Agencies
Screwworm Response Sets Up $29.4M Budget Ask as Lawmakers Question Feral Hog Spending
A $29.4 million request to staff a permanent defense against screwworm and fever ticks now tops the Texas Animal Health Commission's budget wish list.
Latest in Interim Hearings
Government Transparency
Austin Mayor Defends Outside Contracts as Lawmakers Weigh Statewide Disclosure of City Grants
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson told a House committee Sept. 30 that the city spends about $100 million a year on outside consultants and nonprofits and is auditing it.
Agencies
Texas Should Start Its Own Science Foundation, a University President Tells House Members
Washington is pulling back from basic science, and a Texas university president told House members Aug. 18 that the state should be prepared to take the field.
Interim Hearings
A Former Aide Says $1.3 Million Was Raised for Fire Victims and $48,000 Reached Them
A woman who once worked in Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's office walked into a Texas House hearing Aug. 18 with a dollar figure for the state's disaster relief fund and asked members why so little of it reached ranchers.
Government Transparency
House Oversight Panel to Examine School Foundations, Public Information Act and Open Meetings Law
The Texas House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight will gavel in at 10 a.m. Aug. 26 to take invited and public testimony on three interim charges: the finances of education foundations tied to public school districts, the reach of the Texas Public Information Act, and whether local governments may hold open meetings outside their own boundaries.
Economy
House Trade and Workforce Panel to Weigh Child-Care Access, Supply Chains and Right-to-Repair Rollout
The Texas House Committee on Trade, Workforce & Economic Development will gavel in at 10 a.m. Aug. 26 to hear invited testimony only on five interim charges, running from the state's fractured child-care system to the resilience of Texas supply chains.
Agencies
Senate Veterans Panel to Review Claims-Fraud Strike Force, Transition Support and Benefits Database
The Texas Senate Select Committee on Veteran Affairs will gavel in at 9 a.m. Aug. 26 to take invited and public testimony on three interim charges: how well the state protects veterans from unaccredited benefits-claims operators, how Texas supports service members leaving the military, and how two 2025 laws are being carried out.
Interim Hearings
Senate Transportation Panel to Weigh Rail-Crossing Money, Driverless Cars and CDL Oversight
The Texas Senate Committee on Transportation will gavel in at 9 a.m. Aug. 25 to take invited and public testimony on three interim charges: how the Texas Department of Transportation is spending a fast-growing pot of rail grade-separation money, how the state's driverless-vehicle law is being carried out, and whether Texas is issuing commercial driver licenses carefully enough.
Interim Hearings
House County Government Panel to Weigh Sheriff Staffing, Medical Examiner Expansion
The Texas House Permanent Standing Subcommittee on County and Regional Government will gavel in at 9 a.m. Aug. 25 to take invited and public testimony on two interim charges: whether Texas counties can recruit, train and keep law enforcement officers, and whether more counties should be required to run a medical examiner's office.
Education
Community Colleges Beat the State’s Targets, Then Watched the Money Get Prorated
Texas community colleges hit the performance targets lawmakers set for them, and the state paid out less than the formula promised.
Agencies
A House Member Asked TxDMV’s Director to Redesign the Agency from a Blank Whiteboard
Rep. Pat Curry spent much of the House Transportation Committee's Aug. 17 interim hearing asking a question that no state agency wants asked out loud: why does the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles exist?
Interim Hearings
House Natural Resources Panel to Take Water Planning to the Valley, Weigh New-Supply Fund
The Texas House Committee on Natural Resources will gavel in at 10 a.m. Aug. 24 at Weslaco City Hall to hear invited testimony on the state and regional water planning process, the project types eligible for the New Water Supply for Texas Fund, oversight of the Texas Water Development Board and implementation of a 2025 law on jointly operated water and sewer utilities.
Economy
House Ag Committee to Review Farm-Loan Overhaul, Weigh Future of Texas Agriculture
The Texas House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock will gavel in at 11 a.m. Aug. 18 to take invited and public testimony on three interim charges: implementation of last year's overhaul of the state's farm-lending authority, the long-term resiliency of Texas agriculture, and oversight of the 14 state agencies under the panel's jurisdiction.
Border
‘A threat that’s operating in plain sight’: DPS tells senators cartel fuel trafficking may now out-earn drug smuggling
Cartel fuel trafficking generates an estimated $12 billion to $21 billion a year — and some federal investigators now believe it has passed narcotics as the cartels' top revenue stream, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety told the Senate Select Committee on Homeland and Border Security Thursday.