/the.jefferson.grid/?hl=en

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

From Wikipedia: Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates

- Click here for the entry.

With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his victory in the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump took office as president on January 20, 2017, and faced an immediate vacancy on the Supreme Court due to the February 2016 death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. During the 2016 campaign, Trump had released two lists of potential nominees to the Supreme Court. After taking office, he nominated Neil Gorsuch to succeed Scalia, and Gorsuch was confirmed in April 2017. In November 2017, five more names were added to the previous lists of potential nominees. In June 2018, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, creating a second vacancy on the Supreme Court. In early July 2018, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh as his replacement; Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6, 2018. Following the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020, Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement on September 26, 2020. Exactly a month later on October 26, 2020, Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52–48.

The Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett confirmations were enabled by a rule change made by the Senate Republican majority in April 2017, after the Senate Democratic majority had made a similar change in 2013, which applied the so-called nuclear option to Supreme Court nominees and allowed nominations to be advanced by a simple majority vote rather than the historical norm of a three-fifths supermajority vote.[1] Leonard Leo played a crucial role in selecting Trump's appointees and helping them successfully navigate their Senate confirmation hearings.

From Ballotpedia: Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

- Click here for the entry.

Since taking office, President Joe Biden (D) has nominated 81 individuals to federal judgeships on Article III courts. As of January 20, 2022, 42 of the nominees have been confirmed.[1]

Ballotpedia publishes the federal vacancy count report tracking vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all United States Article III federal courts each month. In the most recent report covering activity in December 2021, there were 74 Article III vacancies in the federal judiciary. Of those vacancies, 25 had pending nominations. To learn more about current vacancies in the federal judiciary, click here.

This page provides an overview of the status of federal judicial nominees appointed by President Joe Biden (D). This page also provides additional procedural and historical context about Biden's judicial nominees and the nomination records of previous presidents, including the following information:

- The number of historical judicial appointments made by presidents between 1933 and 2021;
- Vacancy statistics by month;
- Nomination and confirmation statistics by month;
- Status of federal court vacancies;
- Status of Article III judicial nominees appointed by Biden;
- List of judicial nominees confirmed to their positions;
- List of judicial nominees waiting for a Senate vote;
- List of judicial nominees waiting for a committee vote;
- List of judicial nominees waiting for a committee hearing.
- A timeline of nominations made by Biden;

The list of nominees is updated daily, and the comparisons are updated monthly.

From Scotusblog: Stephen Breyer, pragmatic liberal, will retire at end of term

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Justice Stephen Breyer, a devoted pragmatist and the senior member of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing, will retire from the court at the end of the 2021-22 term, NBC News reported on Wednesday. Over nearly 28 years on the court, Breyer shunned rigid approaches to legal interpretation, often seeking functional rulings with an eye toward real-world consequences. He wrote major opinions favoring abortion rights, demarcating the separation of powers, and turning back a challenge to the Affordable Care Act. In his later years, he repeatedly questioned the constitutionality of the death penalty. His retirement opens the door for President Joe Biden to fulfill a campaign promise and nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.

The decision by the 83-year-old justice to step down is not surprising. Although Breyer is apparently in good health and by all accounts enjoys his job, Democrats began calling for him to retire shortly after the 2020 election so that Biden could nominate a younger judge to take his place. When Biden does nominate a successor, the confirmation battle that follows is likely to divide along partisan lines. And although a Biden nominee is not likely to change the ideological balance on a court currently dominated by conservatives, the nomination hearings could nonetheless prove contentious given the polarized climate that now surrounds every Supreme Court vacancy.

When he was nominated to the Supreme Court by then-President Bill Clinton in 1994, Breyer had spent the previous 14 years as a judge on the Boston-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. Breyer had also been a candidate to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Byron White one year earlier. But Breyer had been hit by a car while riding his bicycle shortly before he came to Washington to meet with Clinton in June 1993 and was still recovering from injuries that included broken ribs and a punctured lung. The interview reportedly did not go well, and Clinton chose a 60-year-old Washington, D.C., appeals court judge named Ruth Bader Ginsburg to fill White’s seat.

Breyer would get another shot less than a year later, after Justice Harry Blackmun announced his plans to step down after the court’s 1993-94 term. According to reporting by CNN in 2014 based on the papers of Diane Blair, a close confidante of the Clintons, Bill Clinton considered both Richard Arnold, a fellow Arkansan serving as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, and Bruce Babbitt of Arizona, then the secretary of the interior, before nominating Breyer – releasing the decision so quickly that Breyer did not have time to travel to Washington for the announcement. After a week of hearings that the New York Times characterized as intentionally “tame,” Breyer was confirmed by a vote of 87 to 9 on July 29, 1994.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_University

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Hamilton_Houston 

Monday, January 24, 2022

From The Texas Tribune: Vote-by-mail rejections are testing integrity of Texas Republicans’ voting law

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Barely started down the path toward the first elections conducted under voting restrictions enacted last year by Republican lawmakers, Texas voters and local election officials have found themselves enveloped in a fog of errors, delays and miscommunications as they navigate new rules for casting votes by mail.

Only a small slice of the state's electorate is allowed to cast absentee ballots, and the trickle of requests for mail-in ballots that began in early January is now swelling into the usual pre-election flood.

But hundreds of applications are being rejected — in many cases because voters appear to not know the new rules. Local election workers themselves are still deciphering the procedures, and say they've been hampered by a paucity of help and information from the Texas secretary of state's office. Meanwhile, the state is scrambling to provide training under the crush of advising counties on implementing a multitude of election changes.

Texas Voting Rights.

From the Texas Slavery Project: "Translation of the General Law of Colonization, No. 72," August 18, 1824

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The Sovereign General Congress, assembled for the purpose of framing the Constitution of the United Mexican States, has decreed as follows:--

ART. 1.--The Mexican Nation offers to those foreigners who may be desirous of settling in her territory security for their persons and property, provided they obey the laws of the country.

ART. 2.--This law relates to those lands, national property, which, as belonging to no individual, corporation or town, may be occupied by settlers.

ART. 3.--For this purpose the Congresses of the States shall as speedily as possible frame laws of regulations for the colonization of those lands which appertain to them, conforming in every respect with the fundamental Constitutional Act, the General Constitution, and the regulations established by this law,

ART. 4.--No lands lying within 20 leagues of the boundaries with any foreign nation, nor within 10 leagues of the coast, can be occupied by settlers, without the previous approbation of the Supreme Executive Power.

ART. 5.--If, with a view to the defence or security of the nation, the government of the federation should think fit to occupy any of the lands, in order to construct magazines, arsenals, or other public buildings, it is empowered so to do, with the approbation of the general Congress, and during its recess with that of the Council of Government.

ART. 6.--Until 4 years from the publication of this law, no impost shall be levied for the admission of those foreigners who may come for the first time, in order to settle in the nation.

ART. 7.--Until the year 1840 the general Congress shall not prohibit the admission of foreigners to colonize, excepting, indeed, circumstances should imperiously oblige it so to do, with regard to the individuals of any nation.

ART. 8.--The Government, without defeating the purposes of this law, shall take those measures of precaution which it may deem expedient for the security of the federation, with regard to those foreigners who may come to colonise.

ART. 9.--In the distribution of lands a preference is to be given to Mexican citizens, and between them no other distinction shall be made

Begin Page: 98


than that to which individual merit, or services rendered to the country, may justify, or, where in other cases a parity exists, residence in the part to which the lands appertain.

ART. 10.--Those military men who, agreeable to the offer of the 27th March, 1821, have a right to lands, shall be recompensed on presenting the documents with which the Supreme Executive Power shall for that purpose provide them.

ART. 11.--If, according to decrees for paying off the principal according to a calculation of the probability of the length of life of the incumbent, the Supreme Executive Power should think proper to alienate any portions of land in favour of any public servants of the federation, military or civil, it is impowered so to do, with the government lands of the territories of the Republic.

ART. 12.--In the possession of no individual shall be allowed to be united, as his own property, more than one square league of 5000 yards of lands fit for irrigation, 4 of arable land not irrigated, and 6 of pasture land.

ART. 13.--The new settlers are not permitted to transfer their property to religious communities.

ART. 14.--This law guarantees the contracts which speculators may make with those families which they may convey at their own expense, provided they are not contrary to the laws.

ART. 15.--No one who in virtue of this law obtains possession of lands, can hold them if settled out of the territory, of the Republic.

ART. 16.--The government agreeably to the principles established in this law shall proceed to colonise the territories of the Republic.

The Supreme Executive Power is hereby made acquainted with this law, and will take the requisite measures for its fulfilment, directing that it be printed, published, and circulated.--MEXICO, 18th Aug. 1824.

(Signed) C. IBARRA,

President, Etc., Etc., Etc.

PEDRO DE AHUMADA,

MANUEL DE VILLA Y CRIO,

Deputies Secretaries.

TO DON LUCAS ALAMAN,

Directed to be published by the EXECUTIVE

POWER, in Mexico, 18th Aug. 1824.

(Signed) N. BRAVO,

President, Etc., Etc., Etc.

VICTE. GUERRERO.

MIGL. DOMINGUEZ.

And published on the same day.

From TSHA: Mexican Colonization Laws

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On January 17, 1821, the government of the eastern division of the Provincias Internas granted a permit to Moses Austin to settle 300 families in Texas. While preparing to inaugurate this settlement, Austin died. His son, Stephen F. Austin, appeared in San Antonio in August 1821 and was recognized by Governor Antonio Martínez as his father's successor to carry out the enterprise. Among other provisions agreed upon by Austin and Martínez were the terms for distribution of land to colonists. Austin embodied the final form of these terms in a letter to Martínez dated October 12, 1821. He proposed to grant to each head of a family 640 acres in his own right, 320 acres in virtue of his wife, 160 acres for each child, and 80 acres for each slave. Austin's compensation for service in obtaining land, duly surveyed and with title delivered at his expense, was to be at the rate of 12 ½ cents an acre. A colonist could reduce the normal grant to fit his resources or, with Austin's permission, augment it. Austin's permit was granted by Spanish officials. Mexico became independent in 1821, however, and the provisional government failed to recognize Austin's grant but chose rather to settle terms of colonization and immigration by a general law.

Laws for Promoting Colonization in Texas.

General Colonization Law.

- Law of April 6, 1830.

Friday, January 21, 2022

From the Texas Tribune: Texas eviction filings among the nation's highest as millions of rent relief dollars go unspent

Fiscal Federalism

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Eviction filings in several Texas cities are among the highest in the nation — even as millions of federal dollars aimed at helping struggling renters have sat unspent so long in some counties that the federal government is taking the money back.

Landlords in the Houston area filed more than 2,000 eviction cases last week, according to Eviction Lab, a research center based at Princeton University that tracks eviction filings — the highest number there since the pandemic began. Among the 31 cities that Eviction Lab tracks, Houston had the most eviction filings in the country for the week, with Dallas and Fort Worth also in the top five along with Phoenix and Las Vegas.

As the omicron surge is again forcing many workers to choose between a paycheck and the risk of COVID-19 exposure, the U.S. Treasury Department seized $1.9 million in unspent rent relief from five Texas counties — Jefferson, Brazoria, Hays, El Paso and Nueces — as well as the city of Laredo because local officials didn’t spend the money fast enough, the agency said earlier this month.

The money is instead being sent to other parts of the state or the country where local governments have distributed rental assistance more quickly.

The seizure of those funds comes as the reserve of rent relief dollars in Texas has emptied and eviction filings in the state’s major metropolitan areas have steadily neared pre-pandemic levels — all while state and federal bans on evictions have expired.

“We're reaching a critical moment for low-income people who may be struggling to stay in their homes while many of the safeguards are collapsing at the same moment,” said Ben Martin, a senior research analyst for the nonprofit advocacy group Texas Housers.

The amount of federal rent relief dollars clawed back by the Treasury is a small fraction of the nearly $1 billion in federal dollars sent to local governments in Texas to help keep tenants in their homes. That money, meant to help struggling renters, is already becoming scarce in Texas.

The state agency in charge of Texas’ separate $1.9 billion rent relief and eviction diversion program stopped taking new applications in November, citing overwhelming demand.

Locally run rent relief programs also are tightening their purse strings. Houston and Harris County’s joint $283 million rent and utility assistance program — paid for with federal dollars — is soon expected to get a $13 million injection from the federal government. The program had $7.6 million left as of Wednesday — and only applicants who have an active eviction case have a shot at getting help.

The surge of evictions and the growing scarcity of emergency rental assistance funds for renters are “directly related,” said Dana Karni, an attorney for Lone Star Legal Aid, which provides free legal services to low-income Texans.

“I think what motivates landlords is the fact that the hope for rental assistance funds to basically fill the void is gone,” Karni said. “And so they really have the choice of having to decide whether they want to become charitable and let someone stay there for free or a significantly reduced rent or evict them so they could bring in a new tenant.

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

From Community Impact News

Pearland ISD board of trustees ratifies 2022-23 school year calendar.

Pearland City Council to consider rules for short-term rentals.

A growing community: Check out population, demographic, tax rate data for Pearland and Friendswood.

Harris County bans criminal history question on department job applications.

TEA reviewing social studies learning standards, seeking public input.

Supreme Court begins rehearing of high-speed rail eminent domain case.

Alvin ISD adopts district goals for 2022-23 school year.

From Community Impact News: Shadow Creek Ranch 20 years later: How a unique partnership paved the way for development

Dated 11/20/2018

- Click here for the article.  

From the City of Pearland: TAX INCREMENT REINVESTMENT ZONE NUMBER 2 (TIRZ)

A TIRZ is a funding mechanism used to develop vacant property - among other things.

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A Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) is an economic development tool available to cities under Texas Law. A TIRZ is a specific geographic area defined by the City Council. For the duration of the TIRZ (no more that 30 years), the property taxes from the increased value due to development within the TIRZ is “captured” and placed in a separate fund administered by the City.

The captured tax proceeds can only be used to pay for eligible public improvements within the zone such as streets, drainage, utilities, and public facilities. The underlying concept is that the new taxes from new development are reinvested within the zone that created the additional value. Generally, the developer is required to advance fund the eligible improvements and is only reimbursed with TIRZ proceeds when/if the captured tax proceeds are sufficient.

Property owners within the zone continue to pay the full taxes that are due, so a TIRZ does not create a “tax abatement” situation. The taxes on the “base value” (the property value within the zone before development) continue to flow to the City’s general fund for use city-wide.

TIRZ #2 includes approximately 3,467 acres in the Shadow Creek Ranch development. The TIRZ proceeds are being used to fund the major infrastructure needed to bring this completely vacant property into a developable state. Projected TIRZ projects include extension of Kirby Drive and Hampton Drive (formerly County Road 48), major water and sewer trunk lines, wastewater treatment plant capacity, drainage and detention facilities, recreational areas and trail system, a police/fire substation, and a public library. Improvements within the individual neighborhoods that will comprise Shadow Creek Ranch are not eligible for TIRZ financing under the terms of the TIRZ plan for this development.

From the National Conference of State Legislatures: Online Voter Registration

An overview of online registration across the states.

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As of July 2021, a total of 42 states and D.C. offer online registration. In two of these states, Oklahoma and Maine, online registration is in the process of implementation. See the table below for details.

Online voter registration systems supplement the traditional paper-based process, by which new voters fill out a paper form that is submitted to election officials, who confirm the registration is valid and enter the information from the paper application into the registration system.

Online voter registration follows essentially the same process, but instead of filling out a paper application, the voter fills out a form via an Internet site, and that paperless form is submitted electronically to election officials. In most states the application is reviewed electronically; if the request is confirmed to be valid, the new registration is added to the state’s voter registration list.

That validation step is done by comparing the information on the online registration form against the information provided by the same individual when he or she received a driver’s license or other state-issued identification card. The signature already on record with the state becomes the signature on record for voting. When the information does not match, the application is sent to officials for further review or action.

In most states, online voter registration systems work for people who have state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards, although a few states provide online access for other potential voters as well. In all states, paper registration forms are available for anyone, including those who cannot register online.

Arizona was the innovator in paperless voter registration, having implemented its system in 2002. Washington followed with authorizing legislation in 2007 and implementation in 2008. Since then, more and more states have gone live with online voter registration. While most states have enacted specific legislation to authorize online voter registration, some have made online voter registration available without enabling legislation. See the table below for details.

From the Texas Tribune: Texas says supply chain issues have limited the number of voter registration forms it can give out

Potential subject of a federal lawsuit? 

This would not be a problem if Texas had online voter registration.

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The Texas secretary of state’s office is having more trouble than usual getting enough voter registration cards to groups who help Texans register to vote.

Sam Taylor, assistant secretary of state for communications, said supply chain issues have made it harder and more expensive to get paper, which means the secretary of state’s office will be giving out fewer voter registration forms to groups ahead of elections this year.

“We are limited in what we can supply this year, because of the paper shortage and the cost constraints due to the price of paper and the supply of paper,” he said.

Grace Chimene, the president of the League of Women Voters of Texas, said it is not unusual for the secretary of state to not have enough forms to fill all the requests it gets from groups like hers ahead of elections. This particular shortage, however, is affecting an important part of her group’s work: registering thousands of newly naturalized citizens.

Chimene said in previous years, her group, which has chapters across the state, has been able to get enough forms to pass out at naturalization ceremonies. Often, she said, the group partners with the state to give out several thousand forms at each ceremony.

“The League in Houston registers about 30,000 new citizens every year through these ceremonies in the past,” Chimene said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a mix of in-person and remote ceremonies. Chimene said her group has either been handing out voter registration materials at in-person events or they’ve been sending out packets they put together ahead of time to those new citizens.

Either way, the league and their volunteers often ask for thousands of voter registration forms ahead of these ceremonies.

“It’s a really important job that we do and we value it, and I think the new citizens value it also," Chimene said.

Taylor said the secretary of state’s office has been forced to limit each group to 1,000 to 2,000 registration forms per request. He said this shortage is coming at a time when many groups are seeking out new voter registration forms because of a change in Texas’ voter registration laws created under Senate Bill 1, a controversial voting law that went into effect last month.

“The voter registration application changed this year for one reason: It’s because the legislature decided to increase the penalty for illegal voter registration from a class B misdemeanor to a class A misdemeanor,” he said.

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

DARPA - robots and technologies for the future management of advanced US...

Two robots debate the future of humanity

Human looking robot 'wakes up' in incredible footage

Alvin Budget and Tax Rates

- Adopted Budget FY22 City of Alvin.

- Notice About 2021 Tax Rates.

From the Texas Tribune: Texas judge opens door for widespread constitutional challenges to Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative

Let's deconstruct this.

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A state district judge Thursday may have set in motion a new wave of legal challenges to Gov. Greg Abbott’s trouble-plagued border security initiative, ruling that one migrant’s arrest on state misdemeanor trespassing charges violated the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause because immigration enforcement is the federal government’s job.

In the first Travis County court hearing of a challenge to Abbott’s new “arrest and jail” approach under Operation Lone Star, state district Judge Jan Soifer agreed to throw out an Ecuadorian migrant’s trespassing arrest and criminal prosecution.

Though the ruling may be appealed and applies only to Jesús Guzmán Curipoma, a 36-year-old oil engineer, it opened the door to constitutional challenges from more of the thousands of migrants who have been imprisoned for allegedly trespassing since July, when the governor set his sights on mass trespassing arrests as a way to cut down on border crossings.

“Everybody who has a pending misdemeanor trespassing arrest under OLS will have the exact same challenge,” said Kristin Etter, an attorney with the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid who represents hundreds of migrants. “This sets a clear precedent in all of those cases both pending and future.”

Though far from the first court challenge to Abbott’s arrest initiative — which has been vexed with wrongful arrests, prosecutorial errors, court delays and ethics complaints — Soifer’s ruling is the first to rule against the constitutionality of a migrant’s trespassing arrest, according to Etter.

On Friday morning, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to appeal the ruling, though it's not yet clear how he will do so since his office was not a party in the lawsuit. A spokesperson for Abbott said Friday morning that "there is no doubt that this will be overturned."

"The district court did not have legal authority to enter this flawed and collusive judgment without hearing from the Office of the Attorney General," Nan Tolson said in a statement.

Monday, January 17, 2022

5 U.S. Code § 6103 - Holidays

(a) The following are legal public holidays:

New Year’s Day, January 1.

Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January.

Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February.

Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.

Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19.

Independence Day, July 4.

Labor Day, the first Monday in September.

Columbus Day, the second Monday in October.

Veterans Day, November 11.

Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.

Christmas Day, December 25.

(b) For the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees, with respect to a legal public holiday and any other day declared to be a holiday by Federal statute or Executive order, the following rules apply:

(1) Instead of a holiday that occurs on a Saturday, the Friday immediately before is a legal public holiday for—

(A) employees whose basic workweek is Monday through Friday; and
(B) the purpose of section 6309[1] of this title.

(2) Instead of a holiday that occurs on a regular weekly non-workday of an employee whose basic workweek is other than Monday through Friday, except the regular weekly non-workday administratively scheduled for the employee instead of Sunday, the workday immediately before that regular weekly nonworkday is a legal public holiday for the employee.

(3) Instead of a holiday that is designated under subsection (a) to occur on a Monday, for an employee at a duty post outside the United States whose basic workweek is other than Monday through Friday, and for whom Monday is a regularly scheduled workday, the legal public holiday is the first workday of the workweek in which the Monday designated for the observance of such holiday under subsection (a) occurs.

This subsection, except subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), does not apply to an employee whose basic workweek is Monday through Saturday.

(c) January 20 of each fourth year after 1965, Inauguration Day, is a legal public holiday for the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees as defined by section 2105 of this title and individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia employed in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland, Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia. When January 20 of any fourth year after 1965 falls on Sunday, the next succeeding day selected for the public observance of the inauguration of the President is a legal public holiday for the purpose of this subsection.

(d) 

(1)For purposes of this subsection—
(A) the term “compressed schedule” has the meaning given such term by section 6121(5); and
(B) the term “adverse agency impact” has the meaning given such term by section 6131(b).

(2) An agency may prescribe rules under which employees on a compressed schedule may, in the case of a holiday that occurs on a regularly scheduled non-workday for such employees, and notwithstanding any other provision of law or the terms of any collective bargaining agreement, be required to observe such holiday on a workday other than as provided by subsection

(b), if the agency head determines that it is necessary to do so in order to prevent an adverse agency impact

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 515; Pub. L. 90–363, § 1(a), June 28, 1968, 82 Stat. 250; Pub. L. 94–97, Sept. 18, 1975, 89 Stat. 479; Pub. L. 98–144, § 1, Nov. 2, 1983, 97 Stat. 917; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XVI, § 1613, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2739; Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title XI, § 1107, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2142; Pub. L. 117–17, § 2, June 17, 2021, 135 Stat. 287.)

U.S. Code: Title 5: Government Organization And Employees

From the Legislative Information Institute: Click here for it

- PART I—THE AGENCIES GENERALLY (§§ 101 – 913)
- PART II—CIVIL SERVICE FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES (§§ 1101 – 1508)
- PART III—EMPLOYEES (§§ 2101 – 11001)

From Wikipedia: Click here for entry.

Title 5 contains the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act of 1974, the Congressional Review Act as well as authorization for government reorganizations such as Reorganization Plan No. 3. It also is the Title that specifies Federal holidays (5 U.S.C. § 6103).

From Congress.Gov: H.R.3706 - A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday.

- Click here for it

From Wikipedia: Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Passage was controversial. It took a while to pass it.

- Click here for the entry

A United States federal statute honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and his work in the civil rights movement with a federal holiday was enacted by the 98th United States Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983, creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The final vote in the House of Representatives on August 2, 1983 was 338–90 (242–4 in the House Democratic Caucus and 89–77 in the House Republican Conference) with 5 members voting present or abstaining,[1] while the final vote in the Senate on October 19, 1983 was 78–22 (41–4 in the Senate Democratic Caucus and 37–18 in the Senate Republican Conference),[2][3] both veto-proof margins.

Prior to 1983 there had been multiple attempts following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to have a holiday created in his honor with Representative John Conyers introducing legislation in every legislative session from 1968 to 1983.[4] In 1979 a vote was held on legislation that would have created a holiday on the third Monday in January, but it failed to receive two-thirds support and was later rescinded following an amendment changing its date.

While attempts were made to have a federally recognized holiday, numerous U.S. states recognized holidays in honor of King. Connecticut did so in 1973. Illinois adopted a commemoration day in 1969, and made it a paid holiday also in 1973. Other states continued to adopt state holidays up through Utah in 2000.


Legislative History

Long title A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday.

Enacted by the 98th United States Congress\
Legislative history

Introduced in the House as A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin
Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday. (H.R. 3706) by Katie Hall (DIN) on July 29, 1983

Committee consideration by Post Office and Civil Service

Passed the House on August 2, 1983 (338–90)

Passed the Senate as the "A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday." on October 19, 1983 (78–22)

Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983

From Wikipedia: Plan of San Diego

An attempt in 1915 to create a new republic along the U.S. - Mexican Border.

- Click here for the entry

The Plan of San Diego (Spanish: Plan de San Diego) was drafted in San Diego, Texas, in 1915 by a group of unidentified Mexican and Tejano rebels who hoped to secede Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Texas from the United States and create a racial utopia for Native Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, and African Americans. The plan called for the execution of all white men over the age of sixteen.[1]

The goal of the plan is debated. The plan stated a supposed "attempt to overthrow the government in the Southern United States." However, some theories state that the true goal of the plan was to create the conditions to force the US to support one of the factions of the Mexican Revolution, as eventually occurred.

The plan called for the killing of all adult white American men in the Southwestern states[2] and the "return of land to Mexicans." It was, however, exposed before it could be fully executed. Although there was no uprising, there were raids into Texas that began in July 1915. The raids were countered by Texas Rangers, the U.S. Army and local self-defense groups. In total, 30 raids into Texas destroyed large amounts of property and killed 21 Americans.[3] Historians estimate that American law enforcement personnel engaged in suppressing the raids indiscriminately killed as many as 5,000 people of Mexican descent in Texas during this two-year period.[4][5] It is not known who was responsible for drafting the Plan of San Diego, but there are theories that Mexican revolutionary leaders helped to sponsor it.