The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 2, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Friday, May 2nd and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauschis and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, a group of conservative members in the Texas House who voiced organized criticism of the status of bill movement in their chamber pushed for advancement of GOP priority legislation in a press conference ahead of the chamber's first deadline in mid-May. The group of around a dozen legislators held a press conference next to the House chamber on Thursday morning, railing against the lack of progress on approximately 80 bills they've identified

Starting point is 00:00:41 that align with one of the eight Republican Party of Texas legislative priorities. There are 30 days left of the session and only two weeks to pass House bills out of the lower chamber, at which point members will only be able to vote on Senate bills. Next, state lawmakers have voted to remove an exception in Texas law that effectively allowed adults to give obscene material to children or elicit the sexual performance of a child if done for educational or other purposes Representative Jared Patterson said on the House floor Thursday Quote it's absolutely ridiculous that I stand before you with these sections of chapter 43 of the penal code still the law of the land

Starting point is 00:01:19 in Texas Patterson and Senator Mays Middleton both introduced legislation to remove an exception to prosecution for providing harmful materials to a minor if done for educational, medical, psychological, or psychiatric purposes. The statute also includes an affirmative defense to prosecution for the sexual performance of a child. Both Patterson's House Bill 267 and Middleton's identical Senate Bill 412 were approved by the House State Affairs Committee, but Patterson brought Middletons to the floor for the final vote. In other news, the Harris County District Attorney's Office announced Friday that four felony charges pending against former Harris County Health Director Barbie Robinson had been dropped.

Starting point is 00:02:00 According to an official statement from the office, quote, After an exhaustive review of the evidence concluded by career prosecutors, the HCDAO has determined that the state cannot prove any of the charged defenses beyond a reasonable doubt, and that pursuing this case is not in the best interests of justice. Robinson was fired from her post last September, and in November, former District Attorney Kim Aug announced Robinson would be charged with misuse of official information. In December, the district attorney's office charged Robinson with additional felonies, including tampering with a government record and two counts of

Starting point is 00:02:35 fraudulent securing of document execution. Also, the US Department of Education has sent notices to school districts across the country concerning the termination of a federal grant that the letter says is quote inconsistent with and no longer effectuates the best interest of the federal government. The one billion dollar federal grant program stems from the twenty twenty two bipartisan safer communities act, which was introduced after the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde in twenty twenty two. The grant program provided funding for school-based mental health programs and support services.

Starting point is 00:03:09 According to a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs, quote, BScA authorized a total of $1.4 billion in funding for new and existing violence prevention and intervention programs between 2022 and 2026. Last but not least, Elon Musk and his space exploration company, SpaceX, aim to cement their presence in Texas through an upcoming election this weekend, when a vote will decide whether to incorporate a new town called Starbase. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. issued the order in February that approved the petition for StarBase's

Starting point is 00:03:45 incorporation and established the election schedule. The StarBase spaceport, located near Boca Chica in southeastern Texas, is home to SpaceX's Starship facility and currently has a population of fewer than 300 residents, including 120 children. The site includes the StarBase office, a production site, a residential area, and other facilities which are all situated in the Rio Grande Valley. 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. Music

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 2, 2025

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