1 00:00:13,359 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the Texas Tribune trip Cast for Monday, 2 00:00:16,879 --> 00:00:19,920 June twenty third. We are coming to you with an 3 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:25,160 emergency trip cast because less than twelve hours ago, as 4 00:00:25,359 --> 00:00:27,879 all of us were getting ready to go to bed 5 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,640 and get ready for the week, Greg Abbott vetoed the 6 00:00:31,839 --> 00:00:36,439 Texas THHC band and ordered a special session for July 7 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:42,240 twenty first, later next month. We are throwing out our 8 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,039 trip cast plans and talking about this because it's the 9 00:00:45,039 --> 00:00:48,359 big story in Texas politics. And I am joined this 10 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:54,759 week by politics reporter Kayla Gwow. Hello, Kayla, I Kayla. 11 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:56,920 We were talking before went to sleep around three point 12 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,719 thirty last night after all that news, so I want 13 00:01:00,039 --> 00:01:03,799 energy from all of this. And then Jasper Sharer, Hello, Jasper, 14 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:05,239 good to be with you. 15 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:05,719 Speaker 2: Guys. 16 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: I know you were watching the NBA Finals last night, 17 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:09,680 So is there at least a little bit of you 18 00:01:09,799 --> 00:01:12,120 that was happy that he waited until that was. 19 00:01:12,079 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 3: Over a little bit? 20 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, And it was. 21 00:01:14,159 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 3: It was kind of overall just like a rude welcome 22 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:19,879 back from my vacation where I was wistfully, you know, 23 00:01:20,159 --> 00:01:22,480 not paying the usual attention of this kind of stuff. 24 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:23,599 But here we are. 25 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,519 Speaker 1: I'm back in the game here we are. Indeed, I 26 00:01:27,719 --> 00:01:31,079 for one, was very happy that the NBA Finals game 27 00:01:31,159 --> 00:01:33,319 was starting at seven o'clock. It meant I was gonna 28 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:35,159 be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. 29 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,239 And then I'm brushing my teeth and I think it 30 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,000 was you, Kyla who dropped in our slack channel Abbott's 31 00:01:41,519 --> 00:01:47,920 vetoed SB three and that blew up everything. Let's just start. 32 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,680 Oh and by the way, Eleanor Clemenov, you may have 33 00:01:50,719 --> 00:01:52,840 heard of her. She's the co host on the show. 34 00:01:53,959 --> 00:01:55,680 You may remember a couple of weeks ago when I 35 00:01:55,719 --> 00:01:58,640 was in Aspen and I knew I was it's too important. 36 00:01:58,719 --> 00:02:02,599 I got to join the trip Cast as a zoom. Anyways, 37 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,079 I don't want to disappoint our listeners. Eleanor also now 38 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,800 an Aspen, and she didn't care at all. She was like, 39 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:10,840 I'm skipping it. I'm hanging out in the mountains, so 40 00:02:11,599 --> 00:02:14,520 you know, e clipping off at text tribute dot com. 41 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,520 If you want to email your disappointment, we're here. The 42 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:23,080 true trip Cast stands giving you the information that you 43 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:27,680 need to know. But anyways, anything y'all want to say 44 00:02:28,599 --> 00:02:31,639 mean about Eleanor before we move on, I mean. 45 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,039 Speaker 3: Come on, Yeah, just the worst timing she could have 46 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:38,120 possibly picked, obviously pre engineered. 47 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:44,159 Speaker 1: So all right, well, it was a wild night last night, 48 00:02:44,199 --> 00:02:46,680 so let's just start, Kayla. Can you just sort of 49 00:02:46,719 --> 00:02:49,960 like walk us through what happened last night to get 50 00:02:50,039 --> 00:02:51,520 us to the point we were in here. 51 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 2: So we got an earlier round of vetos earlier in 52 00:02:55,039 --> 00:02:58,039 the evening of twenty five bills total, including a couple 53 00:02:58,159 --> 00:03:01,800 from earlier in the session, and that was it. I 54 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,479 don't think I didn't feel off the hook yet at 55 00:03:04,479 --> 00:03:07,280 that point, but I had sort of prepped for two 56 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:12,120 opposite outcomes if the governor vetoed it or let it pass. 57 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,560 And then I think it was around eleven fifteen that 58 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,719 the SB three veto on its own sort of quietly 59 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:18,840 came out. 60 00:03:19,719 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 1: Fifteen, which is forty five minutes before the deadline to 61 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:24,120 beat veto bills. 62 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, forty five minutes before the deadline eleven forty five 63 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,080 on it or eleven fifteen on this Sunday night. And 64 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,840 that was that. So we rushed to get that up. 65 00:03:34,439 --> 00:03:39,039 And then, in a really strange twist, Governor Abbott responded 66 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:43,439 to a tweet by our friend John Moritz of the 67 00:03:43,439 --> 00:03:46,879 Austin American Statesman, in which Moritz had said that a 68 00:03:46,919 --> 00:03:50,759 bill by Simpronia Thompson had been vetoed and Abbot rushed in. 69 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,800 This is just minutes after the SB three veto, says 70 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,680 there was a flaw in miss Te's bill and he 71 00:03:56,719 --> 00:03:58,360 put it on a special session, which was our first 72 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:00,960 indication that maybe we were heading to a special session. 73 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:02,719 But it was bizarre because it was in reply to 74 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:07,039 eight reporters tweet, so minutes after that then her, I 75 00:04:07,039 --> 00:04:09,560 guess it was more like thirty minutes after that, around 76 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,400 midnight or just after midnight, after the veto deadline passed, 77 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,279 Abbot officially announced a special session, with SB three at 78 00:04:17,319 --> 00:04:18,120 the top of the list. 79 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, I think I can confidently say that this 80 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,040 is the first time a special session has been announced 81 00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:30,199 in a reply to a tweet and an Austin reporter. Pretty wild, 82 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:39,439 I what I'm struggling to even come up with a 83 00:04:39,519 --> 00:04:43,839 question here. What do we think explains Abbot waiting until, 84 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,680 I mean almost literally the last minute to do this. 85 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,600 We've known about this bill for weeks. Why did he 86 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,199 wait until you know everyone was going to sleep on 87 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:57,920 Sunday night to act on this? 88 00:04:59,439 --> 00:05:03,199 Speaker 3: I think some it was genuine indecision about how to 89 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:07,240 handle this kind of a hot potato politically. I mean, 90 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,680 I think he I don't know if that explains fully 91 00:05:09,759 --> 00:05:12,439 why he waited until forty five minutes before the deadline, 92 00:05:12,439 --> 00:05:14,920 but at least you know that there were some other 93 00:05:14,959 --> 00:05:18,240 bills that he vetoed, you know, much earlier on that 94 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:21,240 were just obviously clearer calls for the governor. 95 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 2: And I know. 96 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,639 Speaker 3: His you know, folks on his his team have said 97 00:05:24,639 --> 00:05:27,399 he was he really didn't, at least initially know how 98 00:05:27,399 --> 00:05:31,199 he was going to handle the veto versus you know, 99 00:05:32,079 --> 00:05:36,079 sign decision. And I think you know, you also saw 100 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:40,560 that his veto proclamation was unusually long and detailed, sort 101 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,160 of laying out you know, both his his reasoning and 102 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:46,560 sort of a you know, I think the governor had 103 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:48,560 previously said like he was going to put on his 104 00:05:48,959 --> 00:05:52,160 judicial hat to kind of decide this, you know, harkening 105 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,959 back to his time as a text of Supreme Court justice, 106 00:05:55,399 --> 00:05:57,839 and you you know, his part of his his proclamation 107 00:05:57,959 --> 00:06:00,360 kind of read like a legal decision where he was 108 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,199 saying like he didn't think that SB three would you know, 109 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:06,079 stand up to legal scrutiny or at least it would 110 00:06:06,079 --> 00:06:08,040 get tied up in the courts. And then he even 111 00:06:08,079 --> 00:06:10,240 went as far as to suggest, you know, kind of 112 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,600 the regulatory framework that he'd be okay with when you know, 113 00:06:14,639 --> 00:06:17,920 when he calls lawmakers back in July to sort of 114 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,120 reconsider an amended version of SB three. So I think 115 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,680 kind of the combination of like indecision and then wanting 116 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:28,639 to have as bulletproof of a explanation as possible to 117 00:06:28,759 --> 00:06:31,040 kind of make clear, look, you know, I still want 118 00:06:31,079 --> 00:06:35,199 to do something on this, but you know this, I 119 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,040 think he went to great lengths in his proclamation to say, 120 00:06:38,959 --> 00:06:41,279 you know, it was sort of targeted at Dan Patrick 121 00:06:41,319 --> 00:06:43,519 to me in some ways. I think he was like, look, 122 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:45,720 you know, I'm kind of with you on this to 123 00:06:45,759 --> 00:06:48,639 an extent. I just I'm trying to help you not 124 00:06:48,879 --> 00:06:51,959 get your your top priority tied up in endless litigation. 125 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: Right, Let's let's actually step back and do a little 126 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:57,720 bit of a history of how he got here. Right, 127 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,240 So Dan Patrick had been calling for this thhe ban, Well, actually, 128 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,639 let's sit back even farther than that. Right, These THH stores, 129 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,920 these products have been available in gas stations, you know, 130 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,879 all over the place for the last couple of years 131 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,720 after the action taken both by the federal government and 132 00:07:14,759 --> 00:07:17,920 the state government to legalize him. Right, This creates a 133 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,240 situation where these sort of like marijuana like substances that 134 00:07:21,319 --> 00:07:26,240 can get people high are now essentially legal, almost by accident. 135 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,839 I think everyone sort of agrees that was not the 136 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,600 intent of the original law. So Dan Patrick comes into 137 00:07:32,639 --> 00:07:35,600 this session and says he wants to ban these substances. 138 00:07:35,639 --> 00:07:40,000 These are dangerous for folks. The measure passes the Senate, 139 00:07:40,319 --> 00:07:43,720 but the House sort of like significantly amends the bill 140 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,160 in committee, right, Kayla, basically saying, you know, we're not 141 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,639 going to ban this, we're going to regulate it. Then 142 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:56,000 what happens, Kayla, Well, the House. 143 00:07:55,879 --> 00:07:58,079 Speaker 2: The House has this bill, They've been through committee. It's 144 00:07:58,199 --> 00:08:01,600 Chairman King's Bill out of State Affairs, obviously a very 145 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,959 powerful committee. That bill is, you know, it contains a 146 00:08:05,959 --> 00:08:09,839 lot of what Abbott ultimately recommended in his proclamation explaining 147 00:08:09,839 --> 00:08:13,439 his veto have barred sales to minors. It would have 148 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:17,560 barred marketing to miners and put some more restrictions in 149 00:08:17,639 --> 00:08:20,439 testing and bolstered law enforcement, all those things. It was 150 00:08:20,519 --> 00:08:25,639 a pretty substantial regulatory framework and then drama happens on 151 00:08:25,639 --> 00:08:29,839 the floor. We saw Representative Tom Oliverson, who is an 152 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:34,320 anesseciologist and also Dan Patrick's neighbor, introduced an amendment to 153 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:39,080 substitute the regulatory framework for the full out band that 154 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:43,240 the Senate had passed months before. We saw kind of 155 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,120 a hodgepodge of people sign on to that, some Democrats 156 00:08:46,159 --> 00:08:50,279 in addition to a bunch of Republicans, and the House 157 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,399 managed to do that. And at the same time all 158 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,720 this was happening, there were some negotiations about school finance. 159 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:00,799 Speaker Burrows has said that you know, they were independent 160 00:09:00,879 --> 00:09:04,519 and there was no hostage taking, and the school finance 161 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,720 package was just a tough, big, complex piece of legislation 162 00:09:07,879 --> 00:09:10,519 to put together. But I think there was definitely some 163 00:09:10,519 --> 00:09:14,360 criticism after the fact that school finance and THC got 164 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,559 tied up together and we saw the House pass this 165 00:09:17,879 --> 00:09:20,799 full on ban and that is what ended up making 166 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,639 it through the legislature, in addition to an expansion of 167 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:25,399 the medical marijuana program. 168 00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: Right, and so then there were all these calls for 169 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:32,440 Abbot to build. People upset about the economic impact, people 170 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:37,279 pointing to maybe the use of these substances by veterans 171 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:42,519 dealing with various issues. Abbot kind of remains completely silent 172 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:48,480 on this until this happens. So Jasper, are you surprised 173 00:09:49,799 --> 00:09:51,159 by Abbot's decision here? 174 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,519 Speaker 3: You know, I would say I am. I mean I 175 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:58,360 sort of from the beginning was that he would he 176 00:09:58,399 --> 00:10:01,879 would rather than sign or veto it, just kind of 177 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,039 let it take effect. But you know, at the same time, 178 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,399 if you just think of kind of the volume, the 179 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:11,399 pitch of the opposition to this, you know that was 180 00:10:11,399 --> 00:10:15,080 coming from I mean, really the key is that that 181 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:17,679 was coming from the right, which is you know what 182 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:21,759 just you know, dictates a lot of the decision making 183 00:10:21,799 --> 00:10:25,159 by by Republican lawmakers who are running the state right now. 184 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,360 It's it's is this how is this issue going to 185 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,799 play out in upcoming primaries in you know, I think 186 00:10:33,399 --> 00:10:37,600 Governor might have sensed a you know, potential political liability 187 00:10:37,639 --> 00:10:41,000 for you know, folks in his own party. So I 188 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,639 think it's he just saw that like they kind of 189 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:46,240 needed to not go back to square one, but just 190 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,679 like sort of reset and come up with a version 191 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:53,679 of this that might be less politically toxic. When you know, 192 00:10:53,759 --> 00:10:56,559 the march in May primaries roll around I'm not sure 193 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:59,120 if this would have really been like a political killer 194 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:03,360 at by itself as an issue, but so, you know, 195 00:11:03,639 --> 00:11:06,600 I'm surprised based on like what I expected at the beginning, 196 00:11:06,639 --> 00:11:09,360 but just given the kind of the volume of the 197 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:12,840 chatter over the last few weeks and just the intensity 198 00:11:12,879 --> 00:11:16,000 of the pressure on the governor, you know, it sort 199 00:11:16,039 --> 00:11:17,840 of makes sense in retrospect. 200 00:11:18,639 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, I've said this on the podcast before, but it's 201 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:23,639 it's one of those things right where it's just very 202 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:27,159 easy to draw a direct line to lawmakers decisions and 203 00:11:28,039 --> 00:11:32,120 impact on people's lives. Right, Like, these these products are 204 00:11:32,159 --> 00:11:35,720 available kind of all over the place. There's these stores everywhere, 205 00:11:35,759 --> 00:11:39,600 whether in like city downtowns or you know, small towns 206 00:11:39,639 --> 00:11:43,240 and everything like that, and they're going to be gone, 207 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,679 right or they were going to be gone before this veto, 208 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,679 And you know, people were upset about that, and they 209 00:11:48,799 --> 00:11:50,799 knew who to blame. It's not like one of those 210 00:11:50,799 --> 00:11:53,960 situations where you're having to kind of wade through and 211 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,440 point fingers and explain like the complexities of school finance. 212 00:11:58,519 --> 00:12:00,320 Right it's like, this isn't going to be here, and 213 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:04,159 it's because of these lawmakers that this happened, and maybe 214 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,240 that has something to do with the decision. The question 215 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:12,600 now is what will happen next, Kayla. Governor Abbott was 216 00:12:12,639 --> 00:12:15,600 pretty prescriptive in terms of what he wanted to see 217 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:17,919 from lawmakers on this issue. Tell us a little bit 218 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:20,320 about what he laid out for wanting to see. 219 00:12:20,759 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 2: He got about a long list of possible regulations. He 220 00:12:23,759 --> 00:12:28,120 suggested that lawmakers consider an approach similar to the way 221 00:12:28,159 --> 00:12:32,320 alcohol is regulated, with a particular agency looking over at 222 00:12:33,159 --> 00:12:36,840 certain rules, like again baring the sale of THHC products 223 00:12:36,879 --> 00:12:40,919 to miners, barring marketing and packaging that is meant to 224 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,799 attract miners. I think he had, you know, something about 225 00:12:45,919 --> 00:12:50,000 not having stores in your schools, requiring testing at every 226 00:12:50,039 --> 00:12:54,639 phase of manufacturing and processing, you know, funding extra funding 227 00:12:54,639 --> 00:12:57,679 for law law enforcement to be able to enforce all 228 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:00,720 these rules. So he has a fairly comprehensive list of 229 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,639 proposed rules, and there are more than what I just listed. Again, 230 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:07,639 a lot of them overlaped with what was in ken 231 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,440 Kings Bill. But yeah, I guess they'll come back July 232 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,879 twenty first, and this is the first thing on the agenda. 233 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:23,279 I will have to see how open damp over clearer 234 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,879 that it was a ban or bus throughout the regular session, 235 00:13:25,919 --> 00:13:27,879 you had forced to threaten a special if you didn't 236 00:13:27,919 --> 00:13:31,399 get his way if lawmakers did pass a regulatory bill. 237 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:33,879 So they're gonna have to work through that. 238 00:13:34,039 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, I will say, just jumping in real quick on 239 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,000 Cayla mentioned the fact that it's on the table to 240 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,879 you know, ban the sale to minors of these products. 241 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,639 I think the fact that that needs still needs to 242 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:53,240 be done for this industry really underscoes how it's kind 243 00:13:53,279 --> 00:13:56,840 of a free for all, you know, ad hoc system 244 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:59,480 that's you know, that's been operating over the last six years, 245 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,159 and why there has been kind of this clamor for 246 00:14:02,919 --> 00:14:05,480 something to get done this session. Just the fact that, 247 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:10,000 you know, they passed the bill that ultimately allowed for 248 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:14,480 this industry to proliferate, intending to boost the agriculture industry, 249 00:14:14,879 --> 00:14:17,000 so they didn't even bother to set you know, an 250 00:14:17,039 --> 00:14:19,559 eighteen or twenty one age limit. I think that just 251 00:14:19,639 --> 00:14:25,320 underscores how, you know, how much you know, regulatory clamor 252 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,080 there is. And it also if we're thinking about what 253 00:14:28,639 --> 00:14:32,039 might come next, you know, I think even Democrats generally 254 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,600 have been pretty on board with doing like some sort 255 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,720 of regulation and the debate has really just all along 256 00:14:38,759 --> 00:14:42,480 been about the band versus regulation conversation. 257 00:14:43,519 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: Yes, but as Kayla kind of waived that there is 258 00:14:47,159 --> 00:14:51,759 another very influential and powerful statewide leader who will have 259 00:14:51,799 --> 00:14:53,840 a say in this, and out of course is Dan Patrick. 260 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,919 You said in your story last night or I guess 261 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,600 early this morning, Kayla, that he had listed this is 262 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,159 what one of his top five bills of his career 263 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:07,039 in terms of most important. He you know, called a 264 00:15:07,039 --> 00:15:10,720 press conference in which he was really blasting the media 265 00:15:10,759 --> 00:15:13,720 and other folks for you know, what he perceived as 266 00:15:13,759 --> 00:15:18,240 being critical of this bill. How is he going to 267 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:22,519 react to this? Do you think how has he reacted already? 268 00:15:23,879 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 2: He seems pretty mad. Yeah, I don't think he's thrilled. Yeah. 269 00:15:31,159 --> 00:15:33,480 I mean he put out a pretty blistering statement immediately 270 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,559 on Twitter last night after the Veto came out, called 271 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,960 it a quote unquote late night Veto that he argued 272 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,159 would leave law enforcement and people whose loved ones have 273 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,200 been affected by high potency TC products leaving them feeling abandoned. 274 00:15:48,559 --> 00:15:51,279 So he's clearly disappointed. Some of his allies, like Tom 275 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,080 ulliverson have come out with other statements saying they're disappointed. 276 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,960 I'll be headed to his press conference in about an 277 00:15:57,960 --> 00:15:59,960 hour and a half from when we are speaking right now, 278 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,519 and I think one of the main things we'll be 279 00:16:02,559 --> 00:16:06,480 looking at is just measuring like just how mad he is. 280 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,879 Speaker 1: Well, you know, be careful. We all know that he 281 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,360 threw some products that reporters the last press conference, so 282 00:16:13,519 --> 00:16:16,200 you know, just keep your head on a swivel as 283 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,200 we go from there. I mean, it does seem though 284 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,240 jasper like Dan Patrick might be unhappy about this, but 285 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:27,000 he's going to be fixed with the decision of no 286 00:16:27,159 --> 00:16:31,679 regulation at all or regulation more aligning with what Governor 287 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,000 Gravig Abbott does. So I mean, you know, he is 288 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,840 not one who's afraid to play a game of chicken 289 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,639 with the governor, but it does seem like the governor holds, 290 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,240 you know, the most leverage in this situation. 291 00:16:44,919 --> 00:16:46,519 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think, I mean, it's going to be fascinating 292 00:16:46,519 --> 00:16:50,320 to see how he handles the situation, how Dan Patrick does, 293 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,799 just because he has I think found success in the 294 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:58,799 past kind of playing hardball on these seemingly intractable disputes, 295 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,600 like if you think about the the property tax debacle 296 00:17:01,639 --> 00:17:05,559 after the twenty twenty three legislative session, that was kind 297 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:10,359 of the only other real example of Governor Abbott and 298 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,079 Lieutenant Governor Patrick really being publicly and very directly at 299 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,799 odds over like a you know, a major policy issue. 300 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:22,400 I can't I think of another example that really comes 301 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,119 close to the THHD situation here, you know. But to 302 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,759 your point, Matthew, like, it's you know, if tenant Governor 303 00:17:30,799 --> 00:17:35,799 Patrick comes out guns blazing and you know, just trying 304 00:17:35,799 --> 00:17:38,960 to take down Abbott over this issue, he risks you know, 305 00:17:39,279 --> 00:17:42,599 getting less of what he wanted you know, in the 306 00:17:42,599 --> 00:17:45,920 first place. So I think it's and he's a crafty politician, 307 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,680 he's no doubt like considering you know, the stuff that 308 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:52,000 we're talking about here. So I wouldn't be surprised if 309 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:54,960 he comes out with, you know, at least by by 310 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,039 the Dan Patrick standards, maybe a little bit more of 311 00:17:57,039 --> 00:18:01,119 a measured tone, just trying to you know, express his disappointment, 312 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,079 but saying, you know, like he still does have another 313 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,480 chance to you know, try to move the ball on 314 00:18:07,519 --> 00:18:09,720 this issue in you know, a month from now. So 315 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,880 I don't think he's going to want to you know, 316 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:18,400 establish a you know, kind of needlessly antagonistic relationship with 317 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,240 the Governor heading in if it's only gonna you know, 318 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:24,559 sour his chances. 319 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:27,079 Speaker 1: Well, by the time most people are hearing this, that 320 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:29,920 press conference will likely have happened. So check out text 321 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,559 tribute dot or Kayla will have her story on it 322 00:18:32,599 --> 00:18:34,920 and you'll find out what happened there. It might be 323 00:18:35,039 --> 00:18:38,279 horribly wrong, who knows. Yeah, we'll see, we'll see. Well, 324 00:18:38,319 --> 00:18:40,359 you know, Jasper, I believe the last time you were 325 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:43,759 on the podcast, you and I both predicted there would 326 00:18:43,759 --> 00:18:46,119 be no special session, and I think maybe even kind 327 00:18:46,119 --> 00:18:48,880 of rubbed it in with Eleanor that she predicted otherwise. 328 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 3: And I don't know what you're talking about. 329 00:18:51,079 --> 00:18:54,039 Speaker 1: Yes, we were wrong, and maybe it's for the best 330 00:18:54,279 --> 00:18:58,599 that Eleanor couldn't couldn't make it to this podcast. I mean. 331 00:18:58,599 --> 00:19:01,640 The other thing that sort of caught my I and 332 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,039 I'm sure a lot of other people's eye about Abbot's 333 00:19:04,039 --> 00:19:08,720 announcement last night was the word initial when he said 334 00:19:08,799 --> 00:19:12,880 the initial list of agenda items. I guess first before 335 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:15,440 we go on whether something might be added, Kila, did 336 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,480 anything jump out to you about other things that will 337 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:20,480 be on that initial list? 338 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,519 Speaker 2: Not particularly, I don't think you know some of them. 339 00:19:24,559 --> 00:19:27,119 Looking at the veto statements there were just flaws in 340 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,680 the bill or you know, some sort of tweaks that 341 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:34,640 could be made. And I mean overall, there was a 342 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:37,440 bunch of criminal justice bills that he vetoed entirely that 343 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,480 are not on the special agenda yet, but you know, 344 00:19:41,559 --> 00:19:44,640 like none of them were major, major, major bills that 345 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:47,599 anyone any of us have been following throughout the session. 346 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:51,359 But like you said, that's an initial list. I think 347 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:54,720 I wouldn't be super surprised if we saw something like 348 00:19:54,759 --> 00:19:58,880 bail pop up on there, or taxpayer funded local municipality 349 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:03,839 or government lobbyer, and maybe redistricting. So I think we'll 350 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:05,960 we'll see, and one of the means. 351 00:20:06,279 --> 00:20:09,039 Speaker 3: One of those Vito proclamation is nodded at that, Kayla, right, 352 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:14,200 the possibility of a bail special session item. You know, 353 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:17,039 he was kind of citing the failure of one of 354 00:20:17,079 --> 00:20:21,319 his bail priorities as you know, something that needs to 355 00:20:21,319 --> 00:20:25,079 happen first before one of those bipartisan criminal justice bills 356 00:20:25,079 --> 00:20:25,680 could get through. 357 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,519 Speaker 1: So yeah, I think the big thing people are going 358 00:20:29,519 --> 00:20:32,400 to be wondering and talking about between now in July 359 00:20:32,519 --> 00:20:36,720 twenty first though, is what you mentioned, Kayla, redistricting, Right, 360 00:20:37,599 --> 00:20:40,359 It has been reported by US and others that there's 361 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,680 been some pretty strong pressure from the White House to 362 00:20:43,839 --> 00:20:48,759 consider a mid term redistricting, specifically redrawing the congressional lines 363 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:54,079 in an effort to maybe help Republicans nationwide hold on 364 00:20:54,279 --> 00:20:58,400 to the House. That is not on the list, but 365 00:20:59,079 --> 00:21:01,680 maybe it will be. Jasper, what do you think the 366 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:03,839 state of play is there right now? 367 00:21:04,599 --> 00:21:04,799 Speaker 2: Yeah? 368 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,640 Speaker 3: I think well, first of all, you know, baseline understanding 369 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,279 here is like the governor can add an item to 370 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:15,440 the special session call at any point. You know, these 371 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:19,359 things can last up to thirty days, sometimes less. But 372 00:21:20,039 --> 00:21:24,160 you know, this very much is not that's not necessarily 373 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:27,400 the end of the agenda. I think, you know, it's 374 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:30,160 been pretty clear that Abbott is kind of waiting to 375 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,839 take his cues from what however, you know, kind of 376 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:38,599 the Trump political team and the Texas Republican delegation in 377 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:42,519 DC kind of how they work out this situation. You know, 378 00:21:42,559 --> 00:21:46,119 I think the Governor has kind of been signaling you know, 379 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,039 you guys handle this and I'll just go with the 380 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:52,440 sort of the way the winds are blowing. And what 381 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:57,039 we have seen is that the Texas Republicans are you know, 382 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,000 not super jazzed about the idea. They are worried about 383 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,920 spreading them their districts too thin ahead of you know, 384 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:07,880 it could be a tough mid term cycle. So it's 385 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,799 you know, but we've also gone some medication that you know, 386 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,359 they might not be thrilled about it, but they're still 387 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,200 likely to go along with it if if Trump the 388 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,079 Trump folks stand their ground, which is kind of I 389 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:23,880 don't know a microcosm of how most of these congressional 390 00:22:24,559 --> 00:22:29,000 White House relations play out, so all you know, kind 391 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,160 of the the expectation right now is that this is 392 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:35,039 going to happen and that it probably would get added 393 00:22:35,079 --> 00:22:37,480 to the special session call, you know, at some point. 394 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,599 But you know, it's also possible that this is done 395 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:44,400 in a separate session. You know, we had what four 396 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,000 of them last year and earth and then three of 397 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,640 them the year before, so it's this could just be 398 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,720 the first of multiple I don't want to jinx us, 399 00:22:52,759 --> 00:22:55,000 but it's always a possibility. Yeah. 400 00:22:55,039 --> 00:22:57,680 Speaker 1: It's just such a fascinating dynamic because I can't say 401 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,160 that I've spoken to any Republicans rely who think this 402 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,960 is a particularly good idea for the Texas delegation. Right 403 00:23:05,279 --> 00:23:09,039 many look back at last decade. We wrote a story 404 00:23:09,079 --> 00:23:11,039 about this back at the time about how, you know, 405 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:14,519 Republicans got really ambitious in the Texas House, trying to 406 00:23:14,559 --> 00:23:18,039 hold on and expand their majority by drawing a bunch 407 00:23:18,079 --> 00:23:20,759 of seats in Dallas County that were attractive to them. 408 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:22,960 But what they did was they spread out their voters 409 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,640 so much that by the end of the decade, Democrats 410 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:29,039 had essentially won every seat in that county. They got 411 00:23:29,079 --> 00:23:32,680 a little bit overly greedy when they redrew the lines 412 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,119 this past time. For the current district lines, they really 413 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:45,000 emphasized longevity and you know, as opposed to adding more seats, 414 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,759 and that was a conscious decision to avoid being put 415 00:23:48,799 --> 00:23:52,000 in a tough position at the later part of the decade. 416 00:23:52,559 --> 00:23:55,039 But I think the big question is, right, when the president, 417 00:23:55,079 --> 00:23:59,160 who clearly controls so much and has so much influence 418 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:02,519 over your voters, is asking something, can you say no 419 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:07,400 to them? I'm very excited to see. I think the 420 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:13,519 other question here is, you know, how would Democrats participate 421 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:15,720 right because they still have the ability to do a 422 00:24:15,759 --> 00:24:19,240 quorum break. I was in San Antonio last week interviewing 423 00:24:19,519 --> 00:24:22,359 some members of the San Antonio delegation. I asked them 424 00:24:22,359 --> 00:24:26,960 about this possibility. Senator Menandez, I'm quoting him. He said, 425 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,079 I don't know why any Democrat would show up to 426 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,920 a special session where that's what you would do. Speaking 427 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,920 of the redisserting Representative Ray Lopez coyly saying, I've been 428 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,119 known to leave before when the issue is a BS issue, 429 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,319 when democracy is at stake, you cannot put a penalty 430 00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:45,799 on me that will keep me from exercising my voice, 431 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,240 and if that means walking away, not showing up, and 432 00:24:50,279 --> 00:24:53,400 then he sort of tailed off. But I mean, pretty 433 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,920 strong signals that they would not be interested in playing 434 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,799 a game. But it's interesting because now they need to 435 00:24:58,799 --> 00:25:02,599 come back to deal with some of these issues. So 436 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:05,039 I think there will be an interesting little game to 437 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:08,839 be played here about you know, who shows up, when 438 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,160 do you disappear? If you add it to the call, 439 00:25:12,279 --> 00:25:15,640 When do you add it to the call? We don't know, 440 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:19,000 but it's going to be incredibly fascinating to watch. 441 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:22,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, you could easily see some of those congressional Republicans, 442 00:25:23,079 --> 00:25:25,400 you know, going along with this because they don't want 443 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:29,160 to upset the Trump administration. Then almost kind of hoping 444 00:25:29,279 --> 00:25:33,559 or banking on the Democrats, you know, holding out in 445 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,880 Austin so they don't have to worry about it. And 446 00:25:36,079 --> 00:25:38,799 it's also interesting that like for example, Pete said, you know, 447 00:25:38,799 --> 00:25:42,119 you were talking aboutthew about past examples of Republicans stretching 448 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,720 themselves too thin, like Eat Sessions is one of the 449 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,440 kind of the more seasoned Republicans in Congress from Texas, 450 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,200 and one of the leaders is MI understanding of, you know, 451 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,480 in some of these talks, and he is like a 452 00:25:55,519 --> 00:25:58,599 prime example of somebody who lost his seat in twenty 453 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,119 eighteen to call it all read after that, you know, 454 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,039 in a district that radically changed from you know, reach 455 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,119 from when the lines were drawn at the beginning of 456 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,359 that decade. So, you know, I think there's there are 457 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:15,960 some fresh memories in the delegation about you know, Lizzy 458 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,400 Fletcher beating John Colberson as well. I think they're trying 459 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:19,920 to avoid those situations. 460 00:26:20,839 --> 00:26:24,440 Speaker 2: He saw Hakeem Jeffries, who's the Democratic Minority lea leader, 461 00:26:24,559 --> 00:26:28,200 also sort of he wasn't necessarily bullish, I think, but 462 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,279 he pointed out, you know, like this could actually potentially 463 00:26:32,759 --> 00:26:36,119 benefit Democrats if they're not careful enough, and you know, 464 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:39,359 you create situations where Democrats do have an edge and 465 00:26:39,559 --> 00:26:41,200 possible opportunity to win. 466 00:26:41,839 --> 00:26:45,039 Speaker 1: Right exactly. It's really both sides will have their own 467 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,880 kind of like, you know, how much do you want 468 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:52,079 to gamble on this decision to make? If indeed they 469 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:54,920 go through with that, there will be plenty of time 470 00:26:55,079 --> 00:26:59,519 to talk about that if they do. Lots of everyone's 471 00:26:59,559 --> 00:27:03,920 favorite topic, redistricting that you know, few things can cause 472 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,400 someone to buck their president or you know, decide not 473 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,119 to show up more than you know the lines that 474 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,640 determine whether they get to keep their seats or not. 475 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:16,799 So that'll be a fun one. This THC fight will 476 00:27:16,839 --> 00:27:18,640 be a fun one. I'm sure we will see other 477 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,160 fun things coming up in the meantime, but we will 478 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:24,279 talk about those later because Kayla's got to go cover 479 00:27:24,319 --> 00:27:27,240 a press conference. Thank you Kayla for joining us, and 480 00:27:27,319 --> 00:27:31,759 thank you Jasper. Thank you to our producers, Rob and Chris. 481 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,000 We will hopefully be back to our regular schedule next 482 00:27:35,039 --> 00:27:38,079 week and hopefully we will not be working until three 483 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,440 am the night before. Talk to y'all next week.