Government and Politics

Harris County was awarded $54 million for the solar program in 2024. That money was rescinded in August last year when the county received a termination letter from the EPA that claimed to end the initiative.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission proposed cuts to more than 20 client services programs. Dozens of Texas advocates testified at a legislative budget board hearing Thursday to ask state lawmakers to protect those programs.

It's not known how many applications have been unprocessed. Counties will receive a backlogged surge less than two weeks before the Oct. 5 deadline to register for the Nov. 3 election.

Fourteen cities and counties have dropped Flock contracts, and Laredo will ask voters to weigh in during a referendum in May.

Chancellor Brandon Creighton and Cody Campbell, who chairs Tech's Board of Regents, are identified by their official university titles on the invitation to the Sept. 29 fundraiser. Lubbock County Democrats are questioning whether their public positions — or university resources — were used to promote the event.

The Lubbock County Elections Office received a backlog of more than 7,500 voter registrations due to a technical error with the Department of Public Safety's online registration portal. Lubbock County’s new Elections Administrator, Troy Havard, assures voters the backlog will not delay or affect anyone’s ability to vote in the November general election when early voting begins on Oct. 19.

Lawmakers recently learned of the slow progress made by the companies, which have four months to come under compliance with the law prompted by the 2024 Panhandle wildfires.

Federal District Judge Robert Pitman ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to immediately submit a plan for providing air conditioning.

The move is the latest in a series of escalating efforts by the governor to slow data center development in Texas ahead of November’s election.

Beginning in December, new federal restrictions will make many hemp products illegal. Businesses in the industry are getting ready to close down most or all of their operations, while advocates hope there's still time to change course before the ban begins.