The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 21, 2025

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

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Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, May 21st 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, highly anticipated legislation clarifying the state's abortion laws regarding life of the mother exceptions was given initial passage by the Texas House Representative Charlie Garan took to the front mic on Wednesday afternoon where he laid out the life of the mother act Senate bill 31 by Senator Brian Hughes Companion legislation to Garan's House bill 44 on its second reading the bill is intended to assist doctors in dealing with cases

Where abortion may be necessary to preserve the life or major bodily functions of the mother. Shortly after SB 31 success in the lower chamber SB 33 by Senator Donahe Campbell banning taxpayer funded abortion travel was also passed by the House on second reading, although with more of a focus on taxpayer funds and corresponding litigation. SB 31 passed the upper chamber with 31 votes in favor and zero against in the last week of April.

Next, the Texas House and Senate reached a deal on an $8.5 billion school funding increase that will in part finance teacher pay raises after a night of negotiations between the leaders of the two chambers. The $8.5 billion deal is $800 million higher than what was passed in the House and includes $3.7 billion specifically for teacher pay raises. It keeps the basic allotment increase at $55 per student. The lower chamber passed the original version of the public education funding bill in April by a vote of 144 to 4. When the upper chamber received it, the Senate Education K-16 committee made a number of revisions and modifications before they gave final approval this week. In other news, Big Sandy, a small town

in Upshur County, has become the 58th sanctuary city for the Unborn in Texas. Like the others, the Big Sandy ordinance outlaws abortion, abortion pills, abortion trafficking, and disposal of fetal remains in the city. It passed unanimously. In March, Big Sandy Mayor Linda Baggett was contacted by Stacey McMahan, the co-founder and executive director of East Texans for Liberty, who asked if she'd be willing to meet with Mark Lee Dixon, the founder of the Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn initiative, about the reasons for these ordinances. Baggett said the ordinance garnered about 30 minutes of questions and discussion at the May 13th City Council meeting,

but in the end passed unanimously. Also, state lawmakers are moving to increase penalties for criminal charges related to bid rigging in response to multiple incidents in Texas jurisdictions, including several high-profile Harris County cases. In alleged bid-rigging cases, public officials are often indicted for misuse of official information, which is a third-degree felony under Texas law. House Bill 2001 would create a tiered system based on the amount of financial gain obtained. Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton

said during a Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing on Tuesday, quote, "'It's been my experience that this statute is violated every day at the federal, state, and local level.'" Under HB 2001, authored by representatives Morgan Meyer, Rafael Anchia, and Ken King, financial gains of up to $150,000 will remain a third degree felony.

Gains of between $150,000 and $300,000 will become a second degree felony, and those over $300,000 would be a first degree felony. First degree felony convictions can result in prison terms of 5 to 99 years or life and fines of up to $10,000. Last but not least, during the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, May 20th, Gabriel Rivas of Commissioner Elisa Simmons office gave a presentation about his interpretation of the county's current redistricting effort.

Rivas emphasized the racial makeup of the districts, claiming that minority voters are being packed into precinct 1 while being removed from precinct 2. He also spent some time discussing section 5 of the Voting Rights Act that requires the jurisdiction to have maps approved through a process known as pre-clearance. Commissioner Matt Krause, who is also an attorney, asked Rivas whether Texas is subject to preclearance under the Voting Rights Act. Rivas acknowledged that it is not, but said the retrogression analysis

can still often be considered. 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.