Under The Dome Archives - Page 2 of 26

Latest in Under the Dome

Texas Windstorm Insurer Sends Four Recommendations to the Legislature, Including a Plan to Move Coastal Policies to Private Carriers

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association's board voted Oct. 8 to ask the Legislature for four changes in state law when lawmakers return in January 2027: a repeal of a special-judge requirement for lawsuits against the association, public money for storm-resistant construction, repairs to the 2025 law that rebuilt how it pays for a catastrophe, and a redesign of the program meant to move coastal policies to private insurers.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 15 · 6 min read

Agencies

New Texas Insurance Rules Give Newborns 60 Days of Coverage Starting Oct. 11

Babies born to Texans in state-regulated health plans will now be covered for their first 60 days, up from 31.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 12 · 2 min read

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.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 2 · 5 min read

Grid & Power

Senators Press for Competitive Bidding and Cost Controls as Transmission Price Tags Climb

Senators spent more than six hours Sept. 30 asking who should control the cost of Texas' transmission buildout, with witnesses urging competitive bidding, a lower guaranteed return for utilities and relief for ratepayers before the 765-kV Permian Basin lines are built.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 2 · 5 min read

Economy

Texas Oyster Farmers Ask Lawmakers for a Statewide Hatchery and a Tax Fix

Texas oyster farmers told a House panel Sept. 30 that their young industry cannot grow without a hatchery in the state, insurance it can afford and a sales tax break that has so far delivered pennies.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 2 · 5 min read

Health Care

“Quit Picking on Us”: Texas Hospitals Prepare to Defend Their Share of the Bill

Allen Harrison becomes chairman of the Texas Hospital Association's board on Jan. 1.

By Brad Swail · Oct 1 · 10 min read

Interim Hearings

House Panel Presses Travis County DA’s Office on Outside Influence After Garza Skips Hearing

Travis County District Attorney José Garza did not appear before a House committee Sept. 30 that spent more than seven hours examining whether donor-funded groups and consultants steer local prosecutors.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 1 · 5 min read

Interim Hearings

Analysis: The Question Was Never Whether Texas Cities Should Be Free. It Is What the State Owes the People Who Live in Them.

Two of the three charges before the House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight today share a structure.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 1 · 15 min read

Business

Ticketmaster Skips Senate Hearing as Attorney General’s Office Cites Jury Verdict and Seeks Tougher Bots Law

Live Nation Ticketmaster declined to testify at a Senate hearing on online ticket sales Sept. 30, and the state attorney general's office used the stage to cite a unanimous federal jury verdict against the company and to ask lawmakers for stronger laws against bots and deceptive resale practices.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 1 · 4 min read

Business

Texas Beach Volunteers Removed Nearly 111,000 Pounds of Trash This Year

Volunteers cleared nearly 111,000 pounds of trash from Texas beaches in this year's two coastwide Adopt-A-Beach cleanups, but the state's announcements do not say how much of it was bottles and cans, the litter a Texas advocacy group says a the right incentives and the economics could keep off the sand.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 1 · 2 min read

Education

Senate Education Committee to Review School Choice Rollout and Implementation of Four 2025 Laws

The Texas Senate Committee on Education will gavel in at 8 a.m. Oct. 7 in Room E1.028 of the Capitol Extension to take invited and public testimony on three interim charges from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: the rollout of school choice, how public schools handle ties to hostile foreign actors, and implementation of four 2025 laws, according to the official hearing notice.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 30 · 3 min read

Education

Senate Education Committee to Examine Four-Day School Weeks, Enrollment Decline and Teacher Pay

The Texas Senate Committee on Education will gavel in at 8 a.m. Oct. 6 in Room E1.028 of the Capitol Extension to take invited and public testimony on four interim charges from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: school calendars and instructional time, shrinking enrollment, the supply of school-turnaround talent and implementation of 2025 education laws, including teacher pay, according to the official hearing notice.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 29 · 3 min read

Interim Hearings

House Natural Resources Panel Heads to El Paso to Probe Rio Grande Compact, TCEQ Oversight

The Texas House Committee on Natural Resources will gavel in at 10 a.m. Mountain time Oct. 6 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in El Paso to hear invited and public testimony on the Rio Grande Compact and oversight of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, followed by invited-only testimony on new water supply strategies, according to the official hearing notice.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 29 · 4 min read

Agencies

Texas Is Picking Who Will Run Its Lottery Through 2038

Texas is choosing the company that will run its lottery for the next decade, and the decision will outlast the lottery's own legal authorization to exist.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 29 · 5 min read