The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 10, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Tuesday, September 10th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texan reporter Cameron Abrams, and here's the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Speaker Dade Phelan now has a fourth declared challenger for the Texas House Speakership after State Rep. James Frank announced his candidacy on Tuesday. Frank wrote in a letter to his colleagues, quote, following the end of last session and especially after the primary election results of March, it became clear to me that the House itself and our voters want to move in a different direction. By today's actions, I am officially asking you

Starting point is 00:00:45 to consider whether I represent that direction. Frank called for a district-focused way of representation in the House rather than top-down directives and passing the majority party's priorities quickly through the process, similar to the way the Senate operates through the upper chamber has a supermajority where the lower one does not. He also stated his support for GOP-only committee chair appointments. Frank joins a field of feeling challengers that also includes state reps Tom Alverson, Shelby Slauson, and David Cook, the latter of whom jumped into the race last week. Stay tuned for more news updates after this short message. Are you tired of missing critical updates in legislative hearings?

Starting point is 00:01:33 Frustrated by the overwhelming flood of new bills and the challenge of staying informed as they change? Introducing USLedge, the revolutionary artificial intelligence solution designed to transform how you track and analyze government meetings and legislation. USLedge allows you to search, pause, rewind, and review transcripts of public meetings live. That's right, live. Anytime, anywhere. USLedge uses cutting-edge AI technology to monitor and analyze thousands of bills in real time, providing you with personalized summaries and instant notifications. Check us out at usledge.ai. That's U-S-L-E-G-E dot A-I. Now returning to your daily Texas news. Impeachment reform and assessing the state's runoff system are two issues in Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's second round of interim charges for the Texas Senate. The new slate was delivered to seven standing

Starting point is 00:02:25 committees on Tuesday. The most notable goes to the State Affairs Committee, reading, quote, Evaluate the constitutional and statutory impeachment procedures in our state and make recommendations to ensure a fair and transparent process. Immediately after the Texas Senate's Court of Impeachment acquitted Attorney General Kim Paxton last year, Patrick delivered a scathing address admonishing the House and its leader, Speaker Phelan, for the process conducted therein. In that speech, Patrick called for reforming the process by requiring witness testimony under oath in the House. Witnesses testified under oath during the actual trial,

Starting point is 00:03:05 but not the initial investigation, and establishing a time requirement for members to evaluate the charges. In other news, a Harris County Justice of the Peace has recalled all warrants issued through his court, thwarting law enforcement efforts in his jurisdiction to enforce traffic laws, pursue fraudulent check riders, and detain individuals who had failed to appear in court. Judge Steve Duble, Justice of the Peace for Harris County's Precinct 1, sent a letter on August 22, 2024, to staff working for Constable Alan Rosen, notifying them that he had recalled the warrants. Dougal wrote,

Starting point is 00:03:46 Quote, Please accept this official notification that after extensive research and thoughtful consideration, I have decided to recall each and every outstanding warrant issued from this court, Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 1, Place 2. Justice of the Peace Courts in Texas handle some civil matters and class C misdemeanors that are punishable by fine. Cases may include traffic violations, disorderly conduct, and misdemeanor assaults. Also, a Fort Bend Democrat is facing a slew of criminal charges for allegedly creating multiple online accounts that he used to post racist comments about himself

Starting point is 00:04:27 and County Judge K.P. George. Taral Patel, the Democratic nominee for Fort Bend County Commissioner's Precinct 3, was arrested earlier this year on related charges, but last week a grand jury indicted him on four felony counts of online impersonation and four misdemeanor charges, including online impersonation and misrepresentation of identity with intent to, quote, harm. Investigators with the Texas Rangers and the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office say that in 2022, Patel created a Facebook profile under the name of Antonio Scaliwag which he used to make multiple offensive posts. For the profile picture Patel used a photo of Fort Bend County resident Patrick Ernst along with Ernst's wife and two minor children. Last but not least the Bee Cave Police

Starting point is 00:05:22 Department is launching a new pilot program to utilize autonomous drones to address 911 calls. The plan was revealed by Police Chief Brian Jones during an interview and demonstration. drone system, which is developed by the Austin-based EV Vehicles, will be a, quote, force multiplier and serve as a, quote, eye in the sky for officers. During the BKPD and EV Vehicles demonstration, KVUE reported that the drone can go up to 60 miles per hour and have 40 times optical zoom. 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 - September 10, 2024

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