The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 25, 2025

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

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Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, February 25th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauschis, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the ongoing controversy surrounding the Texas Lottery Commission, or TLC, has seen several new developments, not only regarding the Commission's future, but also the looming threat of an investigation. Concerns over recent lottery winners came to light last week following a February 17th

jackpot winner who used a courier app called Jackpocket to purchase the winning ticket. Senator Bob Hall soon filed Senate Bill 28, which would prohibit the ability to play the lottery or purchase a ticket through internet or mobile applications such as Jack Pocket. It is a companion to House Bill 389 filed by Representative Matt Shaheen. Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. Data centers fuel 364,000 Texas jobs generate $3.5 billion in state and local taxes, and power essential services like banking, health care, and video calls. 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, a Texas rancher was killed by an improvised explosive device on his property which Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller warns is a sign of the growing threat of cartel activity along the southern border, urging extreme caution. A 74-year-old rancher and U.S. citizen, Antonio Cespedes Saldierna, was killed on his ranch in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas after his vehicle activated an IED, suspected of being planted by a cartel member.

The explosion also took the life of two of Saldierna's family members, Miller told The Texan. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico issued a Level 4 Do Not Travel due to Crime and Kidnapping Warning on January 27th for multiple cities in Tamaulipas, which borders the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, citing recurring cases of gun battles and sightings of multiple IEDs planted throughout travelways, specifically dirt roads. In other news, two years after a stalemate over property taxes, the two chambers of the Texas legislature again have differing blueprints for applying the at least $10 billion in relief

called for by Governor Greg Abbott. Chairman Morgan Meyer filed his House Bills 8 and 9 alongside House Joint Resolution 1, the accompanying constitutional amendment. The trio's parameters include increasing the business personal property tax exemption from $2,500 to $250,000 and compressing school district maintenance and operations rates by.0331 cents. The trio's parameters include increasing the business personal property tax exemption from $2,500 to $250,000

and compressing school district maintenance and operations rates by 3.31 cents. The Senate's current plan is around $3 billion worth of compression alongside a $40,000 increase to the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. Last session, the Senate dug its heels in on a homestead exemption-heavy plan, a battle which it won, eventually securing House that would allow a property owner to disable, destroy, or damage unmanned aircraft flying over their property, both a pressing concern for any Texans who have experienced an unidentified object flying over their home and a bilateral potential threat to public safety. Defensive Jeff Leach's House Bill 2916 plays off Sections 28.03 and 28.04 of the Texas Penal Code, which outlines what constitutes an illegal action when destroying other individuals' property, asserting that taking down an unmanned aircraft like a drone is an affirmative defense

when it crosses property lines. Three requirements must be met according to HB 2916 for shooting down a drone to be considered an affirmative defense. 4. That the flying object must have been on property owned or legally occupied by the person. 5. That it was shot down using a firearm legally possessed by the person to disable, damage, or destroy an unmanned aircraft that the person did not authorize to be on or over the property. 6. And that the person had not been previously to be on or over the property, and that the person had not been previously prohibited

from discharging the firearm under the penal code or a dedicatory instrument governing use of the property. Last but not least, the Fort Worth Independent School District Board will consider closing between 14 and 25 different schools in the coming months. The board received a facilities master plan update during its workshop on February 11. The board received a facilities master plan update during its workshop on February 11th.

The presentation was conducted by Tracy Richter, vice president of planning services for HPM. The firm contracted back in September 2023 by the district to develop the facilities master plan. Fort Worth ISD has been under financial pressure due to declining enrollment and bloated facilities, with the district passing an unbalanced budget for the 2024-2025 school year. The district has already closed a few schools over the past couple of years.

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