2021-01-12 11.22.23

Texas Capitol Visit ReportAfter learning that COVID testing is no longer a condition of entering the Texas Capitol, I finally made it to the Capitol this afternoon, Friday, January 29. I knew that the last legislative session in the House this week was on Wednesday, so I figured that no legislators would be there, but that today would be a good day to meet staff and attempt to arrange meetings.The first good news is that the DPS neither requires COVID testing nor mask wearing for entry into the Capitol. Sadly, there is still an elevated presence of the DPS at the Capitol, although not as drastic as the first day of the session. All DPS troopers are now armed with military style rifles and are not wearing their normal uniforms. Rather, their uniforms are more martial looking. They all are wearing pulled up gaiters as face coverings. They are very visibly stationed outside the entries to the Capitol and at strategic locations all over the Capitol including the annex. Despite their formidable appearance, they greeted me in a friendly way as I passed by.The second interesting thing is that there was hardly anybody visiting the Capitol. One of the reasons I was greeted by DPS was because I was one of the few people walking the halls.About half the offices I encountered were closed.The next interesting thing is to see was how individual offices I encountered handled COVID. Almost all of the Democrat offices had signs on the door requiring masks for entry. Almost all of the conservative Republican offices I visited had no sign or requirement for masks. Some Republicans did, but even with the signs, as at all retail establishments, the staffers really did not care about enforcing the sign. Only Republican office with a sign had staffers who requested that I actually put on a mask. Note that some offices – only those requiring masks --had signs up saying that you could only enter their office by appointment. They were all closed on a Friday afternoon, anyway. I am told that those offices are working remotely.I had one interesting experience in a mask-free office. I was sitting in the front reception area talking to a Chief of Staff, all of us in the office maskless, when a Capitol worker entered to do an office setup task. They told him he could get to work, but then he said that he would not enter to do the work unless we put on masks. I looked at the Chief of Staff and then the worker, and said that I was not willing to put on a mask. I then asked the CoS what she wanted to do. She asked the worker to come back later. I told him that he had no need to fear us because we were not sick. He said he just wanted to play it safe, and left. Austin!I am told that the House will not convene again until Tuesday, Feb. 9. I am pretty sure that is the case for the Senate, as well. That means that lots of legislators will be home in the district next week. And it also means that there will be more opportunities to talk to and meet the staffs that are in the office next week. Even if the volume picks up some in terms of serious visitors next week, there will still probably be very few people competing for staff time at the Capitol next week. The volume of tourists in the Capitol has also dropped to almost nothing.The associated picture was taken on the first day of the session when the DPS was out in force. There were not as many out there, today.