The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - December 19, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Thursday, December 19th, 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, a Texas school district has banned the full text of the Bible from being in school libraries purportedly due to compliance with House Bill 900, otherwise known as the Restricting Explicit and Adult-Designated Educational Resources or READER Act. In an email reported by the Christian Post, Canyon Independent School District Superintendent Daryl Flusche wrote that, quote, the standard for library content prohibits books that have one instance of sexual content. Therefore, HB 900 doesn't allow numerous books, including the full text of the

Starting point is 00:00:52 Bible, to be available in the school library. The Texan was able to confirm the authenticity of the email. Fluchy concluded by saying that he, quote, hopes our parents share their voice with the legislators concerning HB 900. The Reader Act, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott last year, aimed at preventing children from accessing certain materials in public school libraries by prohibiting library vendors from selling library material rated sexually explicit. It became effective September 1, 2023. In other news, three Dallas City Council members tried to speed up the hiring of a new city manager by calling a special meeting of the full city council on Monday, December 16, but because a quorum did not attend the meeting,

Starting point is 00:01:38 no action could be taken. Council members Gaye Donnell Willis, Janie Schultz, and Paula Blackmon signed a memo to the city secretary requesting a special meeting on Monday at 9 a.m. A meeting by the committee conducting the search, the ad hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs, chaired by Mayor Pro Tempore Tenell Adkins, was already scheduled for Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. Only five city council members attended the specially called meeting, the aforementioned members, along with council members Adam Basildua and Omar Narvaez. Schultz told WFAA, quote, What we wanted to do was to be able to be the responsive leadership that we were elected to be, which was to follow the adopted timeline and meet the expectations of the public to get this position filled. Last but not least, several bills related to high-speed rail have been pre-filed by legislators to be considered in the upcoming 89th Texas Legislative Session. HB 483 and its companion, Senate Bill 424 by Senator Sarah Eckhart, both relate to a

Starting point is 00:02:41 high-speed rail system along the Interstate 35 corridor between San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth. HB483, filed by Rep. John Busey in November, would amend the Texas Transportation Code to direct the Texas Department of Transportation to enter into a comprehensive development agreement with a private entity to construct a high-speed rail route along the I-35 corridor to connect Dallas to Austin and San Antonio. Texas Rail Advocates supports this bill, which they claim would address the congestion along I-35. The Texas Passenger Rail Advisory Committee plans to petition lawmakers during the upcoming legislative session for an appropriation of $300 million to kickstart the corridor projector Project. P.S. If you're looking for a good Christmas gift for someone special who's addicted to Texas

Starting point is 00:03:30 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. Music Music Music Music

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - December 19, 2024

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