The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 12, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, February 12th, 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, Governor Greg Abbott laid out a number of emergency items during the 2025 State of the State Address, including property tax relief, infrastructure, and school choice. He also made the announcement that he will seek to purge diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, from every corner of Texas schools. Abbott explained, quote, last session we banned DEI in universities. This session, we must ban DEI in grades K through 12. Senator Brandon Creighton introduced the bill during the 88th legislative session that banned

Starting point is 00:00:52 DEI offices at Texas public universities. The issue of DEI has continued to percolate in the discussions among Texas lawmakers as recently as May of last year, when university presidents spoke during an interim committee about the implementation process. While lawmakers were able to push through the public university DEI ban, there is currently no law in place for K-12 public schools. Next, Senator Joan Huffman and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick put the Texas House on notice during a press conference Wednesday that a failure to enact proposed bail reforms could result in special sessions. Patrick said, quote,

Starting point is 00:01:30 As far as I'm concerned, if these bills do not pass the House, I see no reason for us not to go to a special session, and another special session, and another special session. Huffman added, quote, We're playing hardball this time. Flanked by crime victims' family members, Huffman and Patrick's comments relate to previous attempts to amend the state constitution to allow some violent suspects to be detained without bail. Although the proposal sailed through the Senate with bipartisan support in 2021 and 2023, the effort broke down in the lower chamber and failed to garner the required two-thirds majority for a constitutional amendment. In other news, a Customs and Border

Starting point is 00:02:11 Protection officer was arrested and indicted in El Paso due to his alleged involvement in financially incentivized illegal alien smuggling operations and illegal drug trafficking. The indictment of Manuel Perez Jr. was announced on February 10th by U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. Under the charges that Perez had, quote, allegedly smuggled and attempted to smuggle undocumented non-citizens into the United States for commercial advantage and private financial gain, newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said of the CBP officer's indictment,

Starting point is 00:02:49 quote, To traffic drugs and smuggle humans while wearing the badge is not only a disgusting betrayal of our patriotic customs and border protection officers, but of our nation and the American people. Perez was indicted under five varying counts. One count of conspiracy to bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and three counts of bringing aliens to the United States for financial gain, as well as regarding the establishment of not one but two Texas-based stock exchanges seek to increase that momentum. The Texas Stock Exchange, set to be based in Dallas, was announced in June last year on the

Starting point is 00:03:36 principle that, quote, Texas and the other states in the Southeast Quadrant have become economic powerhouses, end quote. According to Texas Stock Exchange founder James Lee, the first step to full incorporation was taken in January when registration forms were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission after $161 million in initial capital was raised by the Texas Stock Exchange Group. Former Texas Governor and former U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry is one of the members on the group's leadership team. Now, the New York Stock Exchange has announced plans to establish its own exchange in Dallas, which could be a competitor to the Texas Stock Exchange. 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 - February 12, 2025

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