The idea of Texas seceding from the union is still an idea, but proposed legislation aims to turn that idea into a reality.
The president of The Texas Nationalist movement, Daniel Miller, is visiting with a local group to discuss that idea in relation to a bill.
State Rep. Kyle Biedermann, R-Fredericksburg, introduced H.B. 1359, a bill that would establish a committee to explore the idea of seccession.
They don’t want to governed by the federal government. Too many regulation, unfair executive orders and plain old politics are some of their talking points.
“People of Texas believe they do not have a voice in how they are governed because their decisions can be overwritten at the stroke of a pen by 2.5 un-elected bureaucrats," said Daniel Miller, president of TNM. "And when we see time and time again the federal government siphoning anywhere from 103 to $160 billion out of Texas tax payers pockets that never come back, it’s easy to understand why Texans want to embrace Texas independence.”
“TNM is actually about preserving the culture, the environment the history and all of that about Texas," said Donna McClure, a believer of the idea. "Everything we love about Texas.”
“From the very beginning I identified as someone who sought out less government," Nate Smith said, executive director of TNM. "I didn’t understand why we needed so many rules in order just to participate in daily life. Everything I saw is I voted for a party that I thought was going to bring us less government and they brought us more. And I said this isn’t going to work."
H.B. 1359 is not the first piece of legislation for the movement, but it is the latest, being labeled as “Texit”. Currently in the state affairs committee, the bill would create a referendum election. Texans would vote this November on if a committee should be formed to plan for the possibility of secession.
“We are a constitutional republic," Miller said. "We have a full three branch government and most people don’t understand that there is currently a Texas officer agency that is an analog for every federal cabinet level position. We have our own military through the Texas Military Department. We are so close structurally to being a self-governing independent nation state. The only thing we’re missing is the right to govern ourselves . And that’s what Texit brings.”
If a joint resolution in the state capitol is reached and vote passes, that committee will put a plan together to present to the legislature by the end of 2022.
The movement has numerous hurdles to overcome. What will be the currency? What happens to federally controlled infrastructure? Will you need a passport to visit Texas? Is this legal? The constitution doesn’t address how a state could leave or if they’re allowed. The ruling that is most looked at is Texas v White in the Supreme Court.
“I’ve stopped worrying what the federal government thinks a very long time ago," Miller said. "Because at the end of the day, this isn’t a mother may I situation. This is a choice for the people of Texas and the people of Texas alone. But to those people that would try to say this is unconstitutional or illegal, show us in the constitution.”
The country was shown Texas’ independence with their electric grid in February. When winter weather hit, ERCOT was exposed as not being ready.
“Texas is the only state with its own power grid," Smith said. "So, there's a lot of factors that go into that. What you see is a failure both at the federal level and at the state level. Our own state government did do things that were incorrect. They did put people in charge and they weren’t—didn’t even live here. At the end of the day when it came time to make a decision of what’s best for the people of Texas, we had to go begging to the EPA for permission...
If Texas were the only ones in charge of our power grid, we could do things that we wanted to do. There have been multiple bills to harden the grid and to protect it more. But a lot of that comes in light of the--you’ve got to consider what the federal regulations and the federal effects of that are.”
According to the TNM website, there are over 400,000 supporters. According to the Texas Secretary of State website, in the last presidential election there were nearly 17 million registered voters. Over 11 million turned out to vote.
Vote here:
The president of a movement for Texas to secede from the US is visiting with a local group Monday to talk about a bill (HB 1359) relating to whether Texas should leave the US and form an independent republic. Do you support this bill?#texas #usa
— KRIS 6 News (@KRIS6News) April 12, 2021
