The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - July 6, 2026

Starting point is 00:00:04 Well, howdy folks. Today is Monday, July 6th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texan Senior Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, today, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that Texas may continue to enforce its App Store Accountability Act as litigation proceeds. Scotus denied an application to vacate a stay placed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, that halted a lower court judge's ruling preventing the law from being enforced during the legal process. Last week, 27 state attorneys general joined Texas in defending its App Store Accountability Act before SCOTUS, requesting in an amicus brief that the law remain in effect during litigation. Senate Bill 2420, authored by state Senator Angela Paxton and sponsored by state representative Caroline Fairly in the Texas House last year,

Starting point is 00:01:01 requires operators to verify the age of consumers and mandates parental consent for app store purchases and downloads for those under the age of 18. The plaintiffs, students engaged in advancing Texas and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, had filed suit against the state over the law in October 2025, three months before SB 2420 was set to go into effect in January of this year. The plaintiffs alleged that the statute infringes on the right to free speech, stating that it, quote, violates the First Amendment on its face. In other news, amid an ongoing legal and public dispute over who is the rightful chief executive of Fort Bend County, interim county judge Daniel Wong filed a lawsuit on Monday against county attorney Bridget Smith Lawson, asking a court to confirm his appointment. The legal chaos

Starting point is 00:01:56 stems from the March 26 felony convictions of County Judge K.P. George. Under Texas law, a county judge convicted of a felony is automatically removed from office. But since George's attorneys have appealed the conviction, he remains the elected Fort Bend County judge, although he was suspended from office without pay. George also faced a civil removal lawsuit, and prior to his sentencing, visiting Judge Jeff Jones in April had also ordered him suspended from office and appointed Wong, the 26 Republican nominee for county judge, to fill the office's unexpired term. Then on June 17th, the civil removal case was non-suited, which Smith Lawson says now implies Jones's appointment of Wong is no longer valid. According to Wong's lawsuit filed on Monday,

Starting point is 00:02:46 Smith Lawson had also emailed county department heads and instructed them that Wong, quote, no longer holds the legal authority to act as county judge and is not an employee of Fort Bend County. The suit also alleges that Smith Lawson directed department heads to terminate Wang's employment, revoke his badge access, and shut down his access to county computer systems. Last but not least, even as the city of Dallas is collecting more sales tax revenue than ever before, it's still lagging behind nearby suburbs as it faces a steep budget shortfall. Earlier this week, Dallas announced mandatory furloughs for non-uniformed city workers on July 10th, September 4th, and September 28th, to mitigate the shortfall, attributed in large part to unexpectedly low sales tax collections. According to an analysis of state data, Dallas is on track for a record year for sales tax revenue in 26. However, neighboring cities have outpaced Dallas and sales tax growth, lending credence to the idea that economic activity is draining away from the urban center of North Texas. When it comes to taxable sales,

Starting point is 00:03:57 Dallas remains the economic heavyweight of the Metroplex. So far this year, the city has collected over $230 million in sales tax revenue, a sum greater than the combined sales tax revenues of Plano, Frisco, and Irving, according to data provided by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Additionally, Dallas has collected more sales tax revenue each year since 2020, the last year in which the growth of sales tax revenue turned negative according to a city budget presentation. However, the sales tax revenue of neighboring cities is growing faster, supporting Mayor Eric Johnson's warning of competition with other cities for tax dollars. Thanks for listening.

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - July 6, 2026

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