The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - October 30, 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks, today is Thursday, October 30th, 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, the federal supplemental nutrition assistance program, or SNAP, hangs in the balance as the government shutdown hit its 30th day, and Texas Democrats are urging Governor Greg Abbott to, act. A letter sent to Abbott from 12 Democratic members of the Texas Senate asks him to act now by unlocking state funds to fill in the gaps that would be missed if the federal government does not provide relief to Texas SNAP beneficiaries. The letter argues that, quote, the state should provide a one-time appropriation of $40 million in discretionary funds for local food purchases through the surplus agricultural products grant to help food banks respond during the shutdown.

Starting point is 00:00:59 Almost 3.5 million Texans are beneficiaries of the SNAP program, over 1 in 10, for a total of $614 million in monthly assistance. Next, three Dallas residents, represented by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, have sued the city of Dallas under Texas' death star state preemption law after the city repealed a fraction of ordinances previously flagged by TPPF. TPPF sent notice of intent to sue Dallas in July, staking its claim on the basis of the 2003 Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, House Bill 2127, later dubbed the Death Star Bill by critics, a name adopted by supporters. It operates as a preemptive safeguard against municipalities adopting regulations which exceed nine specific areas of state code, including agriculture,

Starting point is 00:01:50 business, insurance, labor, local government, natural resources, and more. The law requires that cities be given three months notice before filing such a lawsuit, hence TPPF's July notification, in order to give the localities a chance to repeal or amend them before facing litigation. In other news, turning to the courts to seek just compensation from the state of Texas after a state highway project flooded their farm and destroyed their property and livelihood, any Texas farmer Richard de Villiers and other affected plaintiffs have now been submerged by a flood of motions deployed by the Texas office of the Attorney General that they say has kept the lawsuit from advancing for over five years. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office is defending the

Starting point is 00:02:37 state against the takings claim, arguing that Texans have no direct right to sue under the Fifth Amendment when the government destroys private property. The state's legal strategy has kept the plaintiff stuck fighting an endless loop of nuanced pretrial motions at every level of the judicial system, from state district court to the Supreme Court of the United States, and now many are growing tired, frustrated, and concerned that their actual case will never make it inside of a courtroom. Visit the texan.com. News for reporter Matt Stringer's breakdown of this case. Also, State Representative Mitch Little announced at a press conference Wednesday that he intends to file lawsuits on behalf of families allegedly hurt by former Salina ISD teacher and coach

Starting point is 00:03:22 Caleb Elliott, who was arrested and charged with invasive visual recording and possession or promotion of child pornography. Little detailed how Elliott had allegedly attempted to place cameras at a school prior to working at Moore Middle School and had apparently been banned from Moore Middle's locker room before his arrest and resignation. He emphasized the need to, quote, and determine whether Salina ISD grossly, negligently, or recklessly continued employing or failing to supervise Caleb Elliott in a way that caused harm to these children, end quote. Last but not least, the Supreme Court of Texas has amended the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct by adding a comment that would protect judges based on their sincerely held religious beliefs.

Starting point is 00:04:09 On October 24th, the Texas Supreme Court added this comment to Canon 4 of the Code, quote, it is not a violation of these canons for a judge to publicly refrain from performing a wedding ceremony based on a sincerely held religious belief. This clarification may assist McLennan County Justice of the Peace Diane Hensley, who was publicly warned in 2019 for, quote, casting doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing before her as a judge, due to the person's sexual orientation in violation of Canon 4A1 of the text. code of judicial conduct. 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 30, 2025

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