The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 20, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Thursday, February 20th, 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, the Texas House has filed its pair of education bills, one for public school funding and the other to create a school choice program, characterized by House Speaker Dustin Burroughs as the defining issue of this session. Dubbed the Texas Two-Step, Burroughs described the pair of education bills as historic and said that the Texas House has the votes to get it done. House Bill 2 addresses teacher pay raises and public school finance, making significant revisions to existing

Starting point is 00:00:45 funding formulas, teacher incentive systems, and administration procedures. Burroughs said the school choice bill, HB3, will be a universal option for Texas families, saying that, quote, it's historic and it provides what people have been asking for. Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. These hubs drive Texas's 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, three bail reform measures filed by Senator Joan Huffman and prioritized by both Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick sailed through the Texas Senate with bipartisan support Wednesday, including a proposal that would require judges to hold illegal immigrants charged with felony crimes without bail.

Starting point is 00:01:54 Named for Jocelyn Nungere, a 12-year-old girl murdered in Houston last summer, Senate Joint Resolution 1, also known as Jocelyn's Law, seeks to amend the Texas Constitution and must garner a two-thirds vote from each chamber before it can be placed on the ballot for voters to weigh in later this year. While passing the Senate 28-2 with eight Democrats in support, the measure may face a steeper climb in the House. The Venezuelan nationals charged in Jocelyn's death had been apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol after entering the country illegally in the spring of 2024, but were released into the country. Although charged with murder last summer, the men were eligible for bail according to the Texas Constitution. of Houston announced it had discovered two teenagers' plans for committing a mass casualty

Starting point is 00:02:45 attack at a Houston high school through threats made online, and has both of them in custody as its investigation proceeds. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, also involved in the investigation, confirmed that the threat was made against a school in Spring Branch ISD, which KHOU-TV is reporting as Memorial High School in Houston. The two individuals are both underage, 16 and 15, so they have not been publicly named. One was already in custody due to unrelated unnamed charges, and the other is being detained by Harris County. The latter is a student at an unidentified school in Spring Branch ISD, while the former is a student at Willis High School in Conroe. Also, Senator Charles Schwartner is keen on establishing a first-of-its-kind financial

Starting point is 00:03:31 reserve for the state of Texas focused on Bitcoin. Senate Bill 21, one of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's legislative priorities, would create a fund outside the state treasury and run by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts that, quote, serves the public purpose of providing enhanced financial security to residents of this state and providing a mechanism to receive donations of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The fund would purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to amass a market capitalization of at least $500 million and would be overseen by not just the comptroller, but also an advisory committee

Starting point is 00:04:08 with members appointed by him. A biennial report on the fund is mandated under the legislation. Last but not least, a bill filed in the Texas House would create the Family Violence Registration Program, which would establish a system to track family violence offenders who have been convicted or granted deferred adjudication community supervision. Registration Program, which would establish a system to track family violence offenders who

Starting point is 00:04:25 have been convicted or granted deferred adjudication community supervision, forcing offenders to register annually at minimum. Representative Don McLaughlin said upon introduction of House Bill 2956, quote, If you lay your hand on an innocent man, woman, or child, you will pay the price, and the state will ensure your sickening actions don't lurk in our communities. House Bill 2956 employs the Department of Public Safety in establishing this registration program, modeled after the DPS sex offender registration program that requires individuals convicted of sexual-related offenses to register with local law enforcement of the city or county

Starting point is 00:05:05 they reside in and allows public access to the information. 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

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 20, 2025

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