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Texas TalksAuthor: Texas Talks
Texas Talks with Brad Swail, brought to you by the Texas Dispatch, is a weekly podcast that features wide-ranging discussions with the people, organizations, and businesses that shape public policy in Texas. Texas Talks aims to provide listeners with a deeper understanding of the policy debates and reasons and insight into the personalities that shape public policy in Texas. Language: en Genres: Government, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Ep. 133 - Should Texas Build a Statewide Prosecutor for One County? | Rep. Carl Tepper
Episode 148
Thursday, 8 October, 2026
Texas State Representative Carl Tepper joins Brad Swail on Texas Talks to discuss some of the major issues being examined by the House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight.Tepper discusses the committee’s examination of district attorneys and criminal prosecution, including the scrutiny surrounding the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and possible approaches lawmakers could consider during the 90th Texas Legislature.The conversation then turns west to a highly unusual question: Could counties currently in New Mexico eventually become part of Texas? Tepper discusses interest from communities along the Texas-New Mexico border, the economic and cultural ties between those counties and West Texas, and what would have to happen for a boundary change to move forward.Finally, Tepper and Brad discuss oversight of taxpayer-funded contracts, nonprofits and local government programs, including questions surrounding homelessness spending in Austin and how governments should respond when publicly funded programs fail to meet their goals.00:00 — Introducing Rep. Carl Tepper01:08 — Texas' Governmental Oversight Hearings02:53 — Crime & Repeat Offenders04:39 — Scrutiny of District Attorneys05:12 — What Could the Legislature Do?07:22 — Could Texas Expand Into New Mexico?08:32 — Why New Mexico Counties Are Looking at Texas11:05 — How a Texas-New Mexico Boundary Change Could Work11:57 — Rural & Frontier Texas14:38 — Safeguarding Taxpayer Funds15:09 — Austin's Homelessness Spending16:51 — Accountability for Government Contracts19:10 — Closing Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks Follow us on social mediaX: @Texas_DispatchInstagram: thetexasdispatchLinkedIn: The Texas DispatchTikTok: texas_talks_podcast Find more at The Texas DispatchYour source for state news, policy, and investigative journalism.https://thetexasdispatch.com
