The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 28, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, May 28th, 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, a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution that would have mandated the detention of suspects charged with certain violent crimes failed to garner the two-thirds majority vote in the House on Tuesday, leaving the measure dead for the 89th regular legislative session. Senate Joint Resolution 87 was introduced by Senator Joan Huffman in response to Governor Greg Abbott's call for more stringent bail reform last month.

Starting point is 00:00:42 The Senate quickly passed the measure on a 29-2 bipartisan vote, easily meeting the two-thirds margin needed. In the House, a handful of Democrats voted in support of SJR 87, but the final vote was 97-40, just three votes short of the 100 needed. On Wednesday morning, Representative Mitch Little vowed on social media to reintroduce SJR 87, quote, tomorrow or this summer or this fall or this winter if I have to. Representative David Cook announced on Wednesday he intended to seek a motion to reconsider SJR 87, but reconsideration motions must be filed by a member who has voted against the resolution

Starting point is 00:01:24 previously. Shortly after 1 PM, the deadline to file the motion passed and Little told the Texan that SJR 87 was dead for the session. Next, Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to lead US Senator John Cornyn in polling for the 2026 US Senate race, according to a new survey released on Wednesday. The poll conducted by the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center at Texas Southern University, puts Paxton up 43% to Cornyn's 34% in a head-to-head matchup among likely GOP primary voters.

Starting point is 00:01:58 The race is already one of the most anticipated across the country, with tens of millions of dollars expected to be spent in just the primary. If Congressman Wesley Hunt, who is flirting with a run himself and is already running personal ads across the state, is thrown into the mix, Paxton pulls at 34% to Cornyn's 27% and Hunt's 15%. Hunt is behind Paxton head to head by 30 points, while he's only 8 points behind Cornyn. Also, after lengthy negotiations and compromises, state lawmakers reformulated a bill concerning

Starting point is 00:02:33 the Texas Compassionate Use Program that ultimately passed late Tuesday night. The program allows medical doctors to prescribe low-THC cannabis for patients with certain conditions. A committee substitute to House Bill 46 was presented before members of the Senate, but only after details were hammered out between leaders of the upper chamber and the House. The changes to HB 46 will now need to be approved by the House before the bill can head to the governor's office to be signed into law. In other news, with a bill to ban the sale of certain consumable THC products in Texas

Starting point is 00:03:08 headed to Governor Greg Abbott's desk, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick held a press conference to convey the importance of the legislation to both the public and media in attendance. The legislation in question, Senate Bill 3, aims to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and possession of certain consumable hemp products containing any cannabinoid other than cannabidiol or cannabigerol, which includes delta-8 and delta-9 THC. And while Abbott has been mum on the issue and not publicly indicated which way his pen will go, a spokesperson told the Texas Tribune that he, quote, will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.

Starting point is 00:03:49 Patrick, when pushed on how Abbott is leaning, said he is not worried about the governor vetoing SB 3. Last but not least, a bill to add the National Rifle Association to the Texas Major Events Reimbursement Program faced pushback on final passage in the Texas House this week, with critics arguing it misfires by equating the NRA with other major political or economic events already on the list. Senate Bill 1718 was presented for final passage

Starting point is 00:04:17 by Representative Ryan Geehan on Tuesday when he faced some opposition from his Democratic colleagues. The Major Events Reimbursement Program, originally created in 2003 as the Major Events Trust Fund and formally established in 2015, is a Texas incentive program that offers reimbursement for costs associated with hosting major events, provided certain conditions are met. 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.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 28, 2025

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