The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - March 4, 2025

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

Want to support The Texan and help us continue providing the Lone Star State with news you can trust? Subscribe today: https://thetexan.news/subscribe/Learn more about the Data Center Coalition at: https://www.centerofyourdigitalworld.org/texasThe Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick recap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Be sure to visit The Texan and subscribe for complete access to our in-depth articles, subscriber-exclusive newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to subscribe and leave a review!

Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, March 4th 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 Texas Senate State Affairs Committee endured a full day of testimony Monday where debate, discussion, and passionate pleas from witnesses descended upon the upper chamber to consider the future of THC and cannabis in the state. Senate Bill 3, known as banning THC in Texas, was the major focus of the day, while SB 1505 would modernize Texas's compassionateionate Use Program that allows physicians to prescribe

low-THC cannabis to patients with certain medical conditions. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick made SB 3 a legislative priority for the upper chamber after he detailed that, quote, retailers exploited the agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public and made them easily accessible. 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. slash Texas. Now returning to your daily Texas news.

Next, the Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence took testimony Tuesday on legislation seeking to address the creation and distribution of pornographic material, including computer-generated images of children, and moved to strike a long-standing exception in state laws protecting children. Committee Chair Pete Flores' SB 20 would amend the Texas Penal Code to include possession or promotion of AI material that, quote, "...appears to depict a child under 18 of engaging in certain activities." The offense would be a state jail felony that could be escalated with prior convictions. The committee also considered Senator Joan Huffman's SB 1621 specifically addressing AI-generated

sexual depictions of children. Much of the testimony in discussion, however, surrounded Senator Mays Middleton's SB 412, which would remove the affirmative devents for pornographic material given to children and sexual performance of a child if done for educational, medical, psychological, or psychiatric purposes. In other news, State Representative Don McLaughlin, who was the mayor of Uvalde when a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Robb Elementary School three years ago, filed a Texas House Priority School Safety Bill this week.

Dubbed the Uvalde Strong Act, House Bill 33 mandates that schools and police forces develop active shooter response plans permits inter jurisdiction mutual aid agreements requires the creation of first responder mental health plans for use after an active shooter incident and lays out a $25,000 per entity grant program to assist

law enforcement agencies with obtaining and maintaining active shooter preparedness accreditation. Under the bill, the Texas Department of Emergency Management would be tasked with developing a universal or near-universal plan for active shooter response, particularly detailing the on-site chain of command. Also, university campus protests have sparked a discussion regarding the balance between campus safety and political expression,

with one Texas lawmaker now filing a bill to create a, quote, enhanced penalty for committing offense while disguised or masked. HB 3061 by Representative Tom Oliverson is designed to enhance the punishment for certain criminal offenses when the offender is both disguised or masked and congregating where others are similarly disguised.

Its intent is to address situations where concealing one's identity may facilitate more dangerous or premeditated criminal behavior. Oloverson's legislation comes on the heels of President Donald Trump writing on social media that all federal funding will stop for schools or universities that allow illegal protests on campuses, adding quote no masks. In addition, a neighborhood in North Fort Worth that lies within the boundaries of the Keller Independent School District has intervened in a lawsuit to stop a possible detachment of a western portion of the district. Heritage Homeowners Association and some of its residents announced on March 3rd that they have intervened in a lawsuit against several members of the Keller ISD School Board,

alleging violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act and asking for an injunction preventing the board from taking any further action toward detaching part of the district. Last but not least, there's a different kind of turf war playing out in an obscure state agency involving family members, an Alabama-based company, and conservation boards at the local and state levels. The son of a state agency board member filed multiple complaints against another state-contracted company with whom he was previously employed, which halted work orders for existing projects. The company he was subcontracting with also was given a higher rating in a bidding process

than a longer tenured company with the state that offered to do the job at no cost. Visit thetexan.news to read senior reporter Brad Johnson's breakdown of the situation involving the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board. P.S. Representative Ramon Romero sat down with Brad to talk about being appointed to chair the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, his views as a Democrat recapping

the Texas House Speaker election, and more, listen at TheTexan.News or wherever you get podcasts. 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.