The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - January 31, 2025

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

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Howdy folks, today is Friday, January 31st, 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, Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to all Texas state agency heads reiterating that the state of Texas recognizes only male and female as legitimate genders, mirroring language declared in one of President Donald Trump's executive orders. Abbott began his letter, quote, This office has consistently reiterated a simple truth. recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and sex discrimination consists in treating a member of one sex less favorably than the other, absent some pertinent difference. In the letter, Abbott said that, quote, others have sought to distort the guarantee that men and women must be treated equally in order to impose mandates concerning sexual orientation and gender identity, end quote,

referencing when Travis County instructed state agencies to change driver's licenses and other forms of identification to reflect supposed gender identity. Next, Chinese smartphone applications are a growing area of concern for both the state and federal governments, and now Governor Abbott is taking action to combat these technologies in Texas. His new executive order directs the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Department of Information Resources to add the Chinese apps RedNote, DeepSeek, Webull, Tiger Brokers, MooMoo, and LemonAid to the state's blacklist. It also bans any artificial intelligence and social media applications with affiliations with the People's blacklist. It also bans any artificial intelligence and social media

applications with affiliations with the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party on government-issued devices. This means state employees and contractors can't download or use these apps on state-owned devices or personal devices used for work. In other news, Texas is ground zero for border security and illegal immigration issues, with one state lawmaker now filing legislation to aid federal authorities in their coordination with local law enforcement to quell the problem. Representative A.J. Lauderback, a former Jackson County sheriff, has filed a bill that mandates county sheriffs in Texas enter into agreements with the federal government to enforce federal immigration laws. It establishes a financial assistance program

to support sheriffs participating in federal delegation of authority programs, ensuring compliance and facilitating necessary training and equipment. Also, State Representative Donna Howard filed a bill that would allow citizens who turn 18 years old on or before the general election to also vote in the corresponding primary election. House Bill 2074 would, quote, allow a person who will be 18 years of age on the date of the general election for state and county officers to vote in the preceding primary elections. As current law stands, one must be either 18 on or before any election day in order to be eligible to vote, without consideration of preceding and upcoming elections, or whether it's a statewide or federal election. HB 2074 lists out the various established requirements that must be met by an individual in order to vote, including the aforementioned

18 years old standard. Other requirements listed are United States citizenship, not having been found, quote, totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote, end quote, by a court, not having been convicted of a felony or having been pardoned or fully discharged, and being a resident of the county one is registered to vote in. Last but not least, although Harris County has managed most of its own flood mitigation and planning for more than 80 years, state lawmakers are considering changes to the governance and territory of the state's only flood control district delineated among county lines. A special purpose district created by the Texas legislature in 1937, the Harris County Flood Control District was designed to be a local partner for major projects with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but now designs, constructs, and maintains flood control projects

throughout the county. Although controlled by the Harris County Commissioner's Court, the district is part of the much larger San Jacinto River Basin, but it only considers projects within county lines. Last week, State Representative Dennis Paul filed legislation to place the district under the management of a five-member board to be appointed by the governor. Paul's House Bill 2068 keeps the district within county lines initially, but allows adjacent counties to join the district in the future. P.S. The Texans' 89th session kickoff was this week, and if you weren't able to make it, have no fear. We've already begun uploading video and audio recordings of our panels and conversations, starting with our one-on-one interviews with

House Speaker Dustin Burroughs and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Keep your eyes open for the rest to drop soon. 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.