The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 13, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Thursday, February 13th, 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, committee assignments in the Texas House were released on Thursday, detailing for the first time a Republican-only chair slate and Democratic-only vice chair slate following passage of the chamber's rules last month. In those rules, the number of standing committees was reduced from 34 to 30 as six were eliminated and two were created, delivery of government efficiency and intergovernmental affairs. Speaker Dustin Burroughs said of the assignments,

Starting point is 00:00:47 quote, Assigning members to committees is among the most significant and intricate responsibilities of the Speaker, one that demands thoughtful consideration and a delicate balance of many factors. Burroughs won the gavel with a coalition of 36 Republicans and 49 Democrats. Of those Republicans, eight are either freshmen or sophomores, traditionally ineligible for chair positions. That meant some Republican chairs had to come from the ranks of those who voted for State Representative David Cook for Speaker.

Starting point is 00:01:17 Four among those ranks received chair appointments. Representatives Ryan Guillen for Agriculture and Livestock, John Smithy for Criminal Jurisprudence, Matt Shaheen for Elections, and Cody Vesute for Redistricting. Next, rooted in legislation signed by President Andrew Johnson in 1867, the U.S. Department of Education has faced criticism since it became operational in 1980. And now, a renewed effort by the current Trump administration could see the end of the department altogether, with lawmakers and education advocates debating its effectiveness, alleged federal overreach, and the future of state-controlled education. President Donald Trump said of the Department of Education at a recent press conference, quote, I would like it to be closed immediately. He added, quote, the Department of Education is a

Starting point is 00:02:05 big con job. Trump's comments come amid recent revelations from the Department of Government Efficiency about the waste, fraud, and abuse being allegedly found in federal government spending. In other news, pressure to pass school choice during the 89th legislative session has already begun to mount from all levels of government, as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has now published a letter to encourage support for education savings accounts. Cruz penned the letter this week to Speaker Burroughs to make clear that, quote, school choice is the civil rights issue of our time

Starting point is 00:02:38 and, quite frankly, a matter of common sense. Burroughs has stated publicly that he believes the votes are there for universal school choice. He told the Texan at the 89th session kickoff event in January, quote, I do believe this will be the session that it passes. Also, the Texas Senate has filed a number of priority bills since the start of the 89th legislative session, the latest being one that aims to increase parental involvement in what books appear in public school libraries. Senator Angela Paxton has filed Senate Bill 13 to change how school district library collections and catalogs are administered by instituting local advisory

Starting point is 00:03:16 councils dedicated to school libraries. Additionally, the bill lays out a structured process for how a parent can block their child's access to certain library content, mandating that any material under challenge be temporarily withheld from student access until a final determination is reached. It also includes processes for the acquisition of library materials and includes definitions for harmful material, indecent content, and profane content. Last but not least, Austin and Texas more broadly has become a hub of technological innovation in the realm of autonomous vehicles. With one of the most prominent manufacturers now planning to roll out a new self-driving taxi

Starting point is 00:03:57 program, Tesla owner Elon Musk announced during a year-end earnings call with investors that the company will be, quote, launching unsupervised full self-driving as a paid service in Austin in June, end quote, with a fleet offering self-driving Tesla Model 3s and Model Ys. The new Tesla taxi program is not planned to include the CyberCab model, which is set to begin production sometime in 2026. Musk debuted the cybercab in October last year. The vehicle was designed without a steering wheel or pedals and was demonstrated to use inductive charging stations. Current Tesla vehicles use supercharger stations. 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 13, 2025

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.