The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - May 7, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, May 7th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First off, 51 Republican Texas House members signed a letter commending University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell for his handling of the pro-Palestine protests on campus. The lawmakers wrote, quote, know that we stand with you as you work to protect the students and the university you hold dear. Second, North Texas school bond proposals for the May 4th election were rather successful, with 17 successful propositions compared to 7 failed ones. In total, over $1.6 billion in bond proposals were accepted. Anna Independent School District's $100 million bond proposal for a new district-wide stadium that would have seated 12,000 and included a community room and classrooms failed with only 43% of the vote.

Starting point is 00:01:07 Granbury ISD had a $161 million bond proposal in the form of a single proposition that included a new elementary school, a campus modernization package, a transportation package, safety and security upgrades, and more. The proposal failed with only 48% of the vote. This is the district's third bond proposal in a row to fail. Mansfield ISD had a $777 million bond proposal broken up into five propositions. Proposition A costs $585 million and will pay for district-wide renovations, while Proposition B costs $4 million and will pay for new smart boards and digital signage. Propositions A and B were approved, while Propositions C, D, and E were rejected by voters. Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex school districts passed

Starting point is 00:01:59 close to $6 billion in school bonds in the November 2023 election. Next, in the wake of the largest wildfire in Texas history, Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Ronny Jackson introduced a bill to quote, give Texas cattle producers the relief they need to build back their herds and restore this pillar of Texas agriculture. On Friday, Cruz and Jackson introduced legislation that would require the United States Department of Agriculture to establish additional payments for excessive unborn livestock losses after devastating wildfires swept across the Texas Panhandle in February. The Livestock Indemnity Program was established in 2014 in order to provide assistance to livestock producers after excess cattle mortality, whether caused by animal attacks or adverse weather. However,

Starting point is 00:02:51 the program is limited in its compensation ability due to it not including unborn calf losses from deceased gestating livestock. The proposal would amend the Livestock Indemnity Program by adding the words, additional payment for for Unborn Livestock, specifying unborn livestock death losses incurred on or after January 1, 2024. Jackson said, Finally, although council members rejected several controversial proposals to address issues with a city-owned golf course just last Friday, Baytown Mayor Brandon Capatillo has called a second special meeting for Tuesday night to reconsider shifting an undisclosed amount from the general fund to the golf course project. Capatillo will also again ask the council to

Starting point is 00:03:42 give the city manager carte blanche authority to enter a new contract without returning to the council for final approval. In 2022, Capitillo pressed for the agreement with developer Rio Valeriano to revamp the golf course as an innovative nine-hole double-loop course with an accompanying restaurant, despite concerns from citizens and former Baytown Mayor Calvin Mundinger. Valeriano, responsible for the development of the T-36 golf course through his LLC, Build Baytown 1, had defaulted on a previous contract with the city of Knoxville, Tennessee in 2009. Baytown's council narrowly approved the contract in April 2022. According to an email from city manager Jason Reynolds to a Baytown resident, viewed by the Texan, the city has already paid Build Baytown 1 about $5.8 million for the T-36 redevelopment. But now, Capitillo wants to amend the fiscal year 2024 budget to move money from the general fund to a quote new fund specifically designated for

Starting point is 00:04:46 the golf course. Thanks for listening. Be sure to visit the texan.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 7, 2024

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