Texas Lottery investigation, latest in legislative session: TWITP
The Brief
The Texas Lottery investigation and the latest discussions in the legislative session were hot topics in This Week in Texas Politics
FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of analysts have a look at some of the top stories this week.
AUSTIN, Texas - This Week in Texas Politcs we saw several top issues that could turn into big fights, and a few topics that seemed to come out of left field.
FOX 7 Austin's chief political reporter Rudy Koski and our panel of analysts have a look at some of the top stories this week.
Local perspective
RUDY KOSKI: It was an extremely busy week This Week in Texas Politics. Let's get our headlines now from our panel. And we begin first with Patrick. Svitek with the Washington Post. Patrick, what's your headline?
PATRICK SVITEK: Well, here in Washington, it was another suspenseful and dramatic week for President Trump's legislative agenda. That's my headline.
RUDY KOSKI: Brad Johnson with the Texan. Brad, what's your headline?
BRAD JOHNSON: Meet the new legislature's whipping boy and the Texas Lottery Commission.
Local perspective
RUDY KOSKI: Well, a lottery reform bill did move out of the Texas Senate and to the House this week. But did the lotto avoid getting defunded or is it just game over for the lotto? Brad, what do you think?
BRAD JOHNSON: I don't think this is going away. I don't think the lottery commission is going to be sunsetted, but we might see some substantial changes in the Sunset Bill that they are currently under right now. They need to get renewed by the legislature in order to keep going. And if they don't, well, you know, that's, that's it.
PATRICK SVITEK: But something that has stood out to me, just watching it from a distance is how this does not bode well, you know, just I think, atmospherically, for the efforts to expand gambling in Texas.
Local perspective
RUDY KOSKI: Support in the House, we got that confirmed now for school choice. But the question is, is a which plan? Brad, the House has got a plan. The Senate's got a plan. They're not the same. Is that trouble?
BRAD JOHNSON: Well, I actually don't think this is the top candidate for calling a special session. I think that's bail reform, whether that can get across the line in the House. But on this issue specifically, I think we get something. They're going to have to figure out. There's no bridging that gap. They go with one or the go with the other. Maybe there's some other, other creative way to do this. But yeah, it's not across the line yet. There's a lot of negotiating to happen. This thing is definitely going to conference committee.
RUDY KOSKI: On Capitol Hill and D.C. The House passed its big budget reform bill. Some members of the Texas congressional delegation are catching a little heat on how they voted. Patrick, who stays on that hot seat?
PATRICK SVITEK: One of the most controversial parts of it was its instructions for federal spending cuts to a House committee that oversees Medicaid. Some vulnerable Republicans who voted for this said that they weren't voting for it to support cuts to Medicaid. And so when you talk about vulnerable Republicans in Texas, you're thinking about someone like Congresswoman Monica de la Cruz and South Texas and then some vulnerable Democrats who opposed this, were attacked for Republicans for being in favor of raising taxes.
RUDY KOSKI: We saw the return of drag show bans another DEI ban discussion and a package of parental right's Bills at the Texas Capitol. You know, guys, do all these Bills or just some of these Bills make it to the governor? What do you think, Brad?
BRAD JOHNSON: Yeah, you probably see most of them make it to the governor. But the question has always is, what do they look like when they finally make it to his desk?
RUDY KOSKI: And the biggest devil of a detail is defining what DEI is. Patrick, do you think that at some point in time, someone's really got to just sit down and say, this is what DEI is and get away from this broad definition?
PATRICK SVITEK: You know, I agree, there's certainly a definition that could be up for debate there. You've seen some institutions and Republicans have tried to call them out on this. You've seen some institutions realize how politically vulnerable they've become from just using those words they've tried to reclassify or re describe some of those positions just to get away from that language. And that's upset some Republicans even more.
RUDY KOSKI: Political Running Back Ken Paxton suited up and is taking on the NCAA this week. He wants a court to order the organization to revise its transgender rule and immediately start screening the sex of student athletes. Brad, who wins this fight?
BRAD JOHNSON: Well, I think ultimately right now, the Republicans and Paxton probably do. But I heard there's I heard rumblings of some controversy between the White House and the Attorney General or other random activists like Riley Gaines on this issue.
PATRICK SVITEK: But there are, you know, steps you can take, like this latest lawsuit by Paxton that could make it look like you're trying to, you know, steal some of the glory from the White House or try to push their policies a little further in terms of interpretation.
RUDY KOSKI: Certainly, a lot of political grenades being tossed and one of the most recent grenades landed here in Austin. HB2 74 was filed this week that would create Austin, DC. But Patrick, didn't we learn a lesson with Washington, D.C., that that's not exactly a good idea.
PATRICK SVITEK: Yeah, I mean, obviously, Republicans, state leaders and lawmakers in Texas have dreamed forever about having more control over Austin. As Rick Perry called it, I think, the blueberry and the tomato soup or something like that. But this idea of having a district controlled by the state still seems a little unrealistic to me.
Local perspective
RUDY KOSKI: All right, you can catch this discussion, our full discussion on FOX 7 YouTube and Fox Local. But let's wrap it up now with our final word for the week. And we'll begin with Brad Johnson.
BRAD JOHNSON: Budget.
PATRICK SVITEK: I'll say Medicaid, as an extension of that budget fight, because that was the most politically hot issue this week in D.C.
RUDY KOSKI: And that is This Week in Texas Politics.
The Source
Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
8 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Florida agency tells newspaper to halt reporting angle on foundation associated with governor's wife
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida's child welfare agency sent a letter to a Florida newspaper telling it to 'cease and desist' its reporting on foster families for a story about a nonprofit associated with Gov. Ron DeSantis' wife that is the subject of an investigation. The Orlando Sentinel received the letter on Friday from the state Department of Children and Families, whose top official is appointed by the governor. The letter claimed that the newspaper's Tallahassee reporter had used threats to coerce foster families into making negative statements about the Hope Florida Foundation when he contacted them about the welfare nonprofit behind the signature initiative of Casey DeSantis, Florida's first lady. 'Cease and desist the above-described intimidation of these families,' the DCF letter said. Orlando Sentinel Executive Editor Roger Simmons said the agency's characterization of the reporter's conduct was 'completely false.' The yet-to-be-published story was looking into grants distributed by Hope Florida to organizations, families and individuals, according to the Sentinel. 'We stand by our stories and reject the state's attempt to chill free speech and encroach on our First Amendment right to report on an important issue,' Simmons said in an email. DCF on Monday didn't provide an immediate response to an inquiry about the letter. DCF posted the cease-and-desist letter on social media Friday, saying Hope Florida had supported foster families with donations to repair their homes following last year's hurricanes. The letter is attempting to intimidate the Sentinel from publishing what may be unflattering news about Hope Florida in what is known as prior restraint, and prior restraint efforts typically are unconstitutional, said Clay Calvert, a law professor emeritus at the University of Florida and nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. If he were the Sentinel's attorney, Calvert said, he would tell the agency 'to go pound sand.' 'DCF can send all the cease and desist letters it wants, but the Sentinel isn't obligated to follow any of them,' he said. 'This is really trying to silence any negative coverage before it comes out.' Prosecutors in Tallahassee have opened an investigation related to the Hope Florida Foundation. A public records custodian in the office of Second Judicial Circuit State Attorney Jack Campbell confirmed the existence of 'an open, on-going investigation' last month in response to a records request from The Associated Press. The investigation was first reported by the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times. Republican state lawmakers in DeSantis' own party have been scrutinizing Hope Florida and its nonprofit foundation, which gave $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement to two nonprofits. Those groups in turn gave millions to a political committee, chaired by DeSantis' then-chief of staff, that campaigned against a failed referendum on recreational marijuana. In April, Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade wrapped up the investigation he had been spearheading into Hope Florida, saying he would leave the rest of the inquiry to 'the FBI and Department of Justice,' though there is no public evidence that either is doing so. Andrade has alleged that the flow of funds from the foundation to the nonprofits and on to the political committees amounts to 'conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.' The governor has dismissed the investigation of Hope Florida as a politically motivated smear against his wife, whom he's floated as his potential successor when he terms out in 2026. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @
CNBC
8 minutes ago
- CNBC
Ron Insana says Trump's spending bill unlikely to generate the economic boom he promised
As he did in his first term as president, President Donald Trump is once again predicting an economic boom the likes of which the U.S. has never before seen. In reviewing the publicly available economic data since Ronald Reagan, the period in which the U.S. grew the fastest with the most job creation did not occur in Trump's first term and is unlikely to do so in this term, the reasons why to be explained shortly. First, a brief review of recent economic history where the biggest economic boom actually took place. Former President Bill Clinton's eight years in office produced nearly 4% annual growth, over 240,000 jobs added per month and an inflation rate that averaged less than 3%, considered very low for that time. The unemployment rate when Clinton first took office was 7.3% and bottomed at 3.8% by April 2000. By contrast, in Trump's first term, the economy added under 200,000 jobs per month, roughly equal to that of former President Barack Obama, while GDP growth averaged 2.3%, again, roughly equal to Obama's last three years in office, while inflation was less than a quarter percentage point lower than in Obama's second term. (Trump's numbers, of course, were skewed by the Covid crisis, which featured the steepest and shortest recession in U.S. history.) All that leads me to the notion that a boom, the likes of which we have not seen, is unlikely even if the "Big Beautiful Bill" passes through Congress and lands on Trump's desk. And here's why. Nothing new to help growth First, the bill largely extends existing tax rates that were put in place in 2017, without further lowering corporate taxes, as once promised, from 21% to 15%. There are no major additional tax cuts included in the bill. The bill simply makes much of the existing code permanent. No change, no gain. It's true that taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security payments may be eliminated, but that could also lead to employers seeking out ways, in the first two cases anyway, to pay lower wages if tips and overtime go untaxed. Beyond that, there's not much new in the bill that would accelerate economic growth, nor would a failure of the bill's passage lead to a 68% tax increase for everyone in America, as the president has warned . Published analyses have suggested that 68% of Americans could see a 7% increase in their taxes, but not a 68% increase in what they pay. Given the prospects for rising inflation amid recently imposed tariffs, and a subsequent slowing in consumer spending, some of which is already taking place, the economy appears to be downshifting rather than speeding up. Job growth , as we saw on Friday, has moderated for several months in a row and while not reflective of a recession, we're also witnessing a jump in jobless claims, announced layoffs and, according to some published reports, consumers maxing out credit cards to buy the basics. Add to that the reductions in support for the poorest Americans, whether its access to Medicaid or food stamps, and the ingredients for a further slowdown are embedded in the bill, especially for those who can least afford to have government assistance reduced in a meaningful way. Big changes needed The Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts are also affecting government stimulus in so far as key funding in technology, medicine and education are being slashed, threatening the very areas that make the U.S. economy competitive and very much growth-oriented. The bill, by most accounts, also adds from $2.4 trillion to $3.3 trillion to the budget deficit over the next decade. With the current national debt standing at a record $36.2 trillion, higher federal borrowing needs could further push up borrowing costs as investors, especially international ones, now nervous about America's fiscal position could demand higher yields to compensate them for the risk, however unlikely, that the U.S. runs into trouble in paying its bills. During the Clinton administration, tax rates were higher, and yet growth was stronger, 22.7 million jobs were added and the budget deficit turned to surplus by the end of his term. None of those metrics are supported by existing or proposed policy initiatives today. The Clinton boom was second only to that of FDR, whose economy grew strongly as Roosevelt took over, quite literally, at the very bottom of the Great Depression. In modern times, Clinton's economy was stronger than that of any president who came before or after him. None of the policies currently being pursued by this administration offer the same prospects for growth though, even like Clinton, this president has a major technological revolution underway. That big, beautiful bill would require some big, bountiful changes if it hopes to stimulate growth in a way in which all Americans, rather than perhaps a handful of billionaires, will share meaningfully in any future prosperity.
Hamilton Spectator
24 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Georgia's experience raises red flags for Medicaid work requirement moving through Congress
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's experiment with a work requirement for Medicaid offers a test of a similar mandate Republicans in Congress want to implement nationally, and advocates say the results so far should serve as a warning. Just days shy of its two-year anniversary, the Georgia Medicaid program is providing health coverage to about 7,500 low-income residents, up from 4,300 in the first year , but far fewer than the estimated 240,000 people who could qualify. The state had predicted at least 25,000 enrollees in the first year and nearly 50,000 in the second year. Applicants and beneficiaries have faced technical glitches and found it nearly impossible at times to reach staff for help, despite more than $50 million in federal and state spending on computer software and administration. The program, dubbed Georgia Pathways, had a backlog of more than 16,000 applications 14 months after its July 2023 launch , according to a renewal application Georgia submitted to the Trump administration in April. 'The data on the Pathways program speaks for itself,' said Laura Colbert, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future, an advocacy group that has called for a broader expansion of Medicaid without work requirements. 'There are just so many hurdles at every step of the way that it's just a really difficult program for people to enroll in and then to stay enrolled in too.' Georgia's rules A tax and spending bill backed by President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers that passed the U.S. House in May would require many able-bodied Medicaid enrollees under 65 to show that they work, volunteer or go to school. The bill is now in the Senate, where Republicans want significant changes. Pathways requires beneficiaries to perform 80 hours a month of work, volunteer activity, schooling or vocational rehabilitation. It's the only Medicaid program in the nation with a work requirement. But Georgia recently stopped checking each month whether beneficiaries were meeting the mandate. Colbert and other advocates view that as evidence that state staff was overburdened with reviewing proof-of-work documents. Fiona Roberts, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Health, said Gov. Brian Kemp has mandated that state agencies 'continually seek ways to make government more efficient and accessible.' Georgia's governor defends Pathways The governor's office defended the enrollment numbers. Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas said the early projections for Pathways were made in 2019, when the state had a much larger pool of uninsured residents who could qualify for the program. In a statement, Douglas credited the Republican governor with bringing that number down significantly through 'historic job growth,' and said the decline in uninsured residents proved 'the governor's plan to address our healthcare needs is working.' For BeShea Terry, Pathways was a 'godsend.' After going without insurance for more than a year, Terry, 51, said Pathways allowed her to get a mammogram and other screening tests. Terry touts Pathways in a video on the program's website. But in a phone interview with The Associated Press, she said she also experienced problems. Numerous times, she received erroneous messages that she hadn't uploaded proof of her work hours. Then in December, her coverage was abruptly canceled — a mistake that took months of calls to a caseworker and visits to a state office to resolve, she said. 'It's a process,' she said. 'Keep continuing to call because your health is very important.' Health advocates say many low-income Americans may not have the time or resources. They are often struggling with food and housing needs. They are also more likely to have limited access to the internet and work informal jobs that don't produce pay stubs. Republican lawmakers have promoted work requirements as a way to boost employment, but most Medicaid recipients already work, and the vast majority who don't are in school, caring for someone, or sick or disabled. Kemp's administration has defended Pathways as a way to transition people to private health care. At least 1,000 people have left the program and obtained private insurance because their income increased, according to the governor's office. After a slow start , advertising and outreach efforts for Pathways have picked up over the last year. At a job fair in Atlanta on Thursday, staff handed out information about the program at a table with mints, hand sanitizer and other swag with the Pathways' logo. A wheel that people could spin for a prize sat on one end. Since Pathways imposed the work requirement only on newly eligible state residents, no one lost coverage. The Arkansas experiment That's a contrast with Arkansas, where 18,000 people were pushed off Medicaid within the first seven months of a 2018 work mandate that applied to some existing beneficiaries. A federal judge later blocked the requirement . The bill that passed the U.S. House would likely cause an estimated 5.2 million people to lose health coverage, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released Wednesday. Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has proposed reviving the work mandate but without requiring people to regularly report employment hours. Instead, the state would rely on existing data to determine enrollees who were not meeting goals for employment and other markers and refer those people to coaches before any decision to suspend them. Arkansas is among at least 10 states pursuing work requirements for their Medicaid programs separate from the effort in Congress. Republican state Sen. Missy Irvin said Arkansas' new initiative aims to understand who the beneficiaries are and what challenges they face. 'We want you to be able to take care of yourself and your family, your loved ones and everybody else,' Irvin said. 'How can we help you? Being a successful individual is a healthy individual.' ___ Associated Press writers Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Geoff Mulvihill in Philadelphia contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
