The Week in Quotes (June 18 – 24)

Here are some of the week’s most notable quotes.

Dennis Nixon, the chief executive of International Bancshares Corp. and International Bank of Commerce in Laredo.

“Lawmakers have an opportunity to do more harm – or redeem themselves – during a special session that will begin in July. They can continue to trifle with divisive issues that put the Texas economy in peril, or they can focus on an agenda that places Texas business priorities and economic growth front and center. The eyes of the business community are on Austin, and the Texas miracle is at stake.”

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Pastors for Texas Children, calling for support of our neighborhood public schools in Texas.

“It’s time for clergy to stand up and be heard on this matter, it is time for church leaders to lend their voice, it is time for all of us to tell those who want to destroy what has worked so well for so long to stop it. Our 5.4 million children in Texas and their educators need to know we are behind them.”

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Phillip Jones, CEO of Visit Dallas, on the decision by Gov. Abbott to add a bathroom bill to next month’s special legislative session.

“It continues to snowball. The more we’re talking about this, the more damage is being done to the Texas brand — and certainly to the big cities that book most of the meetings in the state.”

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Texas State Board of Education member Marty Rowley, R-Amarillo, on legislating bathrooms in public schools.

“Let me put it this way, in conversations I’ve had with local school administrators, superintendents, principals, it’s not been a huge issue. They have found a way to make accommodation protecting the safety of students and at the same time, protecting the rights of those students who would prefer to use bathrooms other than the one designated. And so I don’t see that it’s such a big problem that it’s going to take an act of the Legislature to address it because I think local schools are inherently able to utilize local control and to make those decisions themselves.”

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Former Texas state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio

“Make no mistake: This special session is not about public policy — if it were, members could do the job in less than one week. For Gov. Abbott, this special session is about politics, and by adopting Patrick’s extreme legislative agenda verbatim, it is clear to me that Gov. Abbott is placating Patrick for fear of his own political survival.”