WEBVTT 1 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.239 Hello, and welcome to the Texas Tribune Trip Cast. I 2 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.120 am Matthew Watkins, editor in chief of the Texas Tribune, 3 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:24.440 and we are live from the campus of the University 4 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:28.359 of Texas at Arlington, our second straight live trip cast, 5 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:33.479 joined as usual by co host and politics reporter Eleanor Klibanoff. 6 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:35.000 Hello, Eleanor, Hello Matthew. 7 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:36.679 Good to see you on the road again. 8 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:41.079 Exactly has been fun So in our Austin podcast, I 9 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:44.320 believe a college student came up to you afterwards and 10 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.320 said that she really loved the podcast because she loves 11 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:50.000 millennial humor, and. 12 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:52.679 That was offensive to me. 13 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:56.240 In fact, what she said was she's getting all of 14 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:58.840 her friends to listen to it because gen Z loves 15 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:02.359 millennial humor. And I was like, well, whatever gets I'm listening. 16 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:05.000 You know, I like to think of myself as also 17 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:07.480 one of the young people, but apparently. 18 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:07.719 That is a myth. 19 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:11.799 Yes, well, I took it as an invitation for more 20 00:01:11.879 --> 00:01:12.280 dad jokes. 21 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:14.560 Matthews like, we think I'm a millennial. 22 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:17.400 Amazing, So we are very pleased to be joined for 23 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:21.680 this episode by two state representatives. First, we have it 24 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:25.159 is his district. We are in his domain. State Representative 25 00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:27.640 Chris Turner, a Democrat from Grand Prairie. Thank you for 26 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:30.359 being here, Thank you for having me. Great to be here, 27 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:33.799 and we also we are near his district, not quite 28 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:36.959 there a state Representative Mitch Little of Republicans Lewisville, and. 29 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:38.879 It's good to be here with you. Thank you so much. 30 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.959 I'm playing the road game, Chris is in the home game, 31 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.480 and I will try to contribute to the millennial humor. 32 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:47.519 I'm on the cusp between gen X and millennial. 33 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:51.280 But you know, all generations welcome. We're being listened to 34 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:51.879 by the youth. 35 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:56.560 You should know, surely gen X no millennial humor here. 36 00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:59.840 Yes, right, Well, you know we need someone to balance 37 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:02.840 this out here. Okay, So let's we're here to talk 38 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.519 about the legislative session. It's impact, what happened, some of 39 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.520 the politics, and maybe look a little bit forward. So 40 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:11.240 I want to start off just by talking about some 41 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:15.000 of the big ticket items. I think, more than anything, 42 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:19.319 this legislative session was an education session, an issue where 43 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:21.520 education was kind of at the forefront. It was something 44 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:23.879 we were talking about in the lead up to the session. 45 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:24.960 One of the. 46 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:27.879 Biggest bills being HB two and eight point five billion 47 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:32.639 dollar infusion into the school system. And you know another 48 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:35.199 major bill that has sort of in some ways dominated 49 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:40.840 legislative politics for years now, the school voucher education Savings. 50 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:42.960 Account program that passed this session as well. 51 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.080 I believe, if I'm not mistaken, we have a yes 52 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:48.240 vote and a no vote on the voucher bill. 53 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:51.479 That's how that went, right, Chris, which one was? Which? 54 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:52.080 Tell us? 55 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:55.560 I think he was a yes. I was definitely an. 56 00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:00.400 And two yeses on HB two right, yes, yes, all right, 57 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:03.479 I want to let's start. We're on your home turf, 58 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:09.879 so let's start with you. Representative Turner. Let us kind 59 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:13.879 of help us understand from your perspective what this legislative 60 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:17.000 session meant for education in this state overall. 61 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:18.039 I mean, in your. 62 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:20.000 Opinion, I think there's good and bad, right, but what 63 00:03:20.039 --> 00:03:21.400 should our big takeaway be? 64 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:24.719 You know, now that it's all all said and done. 65 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:28.439 Sure, well, thanks again for having me. It's great to 66 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:29.800 be here, and thank you all for doing this at 67 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:34.240 u T Arlington. So there was definitely good and bad 68 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.680 from my perspective. So we'll start with a good. The 69 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:40.240 eight and a half billion dollars additional to our public 70 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:45.919 schools is definitely a good step for public education this stay. 71 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:50.639 And just to remind everyone, you know, in twenty nineteen, 72 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:54.280 which has now been six years, we had landmark public 73 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:56.560 school finance reform in the form of House Bill three 74 00:03:56.599 --> 00:03:59.240 that really increased funding and also made a lot of 75 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.199 reforms that they funding work better for our public schools. 76 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.240 But a lot has happened since then. We had a 77 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:09.120 global pandemic, we've had high inflation, and there has not 78 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:13.319 been a subsequent funding increase to our public schools in 79 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.919 the six years since. So that's what made House Built 80 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:21.000 two so very important this year. While it was an 81 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:25.199 important step forward, I'm gonna temper my enthusiasm just a 82 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:29.680 little bit by pointing out two things. One, despite the 83 00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:32.959 eight and a half billion dollar additional investment, that does 84 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:36.199 not get us back to twenty nineteen levels of funding 85 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:41.519 because of inflationary pressures. It would really take almost probably 86 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:43.920 a little more than twice that amount to get back 87 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:47.240 to twenty nineteen level. So that's number one. Number Two. 88 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:51.160 I think that the bill the House passed in April 89 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.800 was again it could have been more. I think it 90 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:59.959 was structured well, and it was structured around an incre 91 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.879 in the basic allotment, which is the foundational funding mechanism 92 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:07.040 we use for our public schools. We'll say it changed 93 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:09.279 a lot in the Senate, it changed a lot coming 94 00:05:09.319 --> 00:05:10.879 out of the Conference Committee. I think it's still a 95 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:12.720 good bill, but I do think it's a little overly 96 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:17.560 prescriptive in how the funds are allocated and gives less 97 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:21.079 flexibility to our school districts than I would like to see. 98 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:23.800 But on balance, it's a good step forward. I think 99 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.079 the key thing is we need to not take another 100 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:28.959 six years before we address public school funding again. This 101 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:34.399 needs to be something we prioritize every two years. On vouchers, essays, Look, 102 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:39.639 I'm strongly opposed to taking public funds and putting them 103 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:44.199 into private schools, and I think that, you know, we 104 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:46.720 have a constitutional obligation in our state to provide for 105 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:50.079 a free and efficient system of public schools. That's what 106 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:52.600 our constitution says, and I think vouchers flies in the 107 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.600 face of that, and data from other states indicates vouchers 108 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:00.279 have not been successful in improving outcomes and call have 109 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.560 ballooned in the out years, and that is what I 110 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:06.680 fear is going to happen in Texas if we don't 111 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:10.639 have serious guardrails on this, but obviously it had the 112 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:13.079 votes to pass this time. It has passed, and we'll 113 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:16.120 see how it works. But ultimately I do not think 114 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:20.720 it is going to make a significant difference positive difference 115 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:22.439 for education in our state. 116 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.120 So that was the good and the bad for you? 117 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:28.120 Was it good and good on education? 118 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:30.680 I didn't see anything bad. So as we look at 119 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:33.079 the eight billion dollar bill that came out of the 120 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.199 House on HB two, it got another half billion dollars 121 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.360 added to it when it came back over from the Senate. 122 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.639 Only the eight and a half billion dollars was more 123 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:44.439 cabined by its use, so it is compartmentalized as opposed 124 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.720 to simply dumping more dollars into the basic allotment. We 125 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:49.879 know that the money will get to classrooms. We know 126 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.000 that it will get to teachers, so I think that's 127 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:55.720 a wonderful thing. HB three obviously provides some more educational 128 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:58.600 options for families, and it's not going to be something 129 00:06:58.600 --> 00:07:01.680 that every single family in Texas is going to be 130 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.920 able to access. It's a program and it's still a 131 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:08.720 government program, and we'll see what improvements it makes if any. 132 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:12.519 I think I look at the grand scheme of all 133 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.879 the bills that were targeted education, and for me, there 134 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:20.480 was a lot to be excited about. Especially Tasby and 135 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:23.800 Taska were also very excited about the school discipline bills 136 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:26.120 and their ability to get their hands around some of 137 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:28.120 the things that were going in the classroom. We have 138 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.160 SB twelve, which was the Parents' Bill of Rights. I 139 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.240 think there's going to be a significant impact there bringing 140 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:37.639 the Ten Commandments in prayer time back into schools, making 141 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:42.360 that possible for families to integrate that into their students learning. 142 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:46.680 It's a wonderful thing. I also was able to successfully 143 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.959 pass out of the House Bill forty six twenty three, 144 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.279 which in sovereign immunity for students who were sexually abused 145 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:54.759 in the school system, which I think is important. There 146 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:57.839 are a lot of things in the session that were 147 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:02.160 targeted at education. I think it's a comprehensive overhaul of 148 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:04.279 some things in the past that haven't worked. 149 00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:04.480 You know. 150 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:08.279 We also ended the affirmative defenses for educators on harmful 151 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:12.120 display of content to minors in the school system, and 152 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:13.879 I think that was also an important step. 153 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:17.519 I wonder do you agree with Representative Turner's assessment that 154 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:20.560 there's more work that needs to be done in this realm. 155 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.720 What's your assessment of kind of how schools should be 156 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:26.839 feeling about their financial situation now. 157 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.399 Well, my school districts seem to be excited about the 158 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:32.919 infusion of capital into the system, and I think it 159 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:36.559 will make improvements. I think we constantly have to be 160 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.240 diligent to determine whether what we're doing at the state 161 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:42.840 level is actually reaching and improving student outcomes, because at 162 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:44.919 the end of the day, it's about outcomes. Are our 163 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:49.600 students improving or not. It's not just about injecting cash periodically. 164 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:52.039 Are we getting the intended result? And I think we'll 165 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:55.159 see improvements in the results as a result of this investment. 166 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:59.000 Okay, another big measure that passed that got a lot 167 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:01.000 of attention is getting a lot of tension is the 168 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:07.320 ban on THCHC. This, as people may know, we have 169 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:10.360 seen all these stores and shops pop up all across 170 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:14.000 the state, big cities, rural areas, pretty much everywhere you 171 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.519 can imagine selling you know, substances with THHC. They're you know, 172 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:22.759 not I guess marijuana, but hemp like substances that can 173 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:28.039 get you high, like marijuana, the legislature moved to ban them. 174 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.679 There is a push by some people to get Governor 175 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:34.759 Rabbit to veto this bill. I'm interested to see whether 176 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:37.919 the y'all think that's at all a realistic possibility. But 177 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:40.559 it was interesting, you know, for you two House members, 178 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:43.519 because if you looked at past sessions, it seemed like 179 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.440 the House was going in a different direction in marijuana, 180 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:49.600 like maybe being more open to expanding medical marijuanna, which 181 00:09:49.639 --> 00:09:52.559 also happened this session I should acknowledge, but also, you know, 182 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:56.799 even exploring ideas of decriminalization. Then we come around and 183 00:09:57.559 --> 00:10:01.320 take this very dramatic measure in a little you voted 184 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:02.600 for this measure. I wonder if you could just tell 185 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:05.159 us a little bit about why why you felt like 186 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:05.960 this was a good idea. 187 00:10:06.200 --> 00:10:09.600 Yeah, it's an it. SB three was an interesting prism 188 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:15.200 for how you view this topic. And on the Republican side, 189 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:17.600 so not on Christ's side, but on the Republican side, 190 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:21.960 you have this interesting schism between what i'll call conservatism 191 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.320 and a more libertarian bent, and so not everyone on 192 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:28.279 the Republican side is in agreement on SB three. I 193 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.399 voted for it because I heard the stories. So there 194 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.080 it's very impactful when you can hear families that have 195 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:41.200 a child that was that was actually impacted by THHC 196 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:45.320 induced psychotic disorder from synthetics that are sold in stores 197 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:48.919 that are completely unregulated and that children can walk into 198 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:51.200 the store and buy it. In fact, they did. They 199 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:54.240 did kind of a sting operation or test kids going 200 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:56.679 into smoke shops who they weren't even asked for ID. 201 00:10:56.879 --> 00:10:59.879 They're selling them to underage kids, and it's highly addictive 202 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:04.039 and highly dangerous and completely unregulated. So on one end 203 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.559 of the spectrum you have the synthetics which are extremely dangerous, 204 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:10.480 seriously affecting young people. On the other end of the spectrum, 205 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:13.679 you have what i'll call it low grade THC edible 206 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:19.240 stuff that you saw in Governor Patrick's press conference. And yeah, 207 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:20.960 I'm not going to throw anything at you guys today. 208 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:22.960 You'll see that my hands are empty. I didn't bring 209 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:27.240 anything with me, no props. But so there is a 210 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:31.840 schism in philosophy of adults saying, well, why can't we 211 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:34.879 when in reality the people who are most negatively affected 212 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:37.559 by this are young people, And so the question is 213 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:40.759 do you address that with the band? So we've decided 214 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:42.600 to start with the band. You saw the bill that 215 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:45.559 came over the House. It was a clean band when 216 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:47.639 it came overt of the House, and the committee substitute 217 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:51.600 was about a million pages long, very complex, and it 218 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:55.480 was amended back to a ban on the floor. Fortunately, 219 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:58.759 I think there was enough momentum there to resolve that issue. 220 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:02.840 The more libert Harry inside of our party is going, 221 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:06.200 how dare you This isn't this isn't good. This is 222 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:11.039 you know, our liberties are being impinged. Reality. If you 223 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:14.279 go to these package stores where they're selling alcohol, liquor, 224 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:16.840 et cetera, a big percentage of their profits are coming 225 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:20.919 from THC oriented products and they're upset about it. Certainly 226 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:23.000 there are a lot of adults that are upset about it. 227 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:28.200 My principal focus is are these synthetics harming Texans? And 228 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:29.960 I think the answer to that was a clear. 229 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:32.840 Yes, Representative Turner. I mean, there was a lot of 230 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:35.080 blowback to this. It's also true though, I mean it 231 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:38.440 didn't really seem like this was what the legislature intended 232 00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:40.799 when they passed you know, the original hYP law, right, 233 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:44.360 The idea was never for these you know, these substances 234 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.919 to be sold and these stores to pop up all 235 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:48.720 over the state. Am I wrong on that? 236 00:12:49.159 --> 00:12:49.200 No? 237 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:51.600 I think I think that's fair to say. I don't 238 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:51.960 think that. 239 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:56.039 I don't think this industry was contemplated when when the 240 00:12:56.360 --> 00:13:00.559 hemp law was passed in twenty nineteen, I say that, 241 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:03.279 you know, I sit on the State Affairs Committee and 242 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:07.240 we had a sixteen seventeen hour hearing earlier in session 243 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:11.679 on at Center Bill three as well as a house 244 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:17.200 build that also sought to ban most forms of HEMP, and. 245 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:17.960 We heard a lot of a lot. 246 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:21.279 Of powerful testimony from both from people who supported a 247 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:25.679 complete ban, from parents, moms in particular whose children have 248 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:29.840 been adversely affected. We heard the law enforcement perspective. We 249 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:34.720 also heard from a lot of veterans who have found 250 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:41.919 some comfort, some treatment really in being able to access 251 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:46.559 certain THHC products to help address both physical and mental 252 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:51.399 scars from their time and service. We heard from a 253 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:53.919 lot of business owners and talk about you know, how 254 00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:59.039 they are running responsible businesses and in what the LEFE 255 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.480 sites are in ended up doing was going to disrupt 256 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:04.559 a business that employs tens of thousands of people in 257 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.480 our state. I think what came out of the House 258 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:13.240 State Affairs committee that Chairman Ken King put together on 259 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:18.279 a bipartisan basis, addressed a lot of the very legitimate 260 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:23.039 problems around him and represent a little articulated them. Well, yes, 261 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:26.000 kids should not be able to access this stuff. Absolutely, 262 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:29.399 there should not be products marketed to kids, you know, 263 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:31.679 in the form of looking like a bag of chips 264 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:34.879 or a bag of M and ms. We should absolutely 265 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:37.879 ban all that. We need to ban the synthetic garbage 266 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:41.440 that's out there, which is I think has been proven 267 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.879 to be harmful in many cases. But can you can 268 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:50.440 you do that and then regulate an industry that obviously 269 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:54.399 has some benefit to some adults in our state and 270 00:14:54.720 --> 00:14:57.600 allow it to continue to operate. And that was sort 271 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:00.120 of the approach that came out of our committee, and 272 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:02.600 I think that was the approach that made the most 273 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:06.679 sense to address the bad actors, address underage and some 274 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.519 of the bad products out there, but be able to 275 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.759 have an industry still be able to survive. So that 276 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:16.200 was the approach I took. Ultimately, you know, the Senate's position, 277 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:19.200 the Lieutenant Governor's position won out, and yeah, the Governor's 278 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:22.200 got a big decision to make. I will not take 279 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.559 debate and try to predict what he might do. That 280 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:29.799 was my questioning about I'm good at predicting with the government. 281 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:32.200 The fascinating thing to me about this was what it 282 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:35.039 revealed is going on with our veterans in our state. 283 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.080 So this was an issue where veterans kind of came 284 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:41.919 to the forefront pretty aggressively toward the end of the session. 285 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:45.720 And we have all these we have all these piecemeal 286 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.720 approaches to addressing what is a very serious problem with 287 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:52.480 our veterans coming home from service in foreign countries is 288 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.519 they're dealing with post traumatic stress, they're dealing with TBI 289 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:59.600 traumatic brain injury. And we had little piecemeal bills designed 290 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:03.080 to rest like we have the Ibogain initiative that was passed, 291 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:04.960 and I think that was an important thing to do. 292 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:08.240 There was another bill as well with a different type 293 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:10.759 of chemical treatment, and then it really came through with 294 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:14.279 the thcpiece. And what was interesting to me was my 295 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:17.799 friend David Lowe on the four arguing, I'm a veteran, 296 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:20.080 I came home with injuries, i came home with post 297 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:24.519 traumatic stress. Don't use me as a pond for explaining 298 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:27.480 why this should be available to self medicate. And so 299 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:30.000 you've got him on one side as a veteran saying 300 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.720 this is this is not good, and a bunch of 301 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:35.879 other veterans going, actually, this is really helpful. We need 302 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.519 to really get to the bottom of that issue. The 303 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:43.080 problem in the legislative session is things happen so quickly, 304 00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:46.679 and these are complex, very serious issues that are being 305 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:49.480 addressed in a matter of days. On the flour. 306 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:55.559 I want to we talked a little bit about education already. 307 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.080 There were some other big kind of expenditures from the 308 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:00.639 legislature that will have I think big impact on the 309 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:03.480 future of the state. Water being a key one. Right, 310 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.640 two point five billion dollars you know, appropriated this session 311 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:10.680 toward water. Assuming voters I think it's probably a fairly 312 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.640 safe assumption, assuming voters passed a constitutional constitutional amendment this November, 313 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:18.359 we'll talk about another billion dollars each year for the 314 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:20.880 next twenty years. So really we're talking about more than 315 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:23.319 you know, twenty two point five billion dollars committed towards 316 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:27.160 water in this session. You also had a big investment 317 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:31.279 in our energy grid five billion dollars to the Texas 318 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:36.000 Energy Fund to create more power to ensure that our 319 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:38.920 grid can handle the growth of the state and these 320 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:42.480 new industries that are demanding AI, bitcoin mining, those types 321 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.079 of things that are demanding a ton of energy in 322 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.680 the state. I had a conversation with a Republican yesterday 323 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:51.920 where he made the case to me. You know, he said, 324 00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:54.519 he said, not you, the text Tribune, but the media 325 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:59.000 in general. And I was like, okay, focused so much 326 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.839 on I appreciated the not you, but you know, anyways. 327 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:07.599 I'm just being polite. You're standing in front of him. 328 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:10.440 But I mean, he said, you know, the media focuses 329 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:12.680 so much on these social issues, some of these you know, 330 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:17.200 things like THHC. The big story of this legislative session 331 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.240 is the investment that the Texas legislature made into the 332 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:25.240 future of this state this year. I'm curious, as a Democrat, 333 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:29.000 do you agree with that assessment? Is that the story 334 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:32.240 we should be telling about this most recent legislative session. 335 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:36.319 Well, I think I think both stories are important to 336 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.079 I think, you know, in terms of long term investment, 337 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:41.079 I think, yeah, there's some good things to talk about. 338 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:45.039 I think water to me stands out as a really 339 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:49.880 good accomplishment done on a bipartisan basis, that is taking 340 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:53.079 a long term approach to addressing a long term challenge 341 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:55.880 in our state and and I think that was one 342 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.759 of the most positive things to come out of this 343 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:01.799 session without a doubt. And I would add from a 344 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:06.200 North Texas perspective, we beat back in a attempt that 345 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.440 seems to happen every two years to kill the Marvin 346 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:12.119 Nichols Reservoir, which is critical to our long term water 347 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:15.079 planning for those of us here in the Dallas Fort 348 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:17.839 Worth region. So that was a really important win for 349 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:23.000 our region. But as you're telling that story about long 350 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:25.559 term investment, I will say on the Energy Fund, the 351 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.160 five billion dollars that you've mentioned, there was five billion 352 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:31.319 dollars allocated two years ago, another five billion dollars in 353 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:35.160 this budget. In my view, it's a boondoggle and is 354 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:38.599 that we're lighting money on fire in the Texas Energy Fund. 355 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:42.400 This is something that if you talk to electricity generators, 356 00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:44.319 which is what this fund is designed to do, is 357 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:46.279 to get more generation in the state of Texas, they 358 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:49.279 will tell you, and they have told us in State 359 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:51.599 Affairs Committee in the last two sessions, we do not 360 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:57.160 need this financing is not the issue. And frankly, when 361 00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:00.480 this was originally passed two years ago, interest strates were 362 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:04.440 still at historically low levels, so access to. 363 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:08.319 To low interest loans was not the issue. 364 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:13.039 The issue is how how our electricity market is structured 365 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:18.720 and in our de regulated market, our generator is able 366 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:20.960 to come in and be able to make a profit 367 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.480 and a return on investment for their shareholders, which is 368 00:20:23.559 --> 00:20:27.240 ultimately how they make a business decision. And the legislature 369 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:30.839 still has not fully addressed that. And and that's the 370 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:33.480 and that's a difficult issue to address. And it's easier 371 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:35.119 to say, well, we're just going to take ten billion 372 00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:38.000 dollars and put it in this energy fund and problem solved, 373 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:40.400 but it is not. It is not solving the problem. 374 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:43.799 So I think that's that's an important issue that is 375 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:47.559 going to continue to fester until we really figure this out. 376 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:52.680 I will say, thirdly, on transportation, UH, that's an area 377 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:56.559 where again we need some long term planning, long term thinking. 378 00:20:57.400 --> 00:21:01.359 Not a lot seemingly happened in the transportation UH area 379 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:01.960 this session. 380 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:02.440 UH. 381 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:04.160 And I would just say being in a in a 382 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:06.720 you know, the fourth largest metro area in the country 383 00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:09.880 that we're in the heart of right now. From a 384 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.400 Texas from a state wide transportation playing perspective, we have 385 00:21:13.559 --> 00:21:17.799 got to as we continue to upgrade capacity and safety 386 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.720 of our roads and highways. Uh, we have also got 387 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:25.599 to get serious about mass transit in the state because 388 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:30.119 the growing population, we cannot we cannot pour enough concrete 389 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:31.839 to keep up with it. And we've got to have 390 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.759 a comprehensive statewide or at a minimum, regional approach on 391 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:36.559 those issues. 392 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:39.799 All right, I want to talk a little bit about 393 00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:40.839 politics here. 394 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:42.799 Why why. 395 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:44.559 You want to? 396 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:49.680 Okay, you know, let's have some fun the we we 397 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:52.039 came into this session. Well, let's let me do a 398 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:55.559 quick history here. Right at the end of last session, 399 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:58.839 there was a lot of backlash against the speaker daide 400 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:02.759 feeling at the time, in part because of what happened 401 00:22:02.759 --> 00:22:05.160