The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 16, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Friday, May 16th 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 House passed a bill this week aiming to improve access to relief for individuals whose convictions or sentences may have been undermined by evolving scientific understanding. Bill author representative David Cook explained that the legislature had previously passed a 2013 law known as the junk science writ that quote allowed the court to grant post-conviction relief for defendants through a

Starting point is 00:00:43 writ of habeas corpus if new scientific evidence is discovered that was admissible and that the court found that had the evidence been presented at trial, the person would not have been convicted. The bill stems from controversy over the case of death row inmate Robert Roberson, who was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2003 in connection with the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002. Next, legislation seeking to decriminalize homosexual conduct in Texas passed an initial vote in the House Thursday night with a degree of bipartisan support. Jones, a self-identified gay man, carried House Bill 1738 through the lower chamber with bipartisan joint author support from Representative Brian Harrison and former speaker Dade Phelan, eliminating a section of Texas Penal Code that reads, quote, A person commits

Starting point is 00:01:37 an offense if he engages in deviant sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex. Although unenforceable due to the Supreme Court of the United States's 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, which rendered the anti-sodomy law unconstitutional, the wording remains to this day in the Texas Penal Code. In other news, the Texas Senate K-16 Education Committee took up a public school finance bill that seeks to inject more than

Starting point is 00:02:04 $8 billion in new funding into Texas schools. The Senate committee substitute includes several modifications to House Bill 2, which is one half of the Texas two-step education package from the lower chamber. The full bill text was released just hours before the hearing. The Texas House passed an early version of the public education funding bill in April by a vote of 144 to 4. The bill, as amended, addressed teacher pay raises, made revisions to the existing funding formulas and teacher incentive programs, and sought to clarify the calculation of average daily attendance for various education settings. A later version of the legislation also included raising the per student allotment baseline to $6,555.

Starting point is 00:02:49 Also, the Texas Senate passed a recently introduced piece of legislation that would abolish the Texas Lottery Commission, moving its operation to another agency, and add a number of safeguards for retailers and players. Senate Bill 3070, authored by Senator Bob Hall, would abolish the TLC and move the Texas Lottery's operations under the watch of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, require a limited scope sunset review of the lottery, and place a 100-ticket-per-transaction limit on purchases. Additionally, it would prohibit internet ticket sales

Starting point is 00:03:23 and create an advisory committee. In addition, Senator John Cornyn introduced legislation to refund Texas more than $11 billion for its border security related costs incurred under President Joe Biden's administration. Cornyn announced on Thursday that he'd be carrying the State Border Security Assistance Act in the upper chamber, co-sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz. During a press conference, Cornyn cited his desire to see the Lone Star state's full financial recovery from the past four years. A, quote, dramatic and historic effort to reimburse Texas for Operation Lone Star.

Starting point is 00:03:58 Operation Lone Star was launched in 2021 by Governor Greg Abbott in response to the surge of illegal immigration across Texas's border. Last but not least, Governor Greg Abbott has requested a waiver from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to prohibit the purchase of junk food using SNAP benefits in Texas, aligning with multiple federal officials' recent advocacy for removing such items from the program. The letter is asking for a waiver from Rollins to exempt quote, the purchase of unhealthy, highly processed food and quote from those using snap. The letter details how 3.2

Starting point is 00:04:35 million Texans are utilizing snap benefits to the tune of more than $7 billion. In 2023 snap provided monthly food assistance to 12.6% of the U.S. population. Concerns about recipients using these benefits to buy junk food have led 10 Republican-led states, including Texas, to consider banning SNAP purchases of candy, soda, and other high sugar and high fat items. 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 - May 16, 2025

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