In the April 12 episode, Fort Worth District 3 Council Member Michael Crain explains what he wants state lawmakers to do when it comes to regulating data centers, and why his residents don’t think leaders should be providing tax breaks. State Representative John Bucy III tells us why he’ll file legislation to prevent one party from dictating how another party runs elections at the local level. And State Representative Jared Patterson on why he thinks recent jury verdicts against social media will help him pass legislation banning under-16s from using it in Texas.
< spk_0 - 00:00:02.8090000 >
Straight ahead, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick warns Republicans that losses could be coming this fall. His message to John Cornyn and Ken Paxton. Plus, after primary election chaos in Dallas and Williamson counties, state rep John BuCy says there's a simple solution. We'll talk about his plan. Also, is banning minors from social media still necessary? Courts have already been cracking down on big tech companies.
< spk_0 - 00:00:32.5690000 >
State Rep Jared Patterson takes our questions about that from the Capitol. And the boom in data centers across the state is costing Texas billions. Fort Worth now the latest to push back. Councilman Michael Crane says even red counties want lawmakers to listen up. Inside Texas Politics with Jason Whitely starts now. And thank you so much for being here with us this week.
< spk_0 - 00:01:00.6500000 >
I'm Jason Wheeler in for Jason Whitely. Let's start off with your headlines today. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is warning fellow Republicans that losses could be coming this fall. Patrick urging John Cornyn and Ken Paxton to unite after their bitter runoff or risk Democrat James Talarico potentially winning the US Senate seat. Patrick. Also is predicting Republicans could struggle to hold on to the Texas House. Democrats would need to flip 14 seats to take control of that chamber.
< spk_0 - 00:01:31.2250000 >
Republican insiders say they expect losses, but that the majority they believe will still be safe. Pushback is growing over reopening Camp Mystic this summer after 27 young campers and counselors died in. Flash flooding last July, the Texas Rangers have launched an investigation. The Texas Department of State Health Services is now reviewing 600 complaints tied to that camp.
< spk_0 - 00:01:56.0010000 >
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick disclosed both in a letter to the health commissioner, and, uh, attorneys for the camp say that it is cooperating but still wants to reopen part of that property. And the boom in data centers across the state is costing Texas billions of dollars.
< spk_0 - 00:02:13.1990000 >
Lawmakers created a tax break back in 2014 to attract them here, but the surge of data centers being built has Texas on track now to give up $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years. The Texas Tribune says this is already one of the state's costliest incentive programs and soon could become the most expensive of its kind. Nationwide, let's stick with data centers for a few more moments here.
< spk_0 - 00:02:40.9010000 >
Not only is it costing Texas, but we are seeing growing pushback now in red counties, many questioning why they still need those tax breaks, and they're worried that the big buildings full of computer servers could suck up a lot of resources. Our first guest today, Fort Worth District 3 council member Michael Crane, who tells Jason Whitely why he pushed pause on one data center in Fort Worth. Recently,
< spk_1 - 00:03:06.0350000 >
Councilman, it's good to see you again here. Thanks for having me, Jason. Data centers don't bring a bunch of jobs. These are massive buildings with a bunch of computer servers, you know, lined up everywhere. Why is it worth it to give data centers a tax break, do you think? Yeah,
< spk_2 - 00:03:19.0350000 >
I would say they bring a lot of construction jobs at the beginning, temporary, temporary jobs. You, you are correct. Um, then I think this one is, uh, slated to have about 50 jobs. You're not really doing it for the jobs. You're doing it for the capacity that's, uh, that it brings in. I'd also say something that's not been fully explored is this is part of a national security infrastructure. When we're looking across the country, you know, our next war is not going to be a bomb. It's going to be someone flicking a switch and shutting down our daily lives, and that's, I think, the conversation that's getting lost is a big piece of this.
< spk_1 - 00:03:49.0090000 >
Let me. Let me ask about the numbers for this one in Vale Ranch here. Fort Worth would lose out on about $19 million in property taxes. That's the discount that that's up for debate right here to give to this, uh, this company to build this data center, but eventually it could bring in what, $47 million over the life of this agreement. Nobody wants to pay property taxes. You're looking at number one guy right here who hates paying property taxes. Me either.
< spk_2 - 00:04:10.1390000 >
I get it. Me either.
< spk_1 - 00:04:11.1000000 >
But shouldn't businesses pay their fair share?
< spk_2 - 00:04:13.2590000 >
I, I think that's the conversation that we need to have overall, is it creating the jobs? Is it creating the industry that we want in Fort Worth? Um, and again, a one size fits all approach probably doesn't work that we eliminate all tax abatements. This industry probably we need to have a, a real question, uh, with them and maybe this but for test, but for a tax abatement, will it come? And I think what we're seeing is they want to be in Texas, so maybe that's not the, the tax abatement that we need.
< spk_1 - 00:04:40.2090000 >
We, we've seen local Republican leaders all across the state and, and, and red places like Fort Worth, Hood County, and then, and then way out in West Texas raised question about data centers that, you know, the big fear is it's going to consume a lot of resources. Do you think the legislature is listening?
< spk_2 - 00:04:55.7380000 >
Um, we have to get this right. I mean, it, we, we do have water shortages or problems, uh, uh, that we are addressing. Electricity, we've had issues there. Um, we, we have to get this right, and I hope, I hope they do. Um, there is a such thing as local control, but when you're talking about regulatory agencies that are run by the state, there needs to be some oversight, I think, from them about what this looks like, what the process looks like, and, um, uh, overall just making sure that we are, uh, looking ahead as much as possible.
< spk_1 - 00:05:24.6090000 >
If you could get the legislature to do one thing when it comes to data centers here, what would you ask them to do in order to make it easier for cities and counties. To regulate this,
< spk_2 - 00:05:34.7500000 >
there has to be some coordination, and that's what I would ask for from the legislature is to coordinate with cities overall and look at properties that we have. Fort Worth is only half developed out, 50%. We still have room to grow, so this will be a problem for us coming into the future. So give us some guidance and at the same time we have our open space initiative. We don't want to develop everything. But in Fort Worth we've had meta for the last decade operating right next to neighborhoods. We hear no complaints about it.
< spk_2 - 00:06:02.2650000 >
People actually, uh, the brought it brings into our economy is, is a lot. It's the biggest taxpayer in Fort Worth. And so, and so as part of their process, yes, and so, um, I think we have to have those honest conversations again. People want police and fire, and they want good roads and streets. There's only so much that taxpayer, actual taxpayer dollars from property taxes will cover, especially given all the constraints the legislature has put on us in recent years.
< spk_2 - 00:06:28.4620000 >
So these are other income sources that we can continue to deliver high quality services to our residents. Again, we just have to balance it. Councilman, good to see you. Thanks for the time. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
< spk_0 - 00:06:40.3900000 >
And with that, let's bring in our roundtable to talk about the politics of this. We've got Bug Kennedy from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Natalie Haddad, political reporter at WFAA in Dallas, and Ashley Goudea, the political director at KVUE in Austin. It's a lot of money we're talking about here that the state is missing out on because of this big incentive. I mean, this could be going to property tax relief, to schools. It could fund the entire school voucher program the state has set up. Ashley, is this, uh, incentive a goner the next time lawmakers meet?
< spk_3 - 00:07:10.0400000 >
I mean, I think it definitely is. I think it's a conversation that they're gonna have. I think that when you start to see lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say, hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, that's a lot of money, people are gonna start to pay attention. It'll just be worth seeing what their lobby will say to lawmakers starting now and up until the next legislative session.
< spk_0 - 00:07:28.0100000 >
And Natalie, not only is this a, a, a money thing, it's also we're, we're seeing pushback against all a lot of these data centers all across the state, uh, residents and council members saying that they use up too many. Resources as well. So there's another front in this as well.
< spk_4 - 00:07:41.1470000 >
Absolutely we see it here in North Texas a lot. Hunt County comes to mind for me where we have residents there that are worried about their well-being. This is not going to go over well if the lawmakers they voted for continue to push for these data centers without giving some leeway to some, you know, local control. But you know we're seeing a lot of back and forth with that already, so we're going to see what happens in the next legislative session when it comes to what the state wants to do, you know, a House. Dustin Burroughs has his thoughts on that and then what local governments want to do.
< spk_4 - 00:08:09.8840000 >
Yes, it doesn't sound like they are seeing things eye to eye right now when it comes to these data centers.
< spk_0 - 00:08:14.9240000 >
Yes, but those magic words local control. The Speaker wants to have communities still have input, but also wants to slim down the regulations on these data centers and try to get them to use less water. Is all of that possible?
< spk_5 - 00:08:27.8030000 >
Well, remember that under Texas law, at least the cities like Councilman Crane's Fort Worth still have. Some local control. The legislature hasn't taken it away yet, but if you go out in a rural county, the data centers go up, rural counties operate. It's the wild west. The only laws in the rural county area are set by the Texas legislature. They get $150 million in donations from the data center industry. So how much regulation are they really going to do?
< spk_0 - 00:08:55.1010000 >
Yeah, I expect to hear a lot about this in the next legislative session. Everybody stay put. We're going to get back to the roundtable here in just a bit. When we come back, banning minors from social media, even though the courts have been cracking down, State Rep Jared Patterson says a ban is still necessary in Texas. Why he's looking to Australia for assistance. Plus preventing another primary election meltdown.
< spk_0 - 00:09:23.1590000 >
Confusion plagued the process in Dallas and Williamson counties last month. State Rep John Bucy says there's a simple solution. That's next on Inside Texas Politics. Welcome back to Inside Texas Politics. Voters in Dallas and Williamson counties experienced a flaw in state law last month. One party forced another to eliminate countywide voting and require voters to cast their ballots at their neighborhood precincts.
< spk_0 - 00:09:52.1400000 >
It led to a lot of confusion and anger. State Rep John Bucy, a Democrat from Austin and vice chair of the Texas House Elections Committee, told, uh, Jason Whitely that the solution here is simple.
< spk_1 - 00:10:05.4090000 >
Representative, welcome back to the program. Lay out the mechanics for us. Explain what the current law is when it comes to primary voting and, and the idea you have to change that after what we saw happen in Dallas and Williamson counties.
< spk_6 - 00:10:18.3800000 >
Yeah, so right now, both parties within a county, and by that I mean the Democrats and Republicans have to agree to do countywide voting. And if one of them says no, then the other party is forced to go to precinct-level voting as well. And that's what happened in Dallas and Williamson County. It was the Republican Party in this case in both those counties that said they wanted to go back to precinct-level voting, and that forced the hand of the Democrats. And as we saw, you know, it was a disaster with voter access on both sides, Democrats and Republicans.
< spk_6 - 00:10:47.9500000 >
So, we just wanna make sure that one party doesn't get to dictate what another party does. Uh, this isn't about supporting Republicans or supporting Democrats. It's about letting each party be accountable to their voters because when you're in the other party, you don't get to vote for the leadership across the aisle for party, party-level leadership, and so there's no way to hold them accountable.
< spk_1 - 00:11:08.0590000 >
Explain what would happen though. So if this passes, and let's say, you know, Democrats in Dallas County decide they don't want to hold a joint primary with Republicans, what will this new law, if it passes, mean for Dallas County Democrats? Can they hold countywide voting on their own in a primary and Republicans can hold countywide on their own?
< spk_6 - 00:11:28.4000000 >
It's exactly what we're looking for is to allow one party to not be able to dictate the other. So if the Democrats want to do countywide voting, and if the Republicans want to do precinct-level voting, they'll be allowed to do that on their own accord.
< spk_1 - 00:11:40.2800000 >
I know all this is early as you've only announced just a few hours ago, but have you had any pushback from anyone?
< spk_6 - 00:11:45.3690000 >
I, I haven't had anyone push back yet. I think people think it's a practical decision to say, your party do it the way you want and our party will do it the way we want. It's great when we work together, when we can find common ground, but we should not be able to control the other person. I think a lot about Lubbock County, you know, a very red county, one of the first, the first one to implement county-wide polling. If the small group of Democrats wanted to mess with the Republicans, they could say, we want to go to precinct-level voting and force their hand right now. It shouldn't work that way.
< spk_6 - 00:12:15 >
We should all be fighting to increase access to the ballot box, and, and we shouldn't have the chaos at the end because one party decided to make a change at the last
< spk_1 - 00:12:22.9690000 >
minute. Representative, always good to see you. Thank you for the time.
< spk_6 - 00:12:26.1690000 >
Hey, thanks for having me.
< spk_0 - 00:12:28.2000000 >
A Texas Republican is hoping that the 3rd time will be the charm. Twice now he has tried to ban minors from social media, but courts have recently been cracking down on social platforms for targeting kids. Despite those landmark decisions, though, state rep Jared Patterson says he's changing his proposal slightly, but he's still pushing for that statewide ban.
< spk_1 - 00:12:51.7100000 >
Representative Patterson, it's good to see you again. Let's start with this. If courts are already, you know, hopping into the conversation here and holding these social media platforms accountable, why is there even a need for additional legislation?
< spk_7 - 00:13:04.9290000 >
You know, that, that's a great question. You know, we, we, these, these landmark court cases, you know, are brand new. Uh, this is kind of the first step that we've seen here in our country, uh, related to holding these social media companies accountable. And I think what it did is it proved that it's not just parrots saying it, uh, that it's not a bug, that it is a feature of these platforms that they are designed to harm our youth. And so, uh, I think what we've done as a society and as a state in the past.
< spk_7 - 00:13:32.6090000 >
Is that when we find something that is, is extremely harmful to our youth, then we pass laws protecting our youth, uh, from that. We did that with handguns, we've done that with tobacco, drugs, alcohol, uh, this is no different.
< spk_1 - 00:13:45.5800000 >
You told me in the past that you fully intended to, to reintroduce this legislation again, I believe for the 3rd time, uh, but, but have you rethought that now that, that, uh, courts have weighed in and, and are holding these, uh, social media platforms accountable? Is there a chance that you would not reintroduce this?
< spk_7 - 00:14:02.0590000 >
No, not, not even a little bit. Uh, Jason, we feel like the wind is at our backs, you know, we, we filed the bill in 23, got no hearing, no traction, filed the bill in 25, got all the way through the House, all the way through a Senate committee, so close to the end of the line. Um, and, uh, just didn't get, uh, brought up on a vote in the Senate. Uh, since then, Australia has banned social media under 16 years old.
< spk_7 - 00:14:25.5990000 >
Uh, we, we're seeing other countries join that, and so I think, you know, it, it's a great opportunity for Texas, uh. With the wind at our backs to be the first state to uh be able to protect minors from this harmful product known as social media
< spk_1 - 00:14:39.4000000 >
and when you look at Australia's ban, when you look at these court cases, how are you going to tailor your legislation, do you, do you think to give it the most impact here?
< spk_7 - 00:14:48.2000000 >
Well, we are making a change, you know, last session, the bill that almost made it through the process, uh, would have eliminated anyone under 18 from being able to access social media. Uh, we are going back with a different bill this time. Uh, we're gonna copy basically what Australia did, what it says in.
< spk_7 - 00:15:04.3200000 >
Uh, the anxious Generation, uh, book, uh, that a lot of people have read about this issue, and we're gonna go to 16 as well, uh, so anyone under 16, federal law says 13, so basically we're raising the age by 3 years, um, um, uh, to try to protect minors in Texas from this harmful product, and I really don't think that's too much to ask and hopefully it'll have a little better shot next session than it did the last one.
< spk_1 - 00:15:26.9940000 >
The House Speaker Dustin Burroughs put out the list of interim charges, the different topics that he wants lawmakers to look at, uh, before the next session begins in January 1 of them on there, obviously getting a lot of headlines and a lot of conversation on this program here is about Texas potentially looking at ways to maybe acquire 23, maybe even 4 counties from New Mexico. Are people talking about this at the Capitol at all? This, this just sounds crazy, and I, I don't see a way in the world this could happen. Am I wrong?
< spk_7 - 00:15:57.1900000 >
Well, you know, every big idea sounds crazy at first, uh, and then it happens, um, and it's not only a cultural thing, Jason, where these folks, uh, really in their souls, I think, are Texans, uh, but there's, you know, a lot of mineral deposits there. There's oil and gas opportunities there. But, uh, and
< spk_1 - 00:16:14.3200000 >
why would New Mexico, why would New Mexico walk away from these things?
< spk_7 - 00:16:18.3090000 >
Well, you know, I, I don't know why they would, but, you know, the people revolting there. I mean, the overregulated, heavy-handed government in New Mexico is causing this situation to occur, is causing them to want to leave, and folks, we've got folks coming from all over the world and all over the country to Texas because it is the land of freedom and opportunity, and our neighbors next door that used to be Texas, it looks like they wanna come back.
< spk_1 - 00:16:40.3090000 >
Is this anything more than just headline grabbing though? Do, do you think something is, is material will come of this legislation wise?
< spk_7 - 00:16:46.9400000 >
Well, if you don't try it ain't gonna happen and uh so you know we'll see. Look, I'm not saying this is the top priority you know we're focused on property taxes, we're focused on transportation, water infrastructure, we're focused on continuing to grow our economy, uh, which is now the 7th largest economy in the world, uh, we're focused on getting the Texas Stock Exchange open and the.
< spk_7 - 00:17:04.9840000 >
Wonderful opportunities that are gonna come with that so I'm not saying it's at the top of the list, uh, but we can walk and chew gum at the same time and if this is an opportunity to not only secure, uh, these counties for the future of Texas, the future of financial security of Texas, but also for the freedom of these wonderful Americans that live in eastern New Mexico, then we're gonna do that.
< spk_1 - 00:17:23.5640000 >
It's good to see you.
< spk_0 - 00:17:24.9390000 >
Yes, sir. Thank you. All right, stay where you are. The roundtable is ready when we come back. All right, we've got our roundtable back with us again to talk more, uh, politics here. Bug Kennedy again from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Natalie Haddad from, uh, WFAA in Dallas, and Ashley Goudeau, the political director, uh, at KU Austin. Uh, let's talk about this.
< spk_0 - 00:17:44.5300000 >
Dan Patrick making a lot of news this week, worried about this nasty runoff fight between Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, and how that might spill over and cost, uh, the GOP control of the US Senate and closer to home, he is saying that the, the Texas House, uh, that Republicans. Might have trouble maintaining control of that in this upcoming election. Why the scare stories on this one, Bud? And do you see that actually happening? Is he influenced at all here by that one red seat in the Senate recently flipping?
< spk_5 - 00:18:12.7550000 >
You know, I couldn't believe that he made such a big deal that one red seat in Tarrant County flipped. It flipped because of a flawed candidate, but he is sending a message to all Republicans.
< spk_5 - 00:18:21.8850000 >
Do you have to vote for Republicans if you're a Republican, no matter if they're a candidate you don't like, My gosh, John Cornyn has hinted that Ken Paxton should be in prison, but he wants Cornyn's voters to come out, you know, whether you have a Huff Heinz, somebody who's mega, whether you have particularly somebody like Beau French, if that's the Railroad Commission nominee who says 100 million people in the country should be deported, Dan Patrick says you have to vote for them no matter what.
< spk_0 - 00:18:47.6210000 >
Natalie, do you see this slugfest that's happening between Paxton and Cornyn spilling over and heading toward November and bruising Republicans?
< spk_4 - 00:18:55.2910000 >
You know, I think. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has a point, and I think there are several things that can be true at the same time. Party infighting certainly could depress a base. He is raising the alarm. On the other hand, you have House Speaker Dustin Burroughs projecting confidence when it comes to the races coming in November. And again, I think both of those things can be right, and they're just trying to make sure that Republican Republicans come out to vote because while this is a red state, they are not immune, and we saw that with that Tarrant County seat flipping.
< spk_4 - 00:19:24.7540000 >
And they just want to try and make sure that voters come out for their party, uh, when it comes to the House and again for the Senate. But
< spk_0 - 00:19:29.7130000 >
Ashley, that got so many people buzzing this week when, uh, the lieutenant governor said this specifically about the, the Texas House. I mean, Democrats would have to flip 14 seats there. Uh, it, it, it's never impossible, but that's a tough ask. Uh, Is he also looking though at what we've seen in these off-year elections and in these special elections that have gone on all across the country, and we've seen this theme of Democrats overperforming in a lot of those.
< spk_3 - 00:19:55.5000000 >
Well, but I think there's a couple of things. First, it's a very tall order, right, for Democrats to be able to flip the House of Representatives in Texas and you gotta remember the governor and the lieutenant governor are also on the ballot right this election season. And so let's not forget that he's speaking at a conference largely attended by conservatives, Republicans, and folks need. Fundraising, right? You gotta have money. If you're painting a hunky dory picture of everything is good and we're gonna win, then there's no real need for me to donate, right?
< spk_3 - 00:20:25.7500000 >
So don't forget about money. I think money plays a big role in all this too.
< spk_0 - 00:20:29.7500000 >
It can certainly spike turnout too because nothing drives people to the polls like fear does. Uh, but, uh, let's talk about the GOP still in control, obviously. In Austin and talking about wanting to get that money, those fines from Democrats for breaking quorum and leaving the state during that controversial redistricting last year. Where does this go from here?
< spk_5 - 00:20:50.1090000 >
Well, I think it goes to court. Some of the Democrats say they'll pay up, some say sue me. I think that that's going to be the answer.
< spk_0 - 00:20:55.9490000 >
OK, y'all think that as well, Ashley, this heads to court.
< spk_3 - 00:21:01.5990000 >
Yeah, it, it definitely does. I think, you know, obviously there are some routes that Republicans can take to really stick it to the Democrats, particularly if they start coming after their budgets, start going after their staff members. I think that that would sort of force the hand a little more, but I think you also have some who say no, you know, where is this money even going? What is this money even. For where, what will it eventually be spent on? We're not gonna pay it. And what are you gonna do? Uh, kick us out of office, you can't.
< spk_3 - 00:21:28.5450000 >
So I mean, I think it certainly, certainly could end up
< spk_0 - 00:21:31.8950000 >
in court. It's gonna be one more sideshow to watch in the coming year. Uh, all of you, thanks so much, uh, for being with us here today and thank you for watching this week. That is, uh, Inside Texas Politics. See you again next Sunday.