The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 10, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Friday, January 10th, 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, a rash of recent terrorist attacks has heightened the attention of many to the activities at the U.S. southern border. In wake of the tragic events on New Year's Day in New Orleans, when a Texas man with ties to ISIS killed 15 people in a vehicle ramming attack and died in a shootout with police, Governor Greg Abbott issued a directive to the Texas Department of Public Safety to surge their anti-terrorism team in order to, quote, aggressively combat radical jihadist terrorism. Abbott stated, quote, terrorism has no place in Texas. Law enforcement at all levels must aggressively collaborate to eliminate radicalization that can lead to terrorist attacks.

Starting point is 00:00:57 This direction not only came on the heels of the New Orleans attack, but other incidents in Texas related to various nefarious individuals being apprehended. Next, financial titans have begun an exodus from climate-focused groups intended to shift capital toward funds and businesses that commit to decarbonization goals, including BlackRock, which has had an up-and-down political relationship with the state of Texas. In a letter to clients on Thursday, BlackRock disclosed its intention to leave the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, which, quote, supports the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,

Starting point is 00:01:38 and supports investing aligned with net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. In 2021, the Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 13, which prohibits the state from investing in or contracting with companies that are deemed to quote, divest from fossil fuels, end quote. Comptroller Glenn Hagar was tasked with maintaining a list of the companies in violation under the law, on which BlackRock has remained at the top ever since. In other news, a formal ceremony was held in the chambers of the Texas House of Representatives with full attendance for the state's new 15th Court of Appeals, whose three judges retook the oaths of office. The court was created by legislation passed during the 88th legislative session by Senator Joan Huffman and former Representative Andrew Murr and became effective

Starting point is 00:02:25 September 2023. With a unique structure among its fellow intermediate appeals courts, the 15th Court of Appeals is invested with statewide jurisdiction over civil matters that overlap the regional districts of its fellow appellate courts and major civil disputes on appeal from the new business courts. In addition, it is invested with exclusive jurisdiction over matters relating to a state agency, board, or commission. Last year, Governor Greg Abbott named Scott Brister to serve as the first Chief Justice of the Court, along with Scott Field and April Ferris to serve as Associate Justices. Also, newly revealed documents related to a Houston low-income housing project indicate that both the Houston Housing Authority and developer NRP Group knew of environmental dangers at the site as early as 2019, but despite warnings from city, state, and federal officials, NRP pushed forward with construction and hired a former high-ranking federal official to defend the project. NRP began work on the project at Houston's 800 Middle Street in August 2022.

Starting point is 00:03:29 That December, workers digging a trench to accommodate a storm drain on the property uncovered a large cache of ash containing high levels of lead and arsenic. Neighbors filed a lawsuit and a district judge ordered NRP to remove exposed ash from the property. The incident led the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to issue citations for four violations of state code in September 2023, but emails now indicate that toxic ash was found on at least three other occasions. Last but not least, rumors that Keller Independent School District is discussing splitting off part of its district have been confirmed.

Starting point is 00:04:06 Keller ISD Board President Charles Randclev posted on social media that the board will hold an executive meeting next Thursday, January 16th, to discuss the possibility of reshaping the district. Randclev acknowledged that such a decision requires significant legal analysis, so the initial discussion will be done internally as a board before presenting any plan to the public. He added, quote, we will present a plan in an open and transparent manner when we have information to share. 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 - January 10, 2025

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