The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - April 8, 2025

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

Want to support The Texan and help us continue providing the Lone Star State with news you can trust? Subscribe today: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/Learn more about the Data Center Coalition at: https://www.centerofyourdigitalworld.org/texasThe Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick recap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Be sure to visit The Texan and subscribe for complete access to our in-depth articles, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review!

Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, April 8th and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauschus and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Texas electricity demand will eclipse 200,000 megawatts by 2030, a 40% jump from today. The state's main power grid operator estimated one year after it issued a previous massive increase in its projections. Electricity demand in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas region is expected to reach

208,000 megawatts by 2030, according to the regulator's largest estimate. The largest reason for the increase is the expected growth of the state's data center footprint, a growing industry needed to support the increasingly online economy. Another reason for the expansion is the development of artificial intelligence. The spike in data center development amounts to a 48,000 megawatt rise in electricity demand to match, but that's just from projection to projection. The current data center footprint is negligible, according to the report. That means it's expected to increase from almost nothing to 78,000 megawatts in just five years.

For context, one megawatt can power 200 homes during peak demand periods. Last year around this time, ERCOT's projected 40,000 megawatt increase from the previous year's estimate rocked the power industry and legislative worlds, going from over 100,000 megawatts of need to nearly 150,000. Next, Governor Greg Abbott called a special election for Houston's Congressional District 18 on Monday, but resisted Democratic calls for the summer

and instead chose to include the contest in the November 2025 general election, citing concern over Harris County's election management. The seat formerly held by the late Representative Sheila Jackson Lee has remained vacant since the death of Representative Sylvester Turner on March 5, 2025. Abbott called a special election to replace Jackson Lee within two weeks of her death last summer, but Texas election code does not mandate a deadline for setting elections in cases of vacancy. Last week, both Harris County Attorney Christian Menafee,

who is a candidate for Congressional District 18, and U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries threatened legal action against the governor if he did not schedule the special election by November and demanded it be held in June. Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. Data centers fuel 364,000 Texas jobs, generate 3.5 billion dollars in state and local taxes, and power essential services like banking, health care, and video calls. With 21 connected devices per household and soaring data demands, these hubs drive Texas's booming economy, shape its technological future, and keep your data here in the U.S.

To learn more, visit centerofyourdigitalworld.org. Now returning to your daily Texas news. In other news, President Donald Trump's announcement on, quote, liberation day of a sweeping suite of tariffs on countries around the world has elicited a range of reactions from American and foreign officials. Trump implemented a baseline 10% global tariff with a number of countries facing higher tariff rates according to a range of different trade surpluses or alleged discriminatory trade practices. Certain critical goods such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals,

semiconductors, and specific minerals are exempt. For example, Canada and Mexico are exempt from certain tariffs on goods that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, while non-USMCA compliant goods will see a 25% tariff. China, which already faces existing tariffs on steel aluminum and auto parts will see additional tariffs levied. The days following the Trump tariff announcement created a volatile environment in the stock market although Wall Street did see an opportunity to buy the dip and trading rallied Wednesday morning. Last but not least, removals by Child Protective Services in Texas went down by 55% from 2018 to 2024,

while simultaneously the number of children dying from abuse also decreased by 53%. Five years after the state established additional protections for parents and families through refining the removal and investigation process. Texas removed 20,000 children from their parents in 2018, which plummeted to 9,220 six years later. The sum total of children in Texas foster care dropped by 47% from the same time period, while the number of Texas children awaiting a home through adoption went down from 43%. The state's lowest ever six-month and one-year recidivism rates, according to the Family Freedom Project.

State Senator Brian Hughes and Representative James Frank crafted and passed legislation during the 87th legislative session that heavily reformed CPS, particularly through adding more due process rights for parents. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan.News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.