WEBVTT 1 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:16.760 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 Guys. 16 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.280 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 Over a little bit? 20 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:13.920 Yeah, And it was. 21 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:16.560 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 And I know. 96 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.639 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 And I don't know what you're talking about. 329 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:54.039 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 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 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 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 Yeah? 368 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:08.640 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 It's just such a fascinating dynamic because I can't say 401 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.160