The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 27, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy, folks. Today is Friday, September 27th, 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 state's highest civil court rejected an emergency appeal by the Office of the Attorney General challenging the legality of a new rule by the State Fair of Texas, banning concealed carry during this year's fair, which begins Friday. Final rejection of the state's request for a temporary injunction came Thursday evening, just a day after the justices of the state's new 15th Court of Appeals also rejected the OAG's arguments, leading Attorney General Ken Paxton's appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. Justice Jimmy Blacklock

Starting point is 00:00:52 was joined by Chief Justice Nathan Hecht and Justice Evan Young in a concurring opinion, explaining the rationale behind why the court rejected the request to stay the carry ban. Next, two of the most recognized faces on the far left will join Representative Greg Kassar starting on September 30th, holding rallies outwardly focused on a quote, aggressive progressive agenda and quote, energizing working class voters, and informally backing Kassar's bid to lead the House Progressive Caucus. Kassar confirmed that he is running to lead the House Progressive Caucus. Kassar confirmed that he is running to lead the House Progressive Caucus, of which Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a

Starting point is 00:01:31 member and which Senator Bernie Sanders helped found in 1991. The caucus is focused on three pillars, a fair economy, universal health care, and climate justice. As first reported by Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post, Ocasio-Cortez will join Kassar and Sanders at their San Marcos and Austin rallies, which are titled, quote, Our Fight, Our Future. Ocasio-Cortez is a longtime ally of Kassar's, having joined him at a rally in San Antonio during his 2022 congressional run, where she told the crowd that, quote, turning Texas blue is inevitable. In other news, Texas and 16 federal states sued the Biden administration, accusing it of attempting to unlawfully rewrite a federal disability law to

Starting point is 00:02:18 include gender dysphoria in a newly approved rule. The lawsuit was filed on September 26th against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the charge that its rule, quote, upends decades of established federal disability law, end quote, by redefining gender dysphoria as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The ADA defines a disability as, quote, a physical or mental impairment that constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment. Also, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the City of Austin in a Travis County District Court, alleging taxpayer dollars are being used to, quote, fund an illegal abortion procurement scheme.

Starting point is 00:03:06 The city of Austin has included a provision in its 2024-2025 budget called the Reproductive Health Grant Fund. This fund allocates $400,000 to assist Austin residents who need to travel out of state to access abortion services. Paxton's lawsuit states this violates the gift clause of the Texas Constitution and several Texas statutes addressing abortion could be violated. In addition, a federal appeals court in New Orleans heard oral arguments this week in a significant First Amendment case, after it vacated its initial panel decision and ordered a rehearing of the case that required

Starting point is 00:03:42 Llano County to keep books on library shelves that cover topics such as sex, gender identity, and racism. More than two years ago, seven Llano County residents filed a lawsuit against the Llano County Commissioner's Court for removing some books deemed sexually explicit from county library shelves and removing access to them from the library's e-book and audiobook collection. In March 2023, U.S. District Judge Robert Pittman granted a preliminary injunction in favor of the plaintiffs that required the return of the removed books. Last but not least, the Fort Worth Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to accept

Starting point is 00:04:21 the voluntary resignation of Superintendent Angelica Ramsey on Tuesday, September 24th by a vote of 8-1. Only Dr. Camille Rodriguez voted against the motion. Recently, Ramsey and the Fort Worth ISD leadership have been criticized for the poor State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAR, results of the district. Fort Worth Mayor Maddie Parker, who urged the district to change strategies in August, praised the board for its difficult decision in accepting Ramsey's resignation. She added that it reaffirms the board's, quote, commitment to the success of our students, teachers, families, and community. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan,

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The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 27, 2024

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