I'm Stephanie Wolf with a brief look at the latest news in Texas politics and
policy from the Texas Tribune. The second special session of the year got underway
yesterday, and Texas lawmakers swiftly made their first moves to end a month's long
stalemate over property tax cuts. The point of contention among top GOP state legislators
has been how to distribute more than twelve billion dollars in property tax cuts.
For months, members of the two chambers have struggled to come to an agreement
on who should benefit more. How Speaker Dade Pheelan and his fellow state representatives
have remained steadfast and their proposal to send the full twelve point three billion marked
for tax relief to school districts so they can lower their tax rates, a
plan that has Governor Greg Abbott's support. Home and business owners in the state
would see a decrease as well under the House proposal, though the wealthiest will
benefit the most. The chambers primary tax writing committee unanimously approved the plan.
Next it goes to the full House. Meanwhile, the Senate advanced its twelve
point seven billion dollar tax cut package, passing it quickly through committee and the
full chamber and their version. Senators have proposed targeted tax breaks for homeowners and
businesses, as well as money to help school districts drop their rate. Senators
would also like to see stricter revenue caps for school districts. Lieutenant Governor Dan
Patrick said he couldn't quote think of a better property tax built. State Senator
Roland Gutirez, a San Antonio Democrat, added on an amendment to give teachers
supplemental pay for the upcoming twenty twenty three twenty four academic year. It's unclear
whether the House will sign on to the Senate's proposal, though Patrick said he'd
request a meeting with the House speaker to broker a deal. It's also unknown
whether Abbot will get on board with the Senate's plan either. For weeks,
Texans have endured a brutal heat wave, driving anxiety about the state's power grid
and whether residence efforts to stay cool amid triple digit temperatures would overstress it.
But experts say a boom and local solar energy in recent years is helping bolster
the electrical system. This June heat wave has led to record demand. On
Tuesday, usage topped eighty one hundred megawatts, Yet the state's grid operator has
asked residence to reduce their power use only one day so far during the crushing
heat. Experts say the states diverse energy sources and in particular, solar power,
are helping avoid power shore falls. About sixteen thousand, eight hundred megawatts
of solar could be produced on the state grid as of late May. That's
compared to twenty six hundred and twenty nineteen according to the system's operator, the
Electric Reliability Council of Texas, also known as Aircut. Solar is anticipated to
be a key factor in grid reliability going forward. A recent industry report predicts
that Texas will produce nearly double the solar output of California between twenty twenty four
and twenty twenty eight. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected Rodney Reid's
request for a new trial. Reid, a black man, has been on
death row in Texas for more than a quarter century for the nineteen ninety six
murder of Stacey Stitz, a nineteen year old white woman in Basstop County.
He's said he's innocent, and his case gained international attention in twenty nineteen as
his execution date neared, the state's highest criminal court stopped the execution. In
the years since, Reid's attorneys have brought forward new evidence and witnesses pointing to
a different suspect, the young woman's fiance. Both men have been accused of
sexual assault. Reid has been indicted but not convicted in other rape cases,
and the fiance, Jimmy Finnell, served a decade in prison for kidnapping and
allegedly raping a woman while on duty as a police officer. Reid, who
has said he was having a consensual affair with Stites at the time of her
death, was tried buy an all white jury. Read's attorneys condemned the Texas
Court's Wednesday ruling and vowed to continue to fight for his release. Even though
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied a chance for a new trial, Red
likely won't see an immediate execution date. That's because in April, the US
Supreme Court cited with Reid in a separate appeal that cleared the way for him
to pursue DNA testing on evidence used to convict him, including the murder weapon.
Check for updates to any of these stories at Texas Tribune dot org and
follow the Brief podcast for daily news updates wherever you get your podcasts. I'm
Stephanie Wolf with the Texas Tribune. You've been briefed. Today's Brief is brought
to you by Texas twenty thirty six, building long term, data driven strategies
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