Dr. Hotze and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller File Lawsuit Against Lt. Governor Patrick

Dr. Hotze and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller File Lawsuit Against Lt. Governor Patrick

On March 23, 2021, Jared Woodfill, J.D., filed a lawsuit on behalf of Steven Hotze, M.D. and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller against Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, the Sergeant-At-Arms for the Texas State Senate, and the Texas State Senate. This lawsuit requests that the COVID-19 test requirement at the State Capitol be eliminated.

Currently, Lt. Governor Patrick and the Texas State Senate have adopted a rule requiring any citizen who wants to enter the Senate gallery or attend a Senate committee hearing to have a COVID-19 test administered in a tent outside the North entrance of the State Capitol, with the test being negative. 

The Texas House does not require a COVID-19 test for citizens in order to be admitted to proceedings of the Texas House. 

The Texas Constitution, Article III, Section 16, provides: “The session of each House shall be open, except the Senate when in Executive Session.” This constitutional limit on legislative power requires the Senate to be accessible and open to the public. The Senate is not “open” or “accessible” because the Senate rules requires plaintiffs and all citizens to submit to the COVID-19 medical procedure prior to participating in their government, as it relates to the Texas Senate. This means that the Texas Senate is closed to those who refuse to submit to the COVID-19 medical procedure. 

Dan Patrick

Article I, Section 8 of the Texas Constitution provides, “Every person should be at liberty to speak, write or publish his opinions on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press.” A rule that unreasonably restricts speech by requiring a medical procedure as a prerequisite to expressing speech violates the Texas Constitution. 

The Texas Constitution, Article 1, Section 27, creates a right for citizens to petition their government: “The citizen shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good; and apply to those invested with powers of government for redress of grievances or other purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance.” 

The Texas Open Meetings Act requires that every meeting or session of every governmental body should be open to the public. 

Dr. Hotze stated, “By closing the Texas Senate to those who refuse to submit to the COVID-19 medical procedure, Lt. Governor Patrick and the Texas State Senate are violating the Texas Constitution and the Texas Open Meetings Act.”

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Dr. Steven Hotze

Dr. Hotze is the Founder and CEO of the Hotze Health & Wellness Center, Hotze Vitamins and Physicians Preference Pharmacy International. Dr. Hotze received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. Dr. Hotze believes that everyone deserves a doctor and a team of professionals who can coach them onto a path of health and wellness, naturally, so that they can enjoy a better quality of life without the use of pharmaceutical drugs. Dr. Hotze is the best-selling author of Hormones, Health, and Happiness, Hypothyroidism, Health & Happiness and Do A 180. Suzanne Somers dedicated an entire chapter to Dr. Hotze in her New York Times best seller, Breakthrough. “This Texan doctor is going to steal your heart,” writes Somers. “He has so much energy he can’t wait to get to his office each day.” Dr. Hotze has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows across the nation, including ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates, CBS’ The Morning Show and The Biography Channel. He has also appeared on the morning program, Great Day Houston with Deborah Duncan. Dr. Hotze hosted “Health & Wellness Solutions” radio show on KSEV 700 AM and “Dr. Hotze’s Wellness Revolution” radio show on KPRC AM 950 and iHeart radio. He currently hosts the Dr. Hotze’s Wellness Revolution podcast. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Janie, for 52 years. They have 8 children and 23 grandchildren.