Texas Must Adhere to Consent of the Governed

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In the opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson writes truthfully that governments derive their "powers from the consent of the governed." That paragraph closes with the idea that the people have the right to create a government that strengthens the independence of the people.

So ask yourself: does our government today infringe on your rights and liberties?

If the answer is yes, then we need to realize that our government has wandered away from being one that derives its powers from our consent. Instead, the powers of government often happen without our consent, and we need to change that.

Here in Texas, the Disaster Act of 1975 gives the governor the power to declare an emergency for up to 30 days to reduce your vulnerability "to damage, injury, and loss of life and property resulting from natural or man-made catastrophes."

We just went through one of those periods of declared disaster. In fact, we're still in it. Did you know that? On May 22nd of this year, the COVID disaster declaration was extended yet again - as it has been every thirty days since the beginning of the outbreak two years ago.

The Texas Constitution says that "The legislature by law may terminate a state of disaster at any time."

But the problem is that your representative has never been called into special session by the governor or has been given the opportunity to terminate the ongoing state of disaster.

During a state of disaster, the governor can suspend laws and rules. Did you consent to that? During the past two years, tens of thousands of businesses closed because they were forced to close. The owners lost their lifelong dream and their lifelong investment. Just as no person should lose their home to a property tax seizure, no business should be forced into bankruptcy because of a government that forces its doors to close for an extended period. Morally, that's wrong.

No single person should be given such authority - and certainly not for a period of months and years. This is why ours is a representative republic. We elect our representatives to act on our behalf to grant our consent - or not grant consent - to what our government would do.

It's time for our Texas state government to remember that ours is still a government that derives its powers from the consent of the governed. And it's time that the legislature amend the constitution so that any extension of a disaster declaration must receive a vote by the legislature to continue. No matter who our governor might be, no person should ever have the authority to override the will and consent of the people.