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Texas Must Know, Austin, TX (2026)

06/12/2025

Lawmakers passed bills this session to boost the state power grid but failed to limit renewables

The Texas Legislature only partially got what it wanted from its plans to help the state meet its growing energy demands.

Lawmakers passed bills that give the state more control over the electricity that flows through Texas, fund power generation projects and create an office to advance the state’s nuclear energy interests.

But experts said the 140-day session was also defined by the bills that didn’t survive — namely, all legislation meant to hamstring renewable energy.

“I think (the legislative session) ended in a decent place, particularly considering how it might have gone,“ said Doug Lewin, author of the Texas Power and Energy Newsletter. “I think the proposals that would have been most damaging to the Texas economy, consumers, and reliability … did not make it through.”

Texas faces a soaring demand for energy, driven predominantly by data centers and new petrochemical facilities. The expected spike in demand will require the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s main grid manager, to deliver nearly double the amount of electricity in six years.

Throughout the session, lawmakers stressed that their intent was to craft legislation that will help ERCOT keep the lights on for everyday ratepayers during emergencies or demand spikes.

More oversight over energy market

Senate Bill 6, by state Senator Phil King, R-Weatherford, gives ERCOT the authority to shut off power to facilities that use at least 75 megawatts of electricity, such as industrial factories and data centers, during an emergency, which the bill defines as extreme weather events that drive up demand. ERCOT must first deploy every emergency response at its disposal, issue a 24-hour warning and set the rules under which this would occur.

The goal is to have as much electricity available to the grid as possible when demand spikes.

“I think that's a manageable risk for anybody who really wants to make sure their power is dependable and reliable,” said Pat Wood, chief executive officer of Hunt Energy Network and former chair of the Public Utility Commission. “That's a pretty good balancing point, because nobody's rights are ever absolute in a system like this, where we're all interconnected with each other.”

Under the bill, very large energy users hoping to connect to the state grid must disclose whether they have similar requests for other projects in Texas, and if the connection is approved, they must pay $100,000 for studies to determine the cost of the infrastructure necessary for the connection. The goal is to give ERCOT a clearer picture of future demand by knowing which projects companies are serious about building.
Funding new power

Legislators also approved more money to encourage construction of power infrastructure including natural gas plants, backup generators and nuclear power.

The Texas Energy Fund, a low-interest loan program aimed at encouraging companies to build more power infrastructure, will receive an additional $5 billion on top of the $5 billion lawmakers approved in 2023. Of that amount, $1.8 billion can be used for strengthening existing backup generators. Renewable energy companies don’t qualify for the program.

Lewin said this money “might be the most impactful thing, honestly, because that puts us on the leading edge of all the states” in promoting smaller energy projects like small power plants and backup generation.

Nuclear power will also get a boost. As part of the state’s budget, a fund dedicated to nuclear power will receive $350 million. The Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office, also established by the Legislature, will administer the money. It will be up to Gov. Greg Abbott to determine the composition of the office.

Anti-renewable bills die

Solar, wind and battery storage account for most of the new energy generation in Texas, according to ERCOT, and Texas is a national leader in renewable energy — a trend lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to reverse.

The most sweeping effort was Senate Bill 819 by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, which would have imposed new rules and fees on renewable projects — such as requiring county governments within 25 miles of a new renewable project to hold local hearings on each project before the state Public Utility Commission could consider a permit application.

The bill also would have required renewable projects be located at least 100 feet from a property line and 200 feet from any habitable structure.

Senate Bill 388 by King would have required that at least half of the state grid’s supply come from so-called dispatchable power, or energy that can be turned on and off at will. That excludes wind and solar, which can only produce energy when the wind blows or the sun shines, and the bill would have imposed fees on renewable companies to help the state reach that goal.

Another bill, sponsored by state Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, would have required renewable energy facilities to have backup natural gas generation, a proposal that was broadly opposed by natural gas trade and renewable energy groups.

“Cooler heads prevailed in blocking some of the most extreme anti-energy proposals, as most legislators recognize that Texas can’t afford to forfeit any source of affordable, predictable power when every megawatt is needed to meet growing demand,” said Judd Messer, the Texas vice president of Advanced Power Alliance, a trade group.

He added the bills posed a threat “to the deeply held Texas principles of free markets, limited government, and private property rights.”

Disclosure: Advanced Power Alliance has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

06/12/2025

Texas’ GOP congressional delegation meets to discuss redrawing districts ahead of midterms

WASHINGTON — Republicans from Texas’ congressional delegation met at the U.S. Capitol Monday night to discuss a proposal to redraw the lines of their House districts, GOP Rep. Pete Sessions said.

Emerging from a meeting attended by most of the 25-member GOP delegation, Sessions said there was “a lot we don’t know,” including whether Gov. Greg Abbott would be in favor of the idea. Abbott has the lone authority to call members of the Texas Legislature back to Austin for a special session, which would be required to carry out the rare and extraordinary move of reshaping the state’s political boundaries in the middle of the decade, years before the next census in 2030.

Sessions, a Waco Republican, told reporters the delegation has scheduled another meeting to discuss the issue further and “share data,” but declined to give further details beyond confirming that President Donald Trump would not be attending.

The meeting came shortly after The New York Times first reported that Trump’s political team has been urging Texas political leaders to examine how they could redraw some of the state’s 38 U.S. House districts to help preserve the GOP’s narrow majority in the lower chamber in the 2026 midterms.

Sessions emphasized that Republicans, in weighing whether to push for a mid-decade redistricting battle, should consider how it would impact “the entire delegation.”

“We want to make sure all of our members, even those that are brand new, have an opportunity to see this for what it is,” Sessions said, declining to say whether he was concerned specifically about stretching Republican districts too thin by moving voters around to maximize the GOP’s advantage.

Other Republicans exiting the meeting — including Reps. Chip Roy, Michael McCaul, Beth Van Duyne and Dan Crenshaw — did not directly answer any questions about the meeting.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disclosure: The New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O’Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer.

06/12/2025

What to know about rare brain-eating amoeba after Texas woman dies

A Texas woman has died from a rare brain-eating amoeba after using a sinus rinse with contaminated water, according to a case report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 71-year-old woman -- who was previously healthy -- used tap water at a campground in a nasal irrigation device, and health officials believe this is how she contracted the amoeba, the report states.

She developed a brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) and died eight days after symptoms began, according to the report.

"This is an infection that can happen to anyone," Dr. Stephanie Widmer, a board-certified medical toxicologist and emergency medicine physician in New York, told ABC News. "You don't necessarily have to have underlying medical conditions or other risk factors that make you vulnerable."

Other details about the patient including name, race/ethnicity or town of residence were not provided in the report.

Naegleria fowleri (N. fowleri) is an amoeba, which is an organism so small it can only be seen with a microscope.

It lives in soil and freshwater ponds, lakes, rivers and hot springs, according to the CDC. It is rarely found in swimming pools, splash pads and tap water.

Most infections with N. fowleri occur when people swim in contaminated water and submerge their heads, causing the amoeba to enter the nose.

People cannot be infected if they swallow contaminated water, and they cannot spread the amoeba to others, the federal health agency said.

N. fowleri is known as a "brain-eating amoeba" because it can infect the brain, causing a disease known as PAM, according to the CDC.

PAM also can occur when people use contaminated tap water to "cleanse their noses during religious practices" or "irrigate their sinuses," the latter of which occurred with the Texas woman in the CDC case report.

Symptoms typically begin five days after exposure but can occur anywhere from one to 12 days after infection, according to the CDC.

Early symptoms resemble those of bacterial meningitis and can include headache, nausea, vomiting and fever. PAM can progress to more severe symptoms such as neck stiffness, seizures, hallucinations, altered mental state and coma.

"Some of the symptoms, especially the early symptoms -- fever, headache, generally not feeling well -- look like a lot of other different infections," Widmer said. "It can look like the flu, so it may be difficult to track down without that history of exposure to lake water or water that hasn't been properly filtered."PAM is almost always fatal, occurring in 97% of cases and, on average, five days after symptoms begin.

If PAM is caught early enough, it can be treated with a combination of drugs including antifungal medications, and sometimes antibiotics, the CDC said.

"There are some medications that can be given in the hospital, but there is really no medication that is considered 100% effective or even very effective at all," Widmer said. "If you suspect you may have been exposed to an amoeba such as this ... you want to get to medical treatment as soon as possible."

Fewer than 10 people in the U.S. every year develop PAM, according to the CDC. Between 1962 and 2023, there have been 164 reported cases of PAM in the U.S. with just four survivors, the federal health agency said.

Widmer said people can lower their risk by not swimming in untreated lake water and not irrigating the nose with water that hasn't been sterilized or distilled water. She said chlorinated water in pools is likely safe as is swimming in oceans.

06/12/2025

Texas legalizes shooting invasive sheep from a helicopter

Barbary sheep are massive beasts with large crescent horns and a mane that drapes from the bottom of their neck to their stomachs.

Also known as aoudads, the animals are native to the mountains of northern Africa. In the 1950s, they were brought to West Texas. Seventy years later, farmers and ranchers say the sheep is an invasive species, munching up all the vegetation and competing for resources with native Texas grazers, like bighorn sheep or mule deer.

Texas lawmakers this year added aoudads to the very short list of animals hunters are allowed to shoot from helicopters for land management. Prior to this legislation, only two animals were on that list: hogs and coyotes.

“Everything has to be kept in checks and balances,” said West Texas rancher Warren Cude. “And right now, the aoudad are very similar to the feral hogs.”

The large sheep’s population has spread from Fort Stockton to the mountains of El Paso and over the plains, Cude said. Their growing numbers have made it difficult for ranchers to manage their properties effectively.

The sheep are also not known to be “fence jumpers.” In actuality, they trample fences, which can cause thousands of dollars of damage.

“It's just devastating to your management practices,” Cude said.

When the aoudad move in, they graze the area until it's deprived of all the vegetation other animals need. Nicolas Havlik, a regional resource coordinator for the state’s parks and wildlife department, said he has seen grazing lands, which have already been hit by drought for years, overgrazed by the aoudad, leaving the native wildlife to compete for resources.

Jason Sabo is a part-time resident of Fort Davis, in Jeff Davis County, which has been hit the hardest by the aoudad. He typically spends the legislative session petitioning lawmakers on the behalf of child care providers, but this year saw the need to let them know about aoudad.

He has visited Fort Davis for years, and recalls the moment when he realized the aoudad were an issue.

“I'm looking at this hillside that's covered in aoudad, and they're majestic. They're really cool creatures,” Sabo said. “But off to the side are two mule deer who are native. And the aoudad are physically displacing them.”

His property is in Limpia Crossing, which is surrounded by conservation easements that people, for decades, have spent millions of dollars to protect.

The aoudad are also able to spread diseases to other animals. Without a change, all of that conservation work is at risk.

“There aren’t really any known predators to them in West Texas,” Cude said. “A coyote is not going to take one down. The lion could take one down, but it’s going to be a fight. So they're breeding faster than you can manage them with a straight hunt.”

A U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that when done correctly, hunting hogs from helicopters has been successful at reducing populations at least by 31%. This study clarifies that hunting in this manner by professionals is key, however.

Hunting aoudad by helicopter has always been legal. However,this change will turn it into a niche hunt few can afford, said Michael McKinny, owner of the West Texas Hunt Organization, a professional hunting outfitter in the West Texas and Big Bend regions.

The cost of hunting aoudad has risen significantly since McKinny began outfitting those hunts 17 years ago, he said. Where he used to offer those hunts for $1,800, hunters are now looking at several thousand dollars, especially when the cost to provide those hunts has risen so dramatically.

“By the time you pay for a pilot, fuel, and gas for the helicopter service to go up, you’re not going to shoot babies, young rams or ewes,” McKinny said. “You’re up there for the trophy.”

Hunters will now be able to recover the aoudad’s bodies, McKinny said. They weren’t allowed to before, he said. McKinny said he doesn’t believe that it’s possible to eradicate all the aoudad, as the population is so large and spans into Mexico and New Mexico as well. But if it were to happen, hunting operations like his would lose 50-60% of their business.

Havlik believes that permitting hunting by helicopter for sport can help, but truly reducing the impact of aoudad will take a lot more than just public hunting access, he said.

Cude is optimistic about the impact of hunting aoudad by helicopter, at least for his fellow ranchers. It costs about $1,000 per hour to hire a company to hunt the aoudad by helicopter.

“If they can get some help by eliminating some of the aoudad, and not have it come out of their pockets, then that's a win-win,” Cude said.

The law goes into effect Sept. 1.

06/12/2025

A $20 billion effort to avoid calamity: Here’s what Texas lawmakers did to save the state’s water supply

Texas lawmakers took steps big and small to help save the state’s water supply.

A big one: investing $20 billion in water projects over the next two decades. A small one: banning homeowners’ associations from punishing residents who don’t have bright green lawns.

The state’s water supply is in peril. Legislators saw this year as their last chance to invest before the state faces calamity. Rapid population growth, aging infrastructure and extreme climate events like drought and flood have put pressure on the state’s lakes and rivers. A Texas Tribune analysis found that cities and towns could be on a path toward a severe water shortage by 2030 if there is recurring, record-breaking drought conditions across the state, and if water entities and state leaders fail to put in place key strategies to secure water supplies.

“One of the great things about the legislative session around water is it is more of a bipartisan issue,” said Jennifer Walker, director for the Texas Coast and Water program with the National Wildlife Federation. “And there's a great community of folks working together to find solutions.”

Here’s a look at some of the actions lawmakers took on water.

Wins for local water supply
A significant victory was House Bill 29 by Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville, which targets water loss in large utilities with over 150,000 service connections. The bill requires regular water loss audits, external validation of the data, and the development of mitigation plans. Utilities that fail to comply face administrative fees.

“We need to make sure that we are using the water supplies that we already have as efficiently as possible,” Walker said.

A recent report by the National Wildlife Federation found that 516 water utilities plan to save over 270,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2034 — enough water to meet the annual water needs of 1.7 million Texans — through conservation strategies like leak detection and minimizing water loss.
Another bill, House Bill 517 by Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, R-Round Rock, prohibits homeowners’ associations from penalizing residents for having brown or dormant lawns when water use is restricted. This bill would ensure that homeowner associations participate in water conservation measures. It was signed by the governor and goes into effect Sept. 1.

One bill by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa seeks to address flood mitigation and drought concerns. Senate Bill 1967 expands what kinds of projects that can be awarded money from the flood infrastructure fund. Starting Sept. 1, money will be eligible for projects that construct multi-purpose flood mitigation systems and drainage infrastructure systems to use flood, storm and agricultural runoff water as an additional source of water supply once it’s treated.

This bill will be especially helpful in South Texas, where there is ongoing drought and a rapidly growing population. The Delta Region Water Management Project, which Chuy discussed during legislative hearings, aims to address its water problems by capturing and treating water.

Senate Bill 1253 by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, requires local subdivisions to provide credits for water and wastewater impact fees, which are one-time charges to a company developing in an area. The fees will be waived for new developments that incorporate conservation and reuse strategies. The goal, Walker said, is to encourage smarter growth that puts less of a strain on existing water infrastructure. This bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Protection for groundwater
Lawmakers approved $7.5 million to support groundwater conservation districts in collecting better data and conducting scientific research. Groundwater — water that is trapped between rock formations under ground — makes up more than half of Texas’ overall water supply. The state water plan projects a decline by 32% by 2070, which will make water even more scarce for communities that depend on groundwater.

The Texas Water Development Board, the state agency that oversees Texas’ water supply and funding, will administer grants to local groundwater districts — particularly those with limited budgets — to carry out projects focused on groundwater modeling, data collection, and science-based planning. Vanessa Puig-Williams, senior director of climate resilient water systems at Environmental Defense Fund, said Texas lacks localized data that helps groundwater districts understand how to manage and plan.

“This kind of information would allow them to make better permitting decisions, better planning decisions as part of the desired future condition process, and helps to improve our regional water planning process,” Puig-Williams said.

She added that 68% of Texas’ groundwater conservation districts operate on annual budgets under $500,000 and have struggled to fund robust scientific research.

In a related move, the Legislature also included a provision in the new infrastructure package that restricts public funds from being used to export fresh groundwater from rural areas — aimed at protecting local aquifers and the communities that depend on them.

More regulation to keep water sources clean
Lawmakers also took strides toward ensuring the quality of Texas’ water is protected. House Bill 3333 by state Rep. Eddie Morales prohibits the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality from issuing new wastewater discharge permits into The Devils River in Val Verde County. The river contributes 30% to Lake Amistad, which supplies water to the Rio Grande River.

Senate Bill 1302, by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, brings more changes for the state’s environmental agency. Currently, if a facility or entity has its permit to dispose of wastewater suspended due to violations, they can later reapply through the system and get an automated approval. Kolkhorst called it a loophole. Beginning Sept. 1, Texas law will prohibit these facilities from obtaining a discharge permit until it is actively authorized by the TCEQ executive director.

The bill also prohibits the executive director from using an automatic process to authorize the use of a general permit. Kolkhorst referenced a sand mine discharging waste into the water at Cook’s Conservatory and how the permit was denied. However, it was later secured through the same process.

Research bills fail to make progress
Even as lawmakers showed interest in solutions for the water crisis, several bills researching different methods died in the legislative process.

One is House Bill 1501 by state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington. The bill would have instructed the Texas State University Meadows Center for Water and the Environment to study the feasibility of seawater desalination processes.

House Bill 3728 by Rep. Penny Morales Shaw, D-Houston, which would have required salinity studies and standards to protect coastal bays and estuaries from seawater desalination, failed to pass. Walker said it highlighted growing concerns about the environmental impacts of desalination.

“It’s a delicate balance,” Walker said. “If we screw it up, we risk having problems with the habitat for the plants and animals that are there — and it may be difficult or expensive or impossible to fix. We need to go in with our eyes wide open and make good choices so we can have water for our communities without damaging our coastal ecosystems.”

Disclosure: Environmental Defense Fund has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

Big news: 20 more speakers join the TribFest lineup! New additions include Margaret Spellings, former U.S. secretary of education and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center; Michael Curry, former presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church; Beto O’Rourke, former U.S. Representative, D-El Paso; Joe Lonsdale, entrepreneur, founder and managing partner at 8VC; and Katie Phang, journalist and trial lawyer.

Get tickets.

TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.

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