Throughout the three full weeks since convening for their initial session on Monday January fourth, the Texas Legislature had continued to work diligently in order to shape the constitution of their republic. As a result of such effort, the determined assembled mass of men and women had put forth several declarations of both internal and external concerns which were then subsequently ratified and penned into the doctrine.

Although pleased with the expediency of their efforts as opposed to those of the ever lethargic United States governing body, number five understood that there was still much for them to accomplish. In fact she realized that there were a multitude of issues, including a number of which she and others had most surely not yet thought of, which would need attention in the coming weeks and months. Within the body of that unknown timeframe, a discussion phase would occur so that each side or viewpoint of the various issues could be bantered about. That phase of the process would then be inevitably followed by some sort of action with regard to the outcome of the deliberations. While gazing over those eager souls for whom she resided, number five hoped that all of them realized the depth of what they faced. This Legislature, more so than any other subsequent variation of it, would be in for several more lengthy sessions before any type of meaningful recess could be called.

With regard to progress made concerning internal issues for Texas, a decision was reached which would keep nearly the entirety of the previously established code of state laws in place. In conjunction with that determination, so would the various accompanying levels of punishment for those not adhering to the code. Such punishments for breaking the law would also include the sometimes controversial death penalty. Just like several other of the previous fifty states, it had been employed by Texas as one of those tools to enforce an extreme and ultimate level of discipline.

A separate category of laws, such as those previously put in place by the United States federal government, had been correctly established to grant certain rights or privileges for individuals. It was that body of laws which most concerned number five. They were more susceptible to discussion which could lead to varied interpretations of intent and therefore subsequent alteration, so number five had done her best to make sure that those within the Legislature moved cautiously when addressing such items. The Madam Speaker understood that the last thing the Republic of Texas, as a fledgling nation or otherwise, needed to exhibit toward the world at large in the present moment was a posture of slipping backwards. Such regression of decades or centuries within the human evolutionary thought process over basic human rights would be ill-advised and detrimental toward the ultimate end game. In simple terms, if the republic truly intended to successfully establish trade relations separate from those of the United States with other nations of the world, then it needed to embrace a modern way of thinking. To maintain an old-school approach and the retroactive stance of believing and thusly treating various human beings as inferior would be foolhardy.

Aside from the establishment of Texas law and punishment, a more global encompassing and thus extremely vital internal issue had been brought forth. Originally set aside for any discussion by number five until a few other pressing matters had been acted upon, the Legislature had begun a deliberation process over the future Texas monetary system while Samuel Tillman was in route to College Station with news regarding the future military. Fortunately the deliberation process on the matter had moved quickly, and the elected officials subsequently voted to employ a currency which would be tabbed as the dollar. However just like many other nations around the world to use such a label, the dollars for the republic would be different from those of the United States. Those decisions were subsequently ratified into the constitution, and although the news of them had been kept secret for a few days, the world at large was now aware.

To back the solvency of the new currency, which had been targeted as being designed, printed, and ready for distribution by the first of March, the republic would rely on two substantial assets within its borders. First would be that of the gold standard, and the cache of gold bars currently in the possession of bank vaults located upon Texas soil. Representing what was deemed at the time by both parties to be an equitable arrangement, a small portion of the nation’s gold supply, which in terms of percentage rightfully belonged to the lone star state, had been legally removed and transferred from the federal reserve of the United States to Texas in 2015. The request for such a move had been made by Texas in order to safeguard against the rather paranoid belief that a terrorist attack upon the federal gold reserve could cause a potential collapse in the American dollar. Fortunately for the nation and perhaps the world at large, that belief had never come to fruition. However since Texas had now been in possession of their fair share of gold bars for nearly twelve years, conspiracy enthusiasts could argue that the action had been an early preemptive move toward independence for the republic.

The second substantial asset of Texas was that of her extensive oil reserves. The liquid commodity to which much of the world still foolishly relied upon was one of the significant reasons why Texas had prospered into its modern economic state. Samuel Tillman, along with countless others during more than a century of time before him, was one business tycoon who had benefited from accessing the plentiful supply. Although the oil in Texas represented the tiniest of fractions with regard to the global supply, it was a significant percentage of what could easily be accessed within United States soil. No longer having that oil as a portion of what the country previously possessed, could cause quite an impact on the American domestic market. In spite of the recognition, development and enhancement of, and then of course, the eventual exploitation of several alternative energy sources during recent decades, oil continued to be used as a global bargaining chip. Consequently, the Republic of Texas could now potentially leverage her oil holdings in order to help maintain friendly trade relations with other nations of the world.

There were a handful of other important assets which Texas could access to keep her dollar solvent, but two stood out above the rest. Various types of agriculture via livestock herds or from that of plant growth had been, and would continue to be, a valuable source of exportable goods. Beyond that an asset from the scientific community would be beneficial, as continued growth within the information technology sector was considerable. Although current facilities were not on the vast scope of those located in central California’s Silicon Valley, the city of Austin had been one of several hotbeds for research and development within that industry for the past few decades.

Not to be forgotten was one additional source of financial backing. There was a tourism trade within the republic which brought forth millions of dollars in annual revenue. Whether such visitations be for sporting events of either professional or collegiate levels, or simply to enjoy the beaches, historic landmarks like the Alamo, NASA facilities just south of Houston, or various cities or towns, a wide range of accommodations and restaurants in those areas would always be needed.

As for placing the republic within the global trading market, those discussions had led to a proclamation of external intent. With regards to demonstrating an effective ability to import or export any number of goods and services needed for entrance into that market, Texas was not in a bad way. Aside from the obvious avenues of trucking and rail, to which Samuel had also made sure to have a significant stake in, there were the airports.

At a minimum, Texas possessed the ability from more than half a dozen airports to easily reach anywhere in the United States, Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean. Additionally, it was also possible for direct flights to reach beyond those locations to any destination in North or South America and Europe from airports in her three largest cities of Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Some flights could also reach various locations in Africa or Asia, and there had even been the availability for a truly long distance nonstop passenger service from Dallas to Sydney Australia throughout the previous decade.

If trade via the water became the preferred choice, then there were several ports of call along the Gulf of Mexico which could be accessed for shipping purposes to anywhere in the world. A short listing of those included Port Arthur along the eastern border with Louisiana, Port Arkansas near Corpus Christi, and Port Isabel next to South Padre Island at the extreme southern tip of the republic. Finally, the largest of the group was Port Galveston. Located in close proximity to the mega city of Houston, those facilities had been equipped to handle even the most massive of cargo vessels for many years. In essence, there were very few, if any, limitations as to where and with whom Texas could do business.

When all was said and done throughout the length of those deliberations, the Texas Legislature believed it not only could, but that it should and would establish its own currency to become a global player. Adding to the level of confidence was the belief that her currency would have an initial opening value as equal to that of the American dollar. Such action, if accurate, would lead to massive trading on the stock exchange. Those futures would become a key element in determining if the Republic of Texas could stand up financially with one of the mightiest of global economic machines on the planet.

Once those monetary and global trade issues had been addressed and declared within the constitution, the most recent few days of deliberation within the Legislature had moved toward that of questions related to employment. Although certainly not on the same level of significance with the perceived strength of the backing currency, determining how various aspects of the current and future work force would be treated was still a matter of great importance. For the majority of those employed within the republic, they did not need to be concerned with the upcoming changes. Each of those citizens both lived and worked within the confines of Texas, but there were others who either lived or worked on one side of what had been a state line while doing the other on the opposite side. They were the employees or business owners which brought forth a potentially difficult situation, as they fell into the category of both an internal and external concern.

For each of those souls, there were two significant factors to take into account. First, they would be paid for their various jobs in one currency, but would need the other currency for all of their daily life functions at home and in their community. As a sidebar to that inconvenience was the second issue of taxes, as once again, those employees on opposite sides would be paying various taxes on their wages in one country, while receiving a series of write-offs for their taxes in the other. Although no examples of such positives and negatives normally listed on personal tax forms would be required for filing in the upcoming months, they would need to be recognized for the following tax year. On the surface the challenge of those tax returns appeared as if they would be complex, but examples of workers along the United States border with Canada could be referenced as a guideline for addressing the issue. Of course the ultimate obstacle for all of those employees and business owners would have surfaced if the border between the United States and the Republic of Texas had not remained open. Fortunately both the Secretary of State in Washington D.C. and Ambassador Pearson had the foresight at their initial meeting to ensure, at least for the current calendar year, that it would remain as such.

Standing next to her chair behind the podium, the Madam Speaker was happy that those past negotiations with the State Department, and those of the future, would be handled by number eleven. She realized that the man had done an exceptional job in establishing a strong resolve during his first two meetings at the State Department, and the resulting action of the United States which was due to begin on the current day was proof of that. Therefore the Madam Speaker had no doubt that her friend Nathan Pearson would continue to do his best to ensure that the republic would prosper from his efforts.

After flashing a slight smile in remembrance of the good work that led to the various accomplishments during their first three weeks of deliberations, and for the bipartisan cooperation which had been exhibited by the Legislature in the process, the Madam Speaker was prepared to open the fourth week. Then with a series of firm downward swings of her gavel, number five said, “I hereby call this session of Monday January twenty-fifth to come to order.”