The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 18, 2025

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

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Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, February 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, in a unique moment in legislative history, the names Matthew McConaughey, Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson, Billy Bob Thornton, Renee Zellweger, and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick are colliding in an effort to usher in a new era for the Texas film industry with the help of public dollars. A Texas Senate priority bill hopes to set the stage for the Lone Star State to compete with Hollywood by allotting $498 million for the Texas Moving Image Industry

Incentive Program. Though yet to be filed, Patrick reserved Senate Bill 22 as one of his top 40 priority bills to advance during the 89th legislative session, described as, quote, establishing Texas as America's film capital. Patrick clarified that the grant will be divided into two parts, new tax credits as high as $450 million for productions and $48 million designated for TV commercials and small films, a little over 2% of the state's projected $23.8 billion surplus. The tax credits have in-state residency requirements,

according to Patrick. Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. With 21 connected devices per household and soaring data demands, these hubs drive Texas' booming economy, shape its technological future, and keep your data here in the U.S. To learn more, visit centerofyourdigitalworld.org slash Texas. Now returning to your daily Texas news. Next, the Texas Senate has wasted no time tackling priority legislation during the 89th legislative session, the latest being a bill to protect key and natural resources by restricting who can own land in Texas. Senate Bill 17, described as stopping foreign adversaries' land grabs, is a piece of legislation proposed by Senator Lois Kohlkorst and co-authored by Senator Brent Hagenbue, that prohibits certain foreign

entities from purchasing private property in Texas to protect national security. The one-pager explains, quote, many countries around the world and other states restrict ownership of land by certain foreign entities and individuals. Currently, the only federal law regarding foreign investment is the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978, which only aims to regulate foreign investment through self-reported data. Kolkhorst filed similar legislation during the 88th legislative session that failed to pass, though the bill did prompt public concern from some Democratic lawmakers. In other news, Governor Greg Abbott made a point of talking about teacher pay raises

in his 2025 State of the State Address, and now the Texas Senate has filed legislation to address the issue. Senator Brandon Creighton, who also filed the upper chamber's school choice proposal, has proposed Senate Bill 26, otherwise known as the Texas Teacher Bill of Rights. Teachers with three to four years of experience would receive a $5,000 raise in districts with 5,000 or fewer students, while those in larger districts would receive $2,500. For teachers with five or more years of experience, the raise would be $10,000 in smaller districts

and 5,500 in larger ones. The Senate's budget proposal includes appropriations for teacher pay raises, including rural educators. Also, once thought to be a dormant disease, Texas has experienced a recent uptick in measles cases among school-age children. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported in early February about six cases of measles that had been identified in Gaines County, which is located in rural West Texas along the New Mexico border. Each of these cases, the DSHS notes, were among unvaccinated

school-age children in the county. The alert was preceded by two other reports in Harris County of unvaccinated residents being confirmed with cases of measles. The number of cases has since increased to 48 reported in the last three weeks, with each case, according to DSHS, being among the unvaccinated or having vaccination status unknown. Thirteen have been hospitalized due to the contraction of measles. Last but not least, the Tarrant Regional Water District will hold elections for three out of its five seats on May 3, 2025. At least two of the three seats will be filled by new people, as current Vice President James Hill and current Secretary Mary Kelleher will not seek re-election. Current President Leah King is seeking re-election for another four-year term. Elections are held every two years. Kelleher is running for the Fort Worth

City Council District 5 seat. Hill, who serves as the director of the Texas Christian University Neely School of Business Center for Real Estate, was elected to the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank Board. 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.