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Howdy folks, today is Friday, March 27th, and you're listening to the Texans Daily
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I'm the Texans managing editor Rob Lauchess, and here is the rundown of today's news
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First up, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has released a more extensive list of Texas
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Senate interim charges, addressing a number of issues including data center growth, criminal
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justice, surrogacy exploitation, prediction market gambling, Texas electric grid, and government
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Similar to the Texas House's interim charges released on Thursday, Patrick included
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a focus on identifying and weeding out fraud, waste, and abuse in state-funded agencies
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Today, I release new interim charges for Texas Senate committees to study and preparation
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for the 90th Texas legislature beginning January 2027.
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These interim charges reflect issues Texans have asked the Senate to study.
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Patrick said there may be more charges announced in the coming months.
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Earlier this week, Patrick announced the Chamber's interim committee assignments with
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the incoming exit of five members of the Senate and four committee chairs.
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News newly assigned members will serve through the 90th legislative session.
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Next, among the Texas House's interim charges released by House Speaker Dustin Burrows
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on Thursday are several broaching issues related to artificial intelligence, foreign actors,
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health and social policy, criminal justice, the Texas workforce, and the state's economy
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These charges will shape the House members next several months leading up to the 90th legislative
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session in January 2027, serving as a means of preparation for the shaping and filing
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of bills during the interim, visit the Texan.News for an in-depth look at the charges.
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In other news, a long planned audit of the Texas Office of the Attorney General's spending
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may have further fueled a public spat between acting comptroller Kelly Hancock and Attorney
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General Ken Paxton, already brewing over whether public education dollars may be used for
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schools with alleged ties to Islamic terrorist organizations and foreign adversaries.
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The comptroller conducts routine audits for state agencies, and the OAG was one of several
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slated for an audit in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025.
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The comptroller notified the OAG of the pending audit on June 10, 2025, but later granted
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a request to postpone and reschedule the audit for 2026.
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A spokesperson for the comptroller told the Texan in an email, quote,
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our audit records go back to 1996.
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Since August 1996, we have conducted 10 OAG audits.
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He continued, quote, each agency rated high in our annual risk assessment based on size,
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expenditure volume, and 14 proprietary risk factors is typically audited every three to
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five years unless circumstances warrant otherwise.
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OAG's placement in audit plans has always reflected that standard risk rating process.
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Last but not least, the Hunt County commissioners court passed a resolution this week denying
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approval for the plat application for the proposed subdivision connected to the East Plano
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Islamic Center called the Meadow, formerly known as Epic City.
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The proposal involves 402 acres in Hunt and Collin counties and would house a mosque,
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a K through 12 school, residential units, and retail facilities.
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Residents expressed dissatisfaction during the meeting regarding different elements of
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the planning by Epic, citing state investigations and possible violations.
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On March 10, attorney general Ken Paxton sent a letter to the Collin County commissioners
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court stating, quote, I am advised that to date you have refused to approve Epic City's
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requested plat application due to its multiple deficiencies and the insufficiency of information
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The letter detailed the office of the attorney general's ongoing investigations into Epic
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and alleges, quote, Epic City's developers have also allegedly funneled a significant amount
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of the funds to their own pockets.
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Thanks for listening.
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access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.
