The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - September 3, 2026

Episode Date: September 3, 2026

The Texan’s Daily Rundown brings you a quick recap of the latest stories in Texas politics so you can stay informed with news you can trust.Want more resources? Visit The Texan for complete access to our in-depth articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, and more.Enjoy what you hear? Be sure to follow us and leave a review!

Well, howdy, folks. Today is Thursday, September 3rd, and you're listening to the Texans' Daily Rundown. I'm the Texan Senior Editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Weyburn brief county commissioners on his department's use of flock cameras on Tuesday, and offered an adamant defense of their utility to his department. Weyburn said, quote, Flock today, at a 30,000-foot level, is one of the best law enforcement tools we've ever had. Citing a decision from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Weyburn defended its constitutionality, saying there is no reasonable expectation of private

movement on public roads. He later argued that Flock was responsible for recovering 259 stolen vehicles in Tarrant County, as well as many other cases of drug trafficking, murder and kidnappings of children. Ian Leslie, flock's regional public affairs manager, also addressed Tarrant County Commissioners. He assured them that the data collected by the cameras is deleted after 30 days, except for audit records that might be used to investigate unauthorized use. Leslie also said the only information collected by the cameras was license plate numbers and vehicles make and model, not personally identifying information. Flot cameras have come under increasing scrutiny, both in Texas and nationwide. On August 28, Governor Greg Abbott sent out an order

prohibiting state funding from going toward flock cameras. The Dallas Police Department announced Tuesday that under Abbott's order, the department would cancel 321 state-funded flock cameras effective September 15th. However, they added that, quote, DPD will continue to have more than 300 flock cameras operating throughout Dallas. In other news, the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and rural affairs heard testimony during an interim hearing on Tuesday regarding water usage for data centers. Data centers have become a focal point for the November midterm election and for the 90th legislative session beginning in January. Chairman Charles Perry said at the start of the committee hearing, quote, I think every member's district has had an impact from a data center conversation.

Perry said that data centers have become way too much of a political football. He emphasized that it is, quote, too big of an issue for Texas to get wrong, and it's too big of an issue for us to ignore. Temple McKinnon, director of the Water Supply Planning Division at the Texas Water Development Board, spoke on the agency's 2025 water use survey, which sent notices to 341 facilities identified as data centers. A number later refined to 324 after TWDB identified duplicate surveys and facilities that were not yet operational. McKinnon reported that as of August 26th, the board had a 30% response rate among the facilities surveyed. Last but not least, state leaders prioritized housing affordability last year, and the influential Texas Senate Local Government Committee showed a willingness to go further this week.

During a committee hearing on Wednesday, some members, including Chairman Paul Bettencourt, responded favorably to proposals to remove population thresholds from fairly young state laws that allow multifamily development without zoning, forbid kinship-based occupancy requirements, and create a process for property owners to leave city's extraterritorial jurisdictions. These limits make the laws applicable to only certain areas of the state. For example, Senate Bill 840, passed last year, requires cities to allow residential development in commercial areas without rezoning. It passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a vote of 106 to 33. Several suburban cities passed ordinances last year that have the effect of counteracting SB 840,

such as mandatory height or amenity requirements that increase construction costs. Mostly clustered in North Texas, some of these city councils adopt. opted ordinances at the 11th hour before SB 840 took effect. According to Britta Wallace, General Counsel for Housing Deregulation Advocacy Group, Texans for Reasonable for Reasonable Solutions. SB 840 only applies to cities with populations greater than 150,000 in counties with populations greater than 300,000. State Senator Phil King noted that clause leaves out many fast-growing cities in Tarrant County.

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