The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - July 31, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, July 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, a federal judge ruled against the dismissal of a Texas woman's lawsuit against local officials following her indictment on murder charges for a self-induced abortion. Lizelle Gonzalez, formerly Lizelle Herrera, was charged in January 2022 and arrested the following April after allegedly inducing the abortion of her child while 19 weeks pregnant. Gonzalez was indicted for homicide and spent three days in the Starr County Jail with a $50,000 bond. She was released on bail after Starr County

Starting point is 00:00:52 officials moved to dismiss her case. Her indictment followed a flurry of discussion and debate surrounding how abortion-related laws in Texas might be applied after the potential reversal of Roe v. Wade, which ended up occurring two months after Gonzalez was charged with murder. In April 2024, Gonzalez filed a $1 million lawsuit against her prosecutors, Starr County, Starr County Sheriff Rene Fuentes, District Attorney Gocha Alan Ramirez, and Assistant DA Alexandria Lynn Barrera. Gonzalez is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, Garza Martinez Law, and the ACLU of Texas. Next, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is calling on Centerpoint Energy to absorb $800 million spent on large

Starting point is 00:01:40 capacity generators that were left unused in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl and a power outage from more than 2 million Houston-area residents that led to heat-related deaths. Patrick's announcement followed a lengthy special Texas Senate committee hearing, during which lawmakers grilled CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells for more than three hours with a special focus on the 15 generators leased after winter storm Yuri in 2021. Billed as mobile units, the 32-megawatt generators take days to assemble and require three semi-trucks to move, and the company could not position them after barrel even while some residents

Starting point is 00:02:19 were without power for two weeks. The Texas Public Utility Commission approved CenterPoint's request to pass the expenditure on to consumers via a rate increase, but Patrick is asking the state regulatory board to revoke the decision. During Monday's hearing, Wells defended the lease of the generators in accordance with state law that could be employed in case of a load shedding event where the state's grid could not provide sufficient electricity, but he affirmed that the units had never been used. In other news, a state appeals court has ruled a residence lawsuit against the city of Kima over property rights may go to trial, while a federal magistrate judge has agreed to dismiss a separate case that

Starting point is 00:03:02 has been pending for more than two and a half years, although plaintiffs are expected to appeal. In May 2023, Galveston County District Court Judge Lonnie Cox denied Kima's request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by resident Veronica Crowe, who says the city engaged in an inverse taking of her property when they revoked a permit and issued conflicting orders that prevented construction of a residential, Barn Dominium-style home and two short-term rental cottages for more than a year. Representing Kima, attorney Bill Helfand claimed that the city had immunity and

Starting point is 00:03:37 that Crow had never had a permit to begin with. Even before Judge Cox's ruling, Helfand had informed Crow's attorney that he would be filing an interlocutory appeal. But last Thursday, more than one year after Cox's initial ruling, the Texas First Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's opinion. Last but not least, residents in Dallas will see a proposition for marijuana decriminalization on their November ballot, after the City of Dallas secretary verified signatures from a pro-marijuana organization. Ground Game Texas announced they had collected nearly 50,000 signatures from Dallas voters in support of the proposition. Ground Game Texas executive director Katina Vallinger stated, quote, the overwhelming support of the ballot

Starting point is 00:04:23 petition by Dallas voters is evidence that listening to the community and organizing around issues that matter to them is key to building voter enthusiasm and turnout. The proposition, according to the organization's Dallas Freedom Act petition, would instruct police in Dallas to stop issuing citations or making arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession. 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 - July 31, 2024

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