Texas bail reform, tariff turmoil, and possible THC ban: TWITP
The Brief
Greg Abbott's bail reform plan, Trump's tariffs, and a possible THC ban
These are some of the hot topics in This Week in Texas Politics
AUSTIN, Texas - Members of the Texas House held a rare Friday session on May 2 in order to push out more bills before the session ends June 2.
The frantic activity at the Texas Capitol is one of the many stories in This Week in Texas Politics.
FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of analysts discussed the big stories from This Week in Texas Politics.
What they're saying
RUDY KOSKI: It has been a barn burner of a week this week in Texas politics. Let's get the headlines from our panel, and we'll start first with Patrick Svitek with the Washington Post. Patrick, what's your headline for the week?
PATRICK SVITEK: School vouchers, or school choice, as supporters call it has finally come into Texas after a very long political battle.
RUDY KOSKI: Brad Johnson with the Texan News. Brad, what's your headline for the week?
BRAD JOHNSON: It's crunch time in the Texas Legislature.
RUDY KOSKI: And business analyst, Annie Spilman, what is your headline of the week.
ANNIE SPILMAN: One month in legislative session.
RUDY KOSKI: Governor Greg Abbott spent much of the week, teeing up, trying to free up his bail reform idea. House Democrats reportedly have it all locked down for the time being as payback for the passage of school choice. Brad, could a deal be hatched in the back room? Do you feel something's happening?
BRAD JOHNSON: There are definitely negotiations going on. You know, there are Democratic members that are whipping votes, trying to get enough support for this, contingent upon them getting some sort of deal in exchange for something else or deal on the bail amendment itself.
RUDY KOSKI: The new Lyceum poll came out this week with the top three issues being immigration, the rising problem with prices, inflation and border security. The poll showed an improvement in how people view their economic situation. Annie, I think that that has a lot to do with the lower gas prices right now.
ANNIE SPILMAN: Listen, for small businesses in particular, uncertainty is so crippling. It's the enemy of entrepreneurship. It's a scary time right now.
RUDY KOSKI: Well, the online verbal boxing match continued this week between Senator John Cornyn and his party rival, Ken Paxton. Meanwhile, fellow Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt continues to flirt with the idea of running for Cornyn's seat. What's going on with Wesley Hunt?
PATRICK SVITEK: Yeah, Hunt and his allies politically are definitely trying to keep his options open in the context of this current Senate race. I think to them, they look at him as a solution to this kind of complex political puzzle you have here.
RUDY KOSKI: Election reform certainly is a hot topic under the Capitol Dome. A bill by former Speaker Dade Phelan that cracks down on deep fake political ads move forward. Brad, his detractors, tried to claim that this bill was all about squelching free speech, going after nasty memes.
BRAD JOHNSON: Now there is a question about how the bill's current makeup and how broad it is and if it would encompass anyone who posted a meme and then spent money to boost it on social media. I think that's a fair question.
RUDY KOSKI: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick was in Washington D.C. On Thursday. President Trump has picked him to head up a commission on religious liberty. This comes after the House had a marathon hearing here in Austin that included a bill allowing the posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
ANNIE SPILMAN: Unfortunately, these issues have now sort of taken over a lot of the time. It's burning up the clock and some of the real policy issues that we need to get done we might not get done and in Texas we have to wait another two years.
RUDY KOSKI: An interesting compromise in the works at the state capital regarding THC products. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick wants to ban most of those products. Business groups want to say hang on, there are some ways, let's just regulate them.
BRAD JOHNSON: Lot of wrinkles to that, questions about whether it can even survive on the House floor with parliamentary rules and points of order.
ANNIE SPILMAN: From what I've been told, this is sort of a workaround ban. We're not completely done. There's still language that could be worked on the House floor. They still potentially could go to a conference committee.
PATRICK SVITEK: Big picture politically. I do think it is this debate over THC in Texas is a little bit of a re-emergence of that social conservatism. Social conservatist has kind of been, I would argue, a little on the decline in the Trump era, just given that Trump, if not in his policies, in his style, isn't exactly a moral crusader.
RUDY KOSKI: You can watch this full discussion on the Fox 7 YouTube page, but let's wrap up this discussion with one word for the week, and Patrick, we'll begin with you. What's your word for this week?
PATRICK SVITEK: Tariffs, because it was top of mind from the last conversation.
BRAD JOHNSON: Well, it's two, but one month.
ANNIE SPILMAN: It wouldn't describe this week, but I'd be hopeful for, Compromise.
RUDY KOSKI: And that is This Week in Texas Politics.
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Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski
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