Eye on Politics: School safety discussions, push to lower Texas' sales tax
In this week's episode of Eye on Politics (original air date: March 3), political reporter Jack Fink breaks down a proposal to lower the state sales tax, the results of a school safety audit and what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' visit to Texas says about his presidential ambitions.
Every week, CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink breaks down some of the biggest political stories grabbing headlines in North Texas and beyond. Watch the latest episode of Eye on Politics in the video player above and stream new episodes live every Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. on CBS News Texas.
Student safety discussions at the Texas Capitol
At the Texas Capitol Tuesday, top school safety officials told lawmakers about the results of the first random intruder detection audits conducted at schools across the state.
Between September and December, inspectors conducted audits at 2,800 campuses across Texas.
At 95% of them, inspectors could not gain unauthorized access into the school. But at 5%, or 140 schools, inspectors were able to get into the school.
Kathy Martinez Prather, Director of the Texas School Safety Center, wouldn't reveal which schools, but she did say overall, the findings were good.
Martinez Prather said 72% of the campuses did not need any corrective action, while 28% of the campuses did need some sort of corrective action - but didn't offer specifics.
Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas School Safety Center to conduct the intruder detection audits following the deadly mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.
A gunman shot and killed 19 students and two teachers after being able to walk into a rear door that was unlocked.
Learn more about the results from the safety audits by watching the video below.
Efforts to crack down on illegal voting
A new bill to stiffen penalties for illegal voting in Texas has been approved by a Senate committee and sent to the full Senate.
The State Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill 2 by a 7-3 vote Monday afternoon. The legislation is one of the top priorities of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
Under SB 2, Texas would increase the penalty for illegal voting from a Class A misdemeanor back to a second-degree felony, the way it was before it was changed two years ago.
The author of the bill, Commitee Chair Senator Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, said during a hearing at the Capitol the legislation would also remove the requirement that a person knows that it's a crime for them to vote.
"Ignorance of the law is not a defense," he said. "On SB 2, if you are a felon and you know you are a felon, you don't also have to know it's illegal for felons to vote."
Hughes' proposal comes in response to the high-profile case surrounding Crystal Mason of Tarrant County. Last year, the state's highest criminal court, the Criminal Court of Appeals, ruled that a lower appeals court was wrong after failing to require proof that Mason actually knew it was a crime for her to vote while she was on supervised release after serving time in federal prison for tax fraud.
Learn more about SB 2 and the response to the bill by watching the story in the video player below.
Should the state lower the sales tax?
A new bill would cut the state's portion of the sales tax from 6.25% to 5.75% – which could save you money on a variety of goods, including big ticket items.
The legislation comes as state lawmakers consider how to give Texans money back now that the budget surplus has reached a record – nearly $33 billion.
Democratic State Senator Royce West of Dallas authored the sales tax cut bill.
"This will be the session that Texans will see tax relief," he said. "And we want to make certain from my perspective that we give the broadest swath of Texans tax relief."
Conservative Republican State Senator Bob Hall, whose district includes Rockwall and parts of eastern Dallas County likes the measure and has signed on as its co-author:
"When we have such a surplus, I think it's the ideal time to say we can dial back on some of our revenue streams and one of them that affects all Texans is the sales tax. I can't imagine the arguments against doing it."
Both Senators said they also still support the idea of lowering property taxes for homeowners and small to medium sized businesses.
If approved by lawmakers and signed by Governor Greg Abbott, it would take effect Oct. 1.
Learn more about the legislation by watching the video below.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Texas
The calendar may say 2023, but there's a lot of buzz about 2024 and the race for the White House.
Many Republicans are excited about the possibility of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis running for president against former President Donald Trump, former President Donald Trump, former UN Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and perhaps others.
DeSantis is visiting Texas this weekend to address the Dallas County and Harris County Republican Parties.
While DeSantis hasn't declared he's running for president, SMU Political Science Professor Matthew Wilson called his visit a step into the 2024 race for the White House.
"This certainly signals that he has national ambitions," he said.
For a full preview of DeSantis' visit, watch the video below.