Texas Talks

John Hryhorchuk is the Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Texas 2036, a non-partisan, data driven public policy think tank here in Austin, Texas. John previously worked as the Deputy Director of Budget and Policy for Governor Greg Abbott, and he joins us here today.

John discusses many issues facing Texas today including health care, mental health, education, water sustainability, and more.

This week's guest is Representative David Spiller of House District 68, which spans across 12 counties here in Texas. He serves on multiple committees, including as cochair of the Texas Energy Fund Advisory committee. He discusses border security, foreign ownership of land, water availability, and the electric grid.

Lern more:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069525410865

Chris Powers, founder and CEO of Fort Capital, a real estate investment firm having completed more than $2.1B in real estate transactions in Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. He is also the host of The Fort podcast, a show about entrepreneurship where each episode's mission is to up your game by hearing directly from men and women in the arena.

https://fort-companies.com/

https://x.com/fortworthchris

https://www.thefortpod.com/

Chris Baker is executive director of The Other One's Foundation, a homeless service provider focusing on shelter and workforce services. Since graduating from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 2007, Chris has worked many different jobs in the field of homeless services and activism, but also as a musician, writer, and even paralegal. He started The Other Ones Foundation in the summer of 2017 to bring his innovative ideas for addressing homelessness to life.

Lieutenant Game Warden Aaron Sims is a public information officer for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He joins the show to discuss hunting and boat safety, poaching, wildlife conservancy, and more.

Website:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/

Dax Gonzalez is the Governmental Relations Division Director at the Texas Association of School Boards. Dax joins the show to discuss TASB advocacy efforts including increasing local control, improved funding, school choice/vouchers, and more.

https://www.tasb.org/

Representative Cody Vasut represents House District 25, which comprises southern and western Brazoria County. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Business & Industry Committee and member of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committees.

Rep. Vasut discusses the need for additional transparency with campaign finance records, affordable housing, potential changes to the house parliamentarian and points of order, and more.

X: https://x.com/cvasut

Representative Mihaela Plesa of Texas House District 70, which includes parts of Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and Allen, is a first generation Romanian American. She discusses education, women's health and reproduction, THC and compassionate use, and more.

Website:

https://www.plesafortexas.com/

Senator Jose Menendez of Texas Senate District 26 in Bexar County, joins the show to discuss Interim Hearings in the Texas Legislature. The discussion includes a potential ban on Delta 8 and 9 products, social media and children, catching kids up in education, and more.

http://www.josemenendez.com/

https://x.com/Menendez4Texas

https://www.facebook.com/Menendez4Texas

John Wallace is a Houston native and attorney specializing in Municipal Utility Districts. John discusses what MUD's are, as well as PFCs (Public Facility Corporations) and how they are used, at the expense of MUDs, cities, counties, school districts, and all taxing entities, to create "affordable housing."

You can learn more about John's law practice at https://bwplegal.com/