The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - December 4, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks, today is Thursday, December 4th, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, two of Texas's most controversial social issue bills passed during its second special legislative session of 2025 are now law, one separating publicly funded, intimate spaces by biological sex, and the other cracking down on distributors of chemical abortion pills via civil liability. The latter, known as the Texas Woman and Child Protection Act, served as a summit moment for pro-life lobbyists who saw the bill through a tumultuous 89th legislative session and eventual second special session, where it ultimately passed. The new law, carried through the Texas legislature by state representative Jeff Leach via House

Starting point is 00:00:58 Bill 7 and sponsored by state Senator Brian Hughes, established civil penalties of up to $100,000 for production and distribution of chemical abortion pills in Texas. It faced opposition from pro-choice lobbyists and lawmakers for the same reason that pro-life activists fought to see it signed into law. It was a capstone achievement following a years-long effort to end abortion in the Lone Star State. The Texas Woman and Child Protection Act saw multiple rounds in the House State Affairs Committee, where it was left pending for weeks without a vote as pro-life activists ramped up pressure, particularly targeted at House State Affairs Committee Chairman Ken King. In other news, the Fort Worth City Council is once again considering amending its charter

Starting point is 00:01:43 to increase the salary for its mayor and city council members. At the December 2nd City Council work session, Assistant City Attorney Gavin Midgley told the City Council that a May 2nd, 2026 election for amending the charter wouldn't cost the city any extra money, because there will already be a bond election and a special election to fill the vacant district 10 seat at that time. The charter amendment election would include other changes in addition to the salary increases, such as reducing the quorum requirement, increasing the length of council terms, and setting term limits, along with other more technical amendments. A Fort Worth Charter proposal to increase the mayors and council salaries to $99,000 and $76,000, respectively, failed in 2022. A previous

Starting point is 00:02:33 proposal also failed in 2016. Mayor Maddie Parker's salary is currently $29,000, and city council members are paid $25,000. Last but not least, a company that provides a controversial surveillance technology to both private and public entities throughout Texas was found to have been operating under an expired state license, amid state and federal lawmakers calling for greater scrutiny of the company over privacy and security concerns. Flok Safety Incorporated installs automatic license plate readers, or ALPRs, that capture the license plate number and location of each vehicle that passes by. Police can then compare the data in relation to stolen vehicles, missing persons, or other crimes, and law enforcement has successfully used the

Starting point is 00:03:23 technology to solve cases. Flock's high-resolution cameras create a detailed file that includes other markers on each vehicle, including bumper stickers. The company's cloud-based system also connects with ALPR data from jurisdictions across the nation in real time, allowing users to map vehicle movement. After receiving complaints last year that Flock had been installing and operating ALPR cameras on private properties without a license since 2021, the Texas Texas Department of Public Safety sent the company a cease and desist order in September

Starting point is 00:03:57 2024. Despite documented violations, DPS granted Flock a license for private operations, but that license expired on September 30th, 2025. The Flock Director of Communications told the Texan the company applied for a new license months ago. Texas DPS renewed Flock's online private security license on December 4th, with a new expiration date set for September 26. 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.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - December 4, 2025

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