The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - March 13, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Thursday, March 13th 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, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has released the second round of priority bills for the Texas Senate, featuring measures on issues such as banning lottery couriers, the Life of the Mother Act, and preventing squatting among others. Patrick wrote in a press release, quote, Our goal is to have all 40 of my, the senators'

Starting point is 00:00:37 and the people's priority bills passed by mid-April. Patrick released his first round of 25 priority bills in January. Of those, seven have passed the Senate already. Next, representatives from the Texas Association of School Boards Purchasing Cooperative grappled with answering questions during a Texas House committee hearing Wednesday, with some lawmakers lambasting the taxpayer-supported nonprofit over the group's profits and lobbying efforts. The newly created House Delivery of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, committee sought answers about Byboard, a purchasing cooperative that

Starting point is 00:01:14 provides a list of about 28,000 approved vendors to school districts, cities, counties, and municipal utility districts. TASB Business Services Manager Brian Bollinger said buyboard's fees, usually 2% of purchases, were paid by vendors and of $2 billion in purchases, the cooperative's revenues were about $32 million. About $4.1 million in fees went to TASB. Representative Tony Tinderholtz said during the hearing, quote, Doge needs to dig deeper into TASB and what your organization does and supports,

Starting point is 00:01:50 how you're funded, how the money is spent, and whether it's truly used to lobby against taxpayers and voters in the state of Texas. Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. Data centers fuel 364,000 Texas jobs, generate $3.5 billion in state and local taxes, and power essential services like banking, healthcare, and video calls. With 21 connected devices per household and soaring data demands, these hubs drive Texas' booming economy, shape its technological future, and keep your data here in the U.S. To learn more, visit centerofyourdigitalworld.org. Now returning to your Daily Texas News.

Starting point is 00:02:34 In other news, Governor Greg Abbott announced grants of $17.3 million from Texas to Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX, as part of the state's semiconductor innovation fund, which has previously awarded grants to four companies' projects. The governor said in a press release, quote, I congratulate SpaceX on their more than $280 million investment in this Texas-sized expansion of their semiconductor R&D and advanced packaging facility in Bastrop, which will be the largest of its kind in North America. The grant will be used for SpaceX's facility in Bastrop as it expands its semiconductor research and development site to

Starting point is 00:03:16 one million square feet, a project expected to create more than 400 jobs, according to Abbott, and rake in more than $280 million in capital investment. Also, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has encouraged United States senators to stop thinking about giving more funding for federal programs to solve the housing crisis and move to a view that it must be solved by the private sector. Johnson was invited by Senator Tim Scott

Starting point is 00:03:43 to address the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Wednesday, March 12th. As a second-term mayor of the ninth largest city in the United States, Johnson explained that he sees the slow permitting and zoning process as an impediment to developers who would increase the housing supply. As Dallas competes with various large prosperous suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, Johnson said developers tell him that the cumbersome permitting process in Dallas makes it less competitive.

Starting point is 00:04:13 However, he doesn't want the federal government to get involved in that process. Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. Texas insurance companies want to help keep premiums affordable. That's why the American Property Casualty Insurance Association supports a competitive marketplace reforms of legal system abuse and better preparedness for the next major storm. For more information visit securingourfuture.com slash Texas. Now returning to your daily Texas news. In addition, the Tarrant Appraisal District chose

Starting point is 00:04:51 to indefinitely table any possible action related to resolutions by six independent school districts asking it to conduct a reappraisal of the properties within their boundaries in 2025. The six school districts are Fort Worth, Everman, Castleberry, Kennedale, Northwest, and Azel ISDs. Their school boards passed resolutions asking for reappraisals after TAD chief appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt notified them that they were at risk of falling short of the property value

Starting point is 00:05:21 study conducted by the Texas Comptroller's Office. The school districts asked the TAD board to reconsider its appraisal plan and conduct a reappraisal of properties within the school districts this year so they don't risk losing state funding. Last but not least, the Fort Worth Independent School District board has hired current interim superintendent Karen Molinar as the district's new permanent superintendent. Molinar's hiring was approved by the board during a special called meeting on March 11th. She was approved by a vote of 8-0, with trustee Kevin Lynch being absent.

Starting point is 00:05:55 Molinar has headed the district since October 2024, when the previous superintendent, Angelica Ramsey, was fired for district underperformance. Mullenar has already spearheaded efforts and plans to improve the district's academic performance. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan please be sure to visit the Texan.News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts. Music

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - March 13, 2025

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