The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 21, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Monday, April 21st and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauschis and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the next step in the legislative process for school choice in Texas has now been taken, with state leaders determining the advancement of the Education Savings Account bill that passed on the House floor last week. Following nearly 12 hours of debate, Senate Bill 2 passed with 86 of 150 members voting in favor, all of them Republicans, and 63 against. Two Republicans joined Democrats in voting against, Representative Gary Van Deaver and the former Speaker of the House, Representative Dade Phelan. While Senate Bill 2 made it out of the

Starting point is 00:00:51 House, the last step for many hotly debated bills would have been for the Senate to send the amended legislation to a conference committee to hash out the differences between the two chambers versions, which would leave the ESA legislation subject to another House floor vote. Instead, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wrote on social media that he would be recommending the Senate concur with Senate Bill 2, thus bypassing the need for a second House vote on the bill and moving forward with the current

Starting point is 00:01:19 version passed by the lower chamber. Next, after a star-studded Senate committee hearing featuring actor Matthew McConaughey, the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, promoting Texas as the new Hollywood, passed the upper chamber and awaits its hearing in the House. Senate Bill 2, one of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's priorities for the 89th legislative session and carried by state Senator Joan Huffman allocates a $498 million grant for the establishment of Texas as America's film capital through offering tax breaks for certain categories of filmmakers. The grant will be divided into two parts, new tax credits as high as $450 million for productions and $48 million designated for TV commercials and small films.

Starting point is 00:02:07 A little over 2% of the state's projected $23.8 billion surplus. It was heard in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee on March 31, which consisted of mostly positive testimony from a number of witnesses, including actors Woody Harrelson and movie director and producer Chad Gunderson. Those in favor generally communicated a desire to see a more conservative version of Hollywood in the Lone Star State and more local opportunities for Texans seeking jobs in film, while those against it expressed concern that the program would reproduce the same issues witnesses raised against Hollywood and that it would lead to abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Starting point is 00:02:47 Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. Data centers fuel 364,000 Texas jobs, generate $3.5 billion in state and local taxes, and power essential services like banking, healthcare, and video calls. With 21 connected devices per household and soaring data demands, these hubs drive Texas' booming economy, shape its technological future, and keep your data here in the U.S.

Starting point is 00:03:13 To learn more, visit centerofyourdigitalworld.org slash Texas. Now returning to your daily Texas news. In other news, in the latest scandal to rock the state's largest public school district, on Friday a federal jury found Houston Independent School District's former chief operating officer Brian Busby and vendor Anthony Hutchison guilty on 33 charges related to a long-running bribery scheme. The scheme, which prosecutors say began as early as 2011, included kickbacks to Busby as well as cash payments to former HISD board president Rhonda Skillerne-Jones and multiple other officials, in exchange for lucrative contracts for construction, landscaping, mowing, and maintenance at district schools. After a trial that lasted nearly four weeks, both Busby and Hutchison were

Starting point is 00:04:05 convicted on charges of conspiracy, bribery, filing false tax returns, and witness tampering. Hutchison was also convicted of wire fraud. Also, Carroll Independent School District in northeast Tarrant County is mobilizing its district residents to oppose Senate Bill 686 by Senator Angela Paxton, which would allow students to transfer into a different independent school district that has student capacity available at the appropriate grade levels.

Starting point is 00:04:33 It also prohibits the school district into which the student is transferring from charging tuition. The bill provides more flexible options for families to, quote, meet their own unique situations and needs, end quote. Paxton said about the bill when it passed the Senate by a vote of 30 to one on March 31st.

Starting point is 00:04:52 Senator Lois Kolkhorst was the lone dissenting vote. Last but not least, there are age-old fights in Texas politics. Urban versus rural, state versus local, and then there are those not quite at that level, but awfully close to it. One such conflict is between trial lawyers and the business community, with the Texas legislature sandwiched in between.

Starting point is 00:05:14 Visit thetexan.news to read senior reporter Brad Johnson's breakdown of past and present tort reform efforts in the Texas legislature. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 21, 2025

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