The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 11, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Wednesday, September 11th, 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 up, the second presidential debate of the 2024 cycle, the first since President Joe Biden withdrew as the Democratic nominee, took place in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris made their cases to the nation for why they deserve the vote. The debate was hosted by ABC News and moderated by David Muir and Lindsay Davis. The agreed-upon rules were for the debate to last 90 minutes, provide no opening statements, and for the candidates to stand at podiums with muted microphones and no pre-written notes. Moderators asked the candidates to answer questions about the economy,

Starting point is 00:00:57 including if they believe Americans are better off than they were four years ago. Questions concerning tariffs, illegal immigration, abortion, conflicts overseas, and the Afghanistan withdrawal were all broached during the debate. While both candidates made attempts to frame their arguments and faced some fact-checking by the moderators in real time, social media was buzzing with responses from both online commentators and elected officials. Next, Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to Biden and Harris condemning their efforts to, quote, undercut Texas's historic border security efforts

Starting point is 00:01:32 and refusing to restore Fronten Island to pre-construction conditions. Abbott wrote, quote, I am in receipt of a letter from the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission to the Texas General Land Office, given that it concerns actions taken under Operation Lone Star to secure Texas' southern border around Fronten Island against the ongoing invasion of Texas by transnational criminal cartels, a crisis created and incentivized by your administration.

Starting point is 00:02:00 Abbott added that the letter, quote, alleges that GLO has altered the flow of the Rio Grande by engaging in activities on Fronten Island without USIBWC's approval. Abbott responded to the United States section of the International Boundary and Water Commissioner Maria Elena Hiner's request that Fronten Island be returned to its pre-construction conditions. He said, quote, you are either unaware of, or indifferent to, what those pre-construction conditions. He said, quote, you are either unaware of, or indifferent to, what those pre-construction conditions were. In other news, the city of College Station passed a resolution that specifically denies two landowners' requests to utilize a state law that would allow them to leave the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction,

Starting point is 00:02:41 or ETJ, and escape the regulation that comes with it. Senate Bill 2038, which provides residents a method of release from a city's ETJ through petition or election, was authored by Senator Paul Betancourt and passed by the legislature, taking effect in September 2023. Shanna Elliott and Lawrence Kauke, who live outside of College Station city limits but within its ETJ, sued the city in May in order to exempt themselves from municipal oversight and certain regulations that would prevent them from remodeling driveways and installing portable signs on their property. The city then argued that no such ordinances had yet been enforced against Elliott or Kauke

Starting point is 00:03:20 and was granted a plea by the district court. The residents then appealed their case to the Texas Supreme Court after the Sixth Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling. Elliott and Kauke's attorneys highlighted a resolution passed by the City of College Station in February that essentially prohibits the application of SB 2038 in that area, creating a roadblock for residents hoping to trigger the law. Last but not least, opponents of a double-digit percentage tax rate increase in Smithville, including State Representative Stan Gerdes, succeeded in forcing the city to adopt a lowered rate in next year's fiscal budget. The council adopted a 2024-2025 budget of $7.3 million alongside a 7.2% increase in the property tax rate, which is different from the overall tax increase, and a reduced employee cost of living adjustment from 3% to 1%. The

Starting point is 00:04:14 adopted budget is a 14.7% increase, growing spending by $356,300. The proposed rate was right at the voter approval line of 3.5%, the point at which the tax increase must be put on the ballot before voters. The no new revenue rate, at which no new taxes are raised outside of new property added to the appraisal rolls, was set at a little under $0.5. Exactly how the new rate will affect tax bills will vary based on the valuation changes in any given property from 2023. Last year, Smithville did not approve the local option homestead exemption worth up to 20% of a home's value. 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 11, 2024

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