The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - October 3, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks. Today is Friday, October 3rd, and you're listening to The Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, a public information request filed in a small West Texas town has garnered an inordinate amount of interest, with city officials decrying the burden the request imposes. The local newspaper, the Albany News, has twice reported about the requests for communications regarding the sanctuary city for the unborn ordinance, while Albany Mayor Susan Montgomery has written a letter to the editor complaining that the request has, quote, cost the city thousands of dollars and countless hours of the employees. Tammy Fogle, a citizen journalist from

Starting point is 00:00:52 Abilene who says she tries to educate and empower others to be involved in their local government, filed the request under the Texas Public Information Act, the purpose of which is to allow citizens to request records from governmental bodies. Fogel, who was involved in trying to get the city of Albany to pass a sanctuary city for the unborn ordinance, which would outlaw abortion, abortion-inducing drugs, abortion trafficking, and the transportation of fetal remains within the city, suspected that the city council members might be deliberating about the ordinance behind the scenes. She also wanted to understand why the ordinance failed in August in such a strongly Republican area of the state. Shackleford County, where Albany sits, passed the ordinance in April. So she requested communications

Starting point is 00:01:39 between the mayor and city council members during the period that the ordinance was under consideration. Next, a criminal court judge accused of issuing a false bench warrant for death row inmate Ronald Lee Haskell last year has been elected by her peers to serve as the administrative court judge for Harris County's criminal district courts. According to a press release, 351st District Court Judge Natalia Cornelio will preside over the county's 29 criminal district courts to ensure consistent application of court policies, enhance access to justice, and strengthen coordination between the judiciary and the broader legal community. The press release continues, quote, as new challenges and demands emerge, this position helps guide the courts in serving

Starting point is 00:02:26 the public with fairness, integrity, and transparency. In June 2024, Cornelio issued sealed orders to have Haskell transported from a high security unit for death row inmates to the Harris County Jail for a court setting on July 22nd, 2024 at midnight. But records indicate no court setting took place. Instead, Haskell was kept in the Harris County Jail until Cornelio's orders sent him to a private medical facility for a brain MRI on July 30th. Photographs provided by the Harris County District Attorney's Office in a motion to remove Cornelio from the case show Haskell entering a waiting room with members of the public. In other news, after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission adopted a new emergency rule prohibiting anyone under 21 years old from purchasing hemp-derived

Starting point is 00:03:16 THC products in the state, the Texas Department of State Health Services has adopted the same rule. Following the end of this year's second special session, wherein no deal could be struck between Governor Greg Abbott and the legislature on how to regulate THC, Abbott issued an executive order directing the TABC and DSHS to adopt new rules prohibiting the sale of THC products to minors, but did not provide a specific age. Both state agencies have now adopted 21 years as the age minimum for purchasing hemp-derived THC products. Last but not least, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced that Monday, October 6th, is the last day to register to vote for this year's general election on Tuesday, November 4th. Early voting runs from October 20th to October 31st, and October 24th is the deadline to submit an application to vote by mail. Thanks for listening. To support the Texan, please be sure to visit the Texan. News and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - October 3, 2025

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