The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - December 18, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks. Today is Wednesday, December 18th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Alex Fairley, healthcare businessman and conservative mega-donor from Amarillo, has launched a new initiative to target the 2026 Republican primary and general elections. The Texas Republican Leadership Fund was created with the Texas Ethics Commission on Tuesday, as Farrelly's release said, quote, out of concern that the Texas House still lacks a united Republican majority and follows Governor Greg Abbott's recent call for the next speaker to be chosen

Starting point is 00:00:45 by a majority of Republican representatives in accordance with the Republican caucus rules. The Texas House is currently embroiled in a bloody fight over the speakership, with one faction committed to electing the GOP caucus-endorsed candidate, State Representative David Cook, and the other behind House leadership-aligned Chairman Dustin Burroughs. Burroughs and several of his supporters walked out of the December 7th caucus vote, calling the proceeding rigged and illegitimate. Fairley's daughter Caroline Fairley will be a freshman legislator next year, winning this year's race for the Panhandle's House District 87. She is among the former category of House Republicans known as the Reform Group.

Starting point is 00:01:25 Next, State Representative Ann Johnson filed a bill to, quote, ensure medically necessary exceptions, end quote, for Texas's abortion laws by clarifying health care providers' liability when performing abortions for various motivations, alleging that Governor Greg Abbott banned abortions in Texas with no exceptions. Johnson posted on X, quote, HB 1493, also titled The Life of the Mother Act, lists three situations for which it seeks to

Starting point is 00:02:05 clarify the health care provider's liability or lack thereof. Ectopic pregnancies, a pre-viable premature rupture of membranes, or any other complication that the doctor has diagnosed, quote, has a substantial likelihood of causing serious bodily injury. Texas's abortion trigger ban, which became effective 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court's judgment reversing Roe v. Wade in 2022, prohibits electively aborting a pre-born child from the moment of conception forward. It allows for exceptions in situations when, quote, a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that places the female at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless the

Starting point is 00:02:52 abortion is performed or induced. In other news, Bell Textron Incorporated will receive the first property tax abatement under the state's new law that replaced the former Chapter 313 program. The aerospace manufacturing firm builds helicopters and aircraft parts and is headquartered in Fort Worth. In tandem with the award, Bell will expand its aircraft manufacturing operations with a new facility, part of which will supply the U.S. Army's future long-range assault aircraft program. That new facility will be constructed in Denton County. It's projected to create 400 new jobs and reach a total investment of $429 million. The revamp was meant to eliminate the problems of the old program while still supplying subsidies

Starting point is 00:03:39 or incentives to continue attracting businesses to the state. Last but not least, Fort Worth staple Dickies has announced that the company's headquarters will move to Costa Mesa, California in early 2025. Dickies, which had been headquartered in Texas for more than 100 years, will now share its headquarters with well-known apparel and skating brand Vans. Both companies are part of the VF Corporation, which also owns brands like the North Face, Timberland, Jansport, Smartwool, and others. North Carolina-based VF bought Dickey's for $820 million in late 2017 and moved its own headquarters to Denver, Colorado the following year. The decision to move Dickey's headquarters is a surprise, not only because the company has been

Starting point is 00:04:24 in Fort Worth for so long, but also because it moved its headquarters from West Vickery Boulevard to the Tower in downtown Fort Worth in mid-2023. The move will affect 120 employees. P.S. If you're looking for a good Christmas gift for someone special who's addicted to Texas politics, politics consider a gift subscription to the texan with all the craziness this year and the certainty of more to come in 2025 access to breaking articles and regular newsletters breaking down political happenings in the lone star state and beyond is the perfect way to show your appreciation 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 - December 18, 2024

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