2026 Gap Analysis

2026 RPT Priority v. Platform Gap Analysis

This analysis is designed to help the Platform Committee support proposed legislative priorities by filling in gaps in the platform where bill ideas are called far in the priorities that, but do not exist in the platform or where existing planks need tweaks to match the details in the priorities. RPT Rule 34 requires that the priorities “directly support the Platform and the core values of the Republican Party of Texas.”

I have done two passes below. First to identify the gaps for each priority I am actively involved in advocating. The second pass organizes the identified gaps for each section (and presumably Platform Committee subcommittee).

Even though he is not on the Constitutional Issues subcommittee, Platform Committee member Peter Wrench tells me that he is working on the wording for a plank in Constitutional Issues to address the Don't Sharia Texas plank that is needed.

To assist in this effort, click here for a Word version of this text.

Gap Analysis by Legislative Priority

Don’t Sharia Texas

None of this priority is included in the platform at the moment. All of it needs to be added to the Constitutional Issues section of the Platform in the Preservation of Constitution subsection.

Assist Deportation

Gaps

Codify ineligibility for occupational license for illegals (Add to Plank 238, National Defense and Foreign Affairs)
Tax disadvantage use of H1-B visas by Texas employers (Add to Plank 238, National Defense and Foreign Affairs)
Codify Texas government and its subdivision not using H1-B visas (Update Plank 238, National Defense and Foreign Affairs)

Covered:

End taxpayer services for illegals (Planks 95, 106 d, 232)
Mandate private and governmental Texas employer use of E-verify (Plank 232).
Expand requirement to implement 287 g agreements to Texas city jails. (Plank 242)

Covered in platform, but not in current draft of priority:

No state funding for entities that provide material aid or benefit to illegals. (Plank 243)
Ban sale of land to illegals and pursue ligitation against developers who induce illegal immigration into Texas through marketing. (Plank 232)

End Federal Overreach

Gaps

Defining areas of intrastate commerce that are immune from federal regulation. Suggest adding to Constitutional Issues, Preservation of Constitution. Would also fit under Business, Commerce, and Transportation, Markets and Regulation subcommittee)
Bifurcate elections and voter rolls for presidential electors, state office, and Texas subdivision office from U.S. House and Senate to ensure that Texas elections have no interference or corruption from DC. Suggest adding to Government and Election Integrity, Elections subcommittee.
Texas refusal to automatically implement federal or global entity health emergencies and to act independently to protect Texans; (Planks 9, 8, 20, and 70 are close, but not direct). Best place to tweak Plank 9, Constitutional Issues, Preservation of Constitution subsection)

Covered

Creating a process to formally identify and unify Texas to resist unconstitutional federal acts as exemplified by the Texas Sovereignty Act; (Plank 20, Constitutional Issues).
Limits or prohibition of out-of-state direct or in-kind donations -- both individual and PAC -- to Texas state and local candidates; (Plank 202, State Affairs)
Resisting woke federal transportation mandates that restrict Texans’ freedom to travel, including the federally mandated vehicle kill switch; (Plank 49, Business, Commerce, and Transportation)
Passage of a Currency Choice amendment to the Texas Bill of Rights to resist Central Bank Digital Currency; (Plank 83, Finance, Transparency and Oversight subsection) (Note: change to wording needed to shift to currency choice away from right to use gold, silver, cash, and cash substitutes)
Passage of state law banning high altitude geoengineering spraying of substances damaging to human health and the environment, whether done by the federal government, globalists, or globalist institutions; (Plank 43, Business, Commerce and Transportation, Energy and Environment subsection)
Criminalize and restrict weaponization of federal law enforcement against conservative Texans; (Plank 5, Constitutional Issues, Preservation of Constitution subcommittee).
Resist ESG and DEI discrimination by companies doing business in Texas; (Plank 31, Business, Commerce, and Transportation, Markets and Regulation subcommittee).
Stop Texas agencies and subdivisions from receiving federal funds that have strings attached; (Plank 70, Finance, Spending Restraint subsection). Note: Needs to be tweaked to refer to strings attached.)
Protect the Texas National Guard. (Plank 250, National Defense and Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs subsection)

Reform Texas House

Gap (All of these should be added to Plank 213, Government and Election Integrity, Government Operations subsection):

The Texas House Rules shall include a discharge process by which a bill supported by a majority of members must be heard in committee, voted in committee, and placed on the House Calendar in a timely fashion.
Texas House rules (at least concepts at a high level) should be agreed upon in the Texas House Republican Caucus and implemented as a block by Republicans.
Chairs of committees, including subcommittee chairs and the Speaker Pro Tempore should be Republican and vice chairs shall not be given power to choose bills or issues for hearing.
All committees shall be majority Republican.
Authors of bills may bring a motion to the floor to reassign a bill to a committee other than that assigned by the Parliamentarian.
Stop hyper-technical points of order, require points of order to be filed the day before a bill is on the Calendar, and require broadcast and recording of point-of-order debates.
Prohibit the distribution of political funds from the Speaker to primary campaigns.
Start committee hearings on bills as soon as committees are created.

Covered:

The Speaker of the Texas House and the Texas House Rules should be decided in the Texas House Republican Caucus without deals with members of the Democratic Party. (Plank 213, Government and Election Integrity, Government Operations subsection).

Additions Needed to Fill Gaps Organized by Platform Section/Committee:

Constitutional Issues

Don’t Sharia Texas priority provisions in the Preservation of Constitution subsection. The points to be added, probably as one plank are:

- Declare that Sharia law is an incompatible, seditious, subversive, competing enemy of the Texas and U.S. Constitutions, and that its advocacy or implementation is a seditious and treasonous criminal act, worthy of criminal punishment; disqualification for public, military, and law enforcement service; denaturalization; and deportment;
- Formally request that the federal government denaturalize and/or deport advocates of Sharia law, and prohibit federal public, military, and law enforcement service for advocates of Sharia law;
- Taxpayer funds may not be granted, contracted, disbursed, or otherwise provided to any organization, school, contractor, grantee, or program that promotes, seeks to implement, or advocates allegiance to a foreign legal system, religious legal system, or extremist doctrine such as Sharia law that conflicts with the Constitutions of Texas or the United States;
- Stop any economic or residential development that discriminates on the basis of advocacy of the implementation of Sharia law or discrimination against those who do not support that aggressive, competing ideology that is incompatible with our Constitutions and the way of life bequeathed us by our framers;
- Modify the Texas terroristic threat statute to make clear that threatening violence for violations of Sharia law such as criticizing or not honoring Islam, for converting from Islam, for insisting that Texans restrict their dietary habits, respect ritualized slaughter of animals, or limit their enjoyment of their
- Stop religious and/or educational institutions in Texas from receiving funding from foreign or domestic sources that have any affiliation with any organization that advocates Sharia law or has been designated as a Foreign Terror Organization or Transnational Criminal Organization; pets are included in the criminal act of terroristic threat;
- Enforce Texas sedition law against advocacy of Sharia law, and rigorously enforce other Texas law that criminalizes aspects of Sharia law such as female genital mutilation, animal cruelty, terroristic threat, domestic violence, rape, polygamy, and pedophilia. Include elimination of taxpayer assistance to women who in reality are wives under Sharia law;
- Stop Texas public schools and other taxpayer funded institutions from mandating that provided meals or services be served in compliance with Sharia law.

End Federal Overreach – Support legislation to define areas of intrastate commerce that are immune from federal regulation. Fits in Preservation of Constitution subsection. (Would also fit under Business, Commerce, and Transportation, Markets and Regulation subcommittee)
End Federal Overreach - Texas refusal to automatically implement federal or global entity health emergencies and to act independently to protect Texans; Best place to tweak is Plank 9, Preservation of Constitution subsection)

Business, Commerce, and Transportation

End Federal Overreach – Support legislation to define areas of intrastate commerce that are immune from federal regulation. Fits under Markets and Regulation subsection. (Would also fit under Constitutional Issues, Preservation of Constitution subsection.)

Finance

End Federal Overreach - Passage of a Currency Choice amendment to the Texas Bill of Rights to resist Central Bank Digital Currency; Plank 83, in the Transparency and Oversight subsection needs wording change to substitute “currency choice” for “right to use gold, silver, cash, and cash substitutes.”)
End Federal Overreach - Stop Texas agencies and subdivisions from receiving federal funds that have strings attached; Plank 70, Spending Restraint subsection needs to be tweaked to add reference to strings attached.

Government and Election Integrity

Reform the Texas House – the following needs to be added to Plank 213, Government Operations subsection:

The Texas House Rules shall include a discharge process by which a bill supported by a majority of members must be heard in committee, voted in committee, and placed on the House Calendar in a timely fashion.
Texas House rules (at least concepts at a high level) should be agreed upon in the Texas House Republican Caucus and implemented as a block by Republicans.
Chairs of committees, including subcommittee chairs and the Speaker Pro Tempore should be Republican and vice chairs shall not be given power to choose bills or issues for hearing.
All committees shall be majority Republican.
Authors of bills may bring a motion to the floor to reassign a bill to a committee other than that assigned by the Parliamentarian.
Stop hyper-technical points of order, require points of order to be filed the day before a bill is on the Calendar, and require broadcast and recording of point-of-order debates.
Prohibit the distribution of political funds from the Speaker to primary campaigns.
Start committee hearings on bills as soon as committees are created.