The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - February 5, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, February 5th, 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, President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive posture towards border security and illegal immigration since he took the oath of office. Not only has he issued a flurry of executive orders, but many of his senior-level appointees have gone on the offensive to enact these new measures. Trump not only declared a national emergency at the southern border, but also declared drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and has sought to clarify birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment to exclude the children of illegal aliens. Governor Greg Abbott has issued a number of executive orders related to border enforcement. On January 29th, Abbott issued five executive

Starting point is 00:00:55 orders to partner with the Trump administration, which includes directing the Texas Military Department and other state agencies to assist in improving border security. A day before, Abbott directed the deployment of tactical strike teams from the Texas Department of Public Safety to work in coordination with the Homeland Security Task Force in an effort to locate and arrest criminal illegal immigrants in the state. Next, Abbott's official emergency priorities for the 89th legislative session have renewed efforts to reform bail for pretrial defendants. And this week, Senator Joan Huffman introduced a slew of bills that include a third attempt to amend the Texas Constitution's bail provisions.

Starting point is 00:01:36 During his State of the State address last Sunday, Abbott prefaced his comments on bail with condolences to the widow of Harris County Deputy Constable Omar Erson. Two men facing trial in the case were both already out on bond for murder, one for capital murder, at the time of Erson's shooting death in 2022. Huffman's newly filed bills include Senate Joint Resolution 17, which would amend the Texas Constitution to allow judges and magistrates to deny bail to defendants charged with certain sexual, violent, and trafficking charges. The proposed changes would require authorities to hold a bail hearing and provide a written statement explaining the known facts surrounding the case and reason for denying bail. But Huffman's quest to amend the state

Starting point is 00:02:20 constitution may face steep challenges since it would require support from two-thirds of each legislative chamber, a standard that has failed in previous sessions. In other news, two nearly identical House Joint Resolutions, or HJRs, filed by two state representatives would omit the Texas legislature's ability to regulate the bearing of arms in the state through an amendment to the Texas Constitution. Representative Andy Hopper filed HJR 93 on November 14, 2024, while Rep. Briscoe Cain filed HJR 127 on

Starting point is 00:02:54 January 29, 2025, both proposing the same constitutional amendment related to individuals' rights to bear arms without government infringement. Section 23 of the Texas state constitution states, quote, Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the state, but the legislature shall have power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms with a view to prevent crime. Both pieces of legislation would remove that last segment of Section 23 from the state constitution. Also, Senate Bill 2 to create an education savings account program is currently being debated on the floor of the Texas Senate. The Senate has successfully passed a school choice

Starting point is 00:03:35 bill in previous sessions. The real question is whether it's going to pass in the House after Governor Greg Abbott's pro-school choice crusade in the 2024 Republican primaries ushered in several new lawmakers who might vote yes this time around. Follow the Texans' reporters on X for the most up-to-date information on the status of SB2. Last but not least, at the Texans' 89th session kickoff event, freshman representatives Hillary Hickland, John McQueenie, Daniel Alders, and Mitch Little joined reporter Kim Roberts to discuss their early experiences in the Texas House and the challenges of transitioning from

Starting point is 00:04:11 campaigning to legislating. Representatives Donna Howard, Shelby Slauson, and Mano de Ayala joined reporter Holly Hansen for a discussion on the urban-rural divide and its impact on policymaking. Visit thetexan.news or wherever you get podcasts for audio and video recordings of all our panels and one-on-one conversations. 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 5, 2025

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