The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - July 30, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, July 30th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauschus, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, the first blueprint of the GOP redraw in Texas is out, and its passage would give Republicans a potential five-seat gain in next year's midterm, with gains coming in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and South Texas.

Starting point is 00:00:32 House Bill 4 was filed by State Representative Todd Hunter on Wednesday, providing the first glimpse of GOP strategy in altering the state's congressional maps at the behest of the Trump administration. Before this, seven informational hearings were held between both chambers fielding public comment about the redraw, which was overwhelmingly negative. Donald Trump won each of the projected gains by at least 10 points last year, though the partisan voting indexes ranged from R-plus-3 to R-plus-7, meaning Trump outperformed Republicans elsewhere on the ballot. The House will move first on the map because the threat of a special session killing quorum break

Starting point is 00:01:11 by lower chamber Democrats looms as a possibility. Visit the Texan.News to see the map and read about how it changes Texas's congressional landscape. Next, the Texas Senate gave initial passage to its proposed hemp-derived THC ban, a bill that would make significant changes to the current hemp retail sales market. Senate Bill 5 would create a ban on all products with cannabinoids other than CBD or CBG from being sold in Texas, with a 21-year age restriction on who can purchase the remaining legal products from retailers. Additionally, the bill creates restrictions on product packaging that could be attractive to children. Senator Charles Perry, who authored SB 5, answered and clarified a number of points raised by his fellow senators.

Starting point is 00:01:58 During the layout, Perry explained that hemp farmers will continue to be able to grow hemp, as it is, quote, federally protected as a 0.3% dry weight on Delta-9 THC. He addressed the concerns of veterans who rely on hemp products as opioid alternatives, assuring continued access to CBD and CBG under SB5. In other news, the US Department of Education will release $660 million in educational grants to the Texas Education Agency this week, following a month-long federal funding freeze. On June 30th, the department notified the TEA that it would delay dispersing funds for five grant programs, missing the usual July 1st deadline due to a pending review.

Starting point is 00:02:42 Programs impacted covered migrant education, English language acquisition, after school and summer learning, instructional support, and student enrichment services. The TEA said it, quote, never expected such late notice of the delay in allocations. At the time, it instructed districts to, quote, review grant budgets for potential contracts, staffing, and procurements, and plan program services accordingly, end quote, review grant budgets for potential contracts, staffing, and procurements and plan program services accordingly, end quote, as it did not know when the funds would be released. The Department of Education memo said it, quote, remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the president's priorities and the department's

Starting point is 00:03:19 statutory responsibilities. Last but not least, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is ending its final Land Protection Plan, or LPP, for the oldest National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, a federal land acquisition effort initiated under President Joe Biden's administration and halted by President Donald Trump's. The Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge,

Starting point is 00:03:42 located in Northwest Texas, was set to be expanded by over 700,000 acres in the LPP, introduced in 2023 under the previous presidential administration. The plan authorized the federal government to begin formal negotiations with landowners in order to purchase the land and draw a boundary within which the Fish and Wildlife Service could consider for acquisition. President Donald Trump issued an executive order within the first month of his presidency, titled Unleashing American Energy, which included a series of directives to various agency heads

Starting point is 00:04:14 regarding the best use of American land to promote energy-positive results. This included directions for Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to review the government's current land contracts and reduce any that are found to be limiting energy or agricultural production within the nation. 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.

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - July 30, 2025

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