Below you'll find our latest news articles. To view specific categories, please select a category to the right.
March 12, 2021|
Legislative News
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) announced seven priority bills on Monday in response to the widespread power outages last month. The proposals dovetail with Gov. Greg Abbott’s previously issued emergency items regarding reform of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and winterization of the state’s power grid.
March 12, 2021|
Legislative News
On March 4, the House Elections Committee held an organizational hearing featuring invited testimony from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Secretary of State’s (SOS) Elections Division and the Office of the Attorney General.
March 12, 2021|
Legislative News
Texas House committees were full steam ahead this week as several committees met to hear public testimony on filed legislation. The House committees on Criminal Jurisprudence and Juvenile Justice and Family Issues both started off the week by hearing legislation on Monday.
March 12, 2021|
Legislative News
Signaling that the Senate Finance Committee is ready to begin its mark up of Senate Bill 1, the Legislative Budget Board posted the initial decision documents for the committee.
March 12, 2021|
Legislative News
TAC Legislative Services staff has highlighted some recently filed bills of interest to county officials.
March 12, 2021|
Legislative News
A new, 7:30 start time didn't stop more than 120 participants from joining this week's virtual Tuesday Morning Breakfast for a quick look at what's brewing at the Capitol.
March 12, 2021|
Legislative News
This week, the activities of the 87th Texas Legislature continued with committee hearings and both chambers convening for a short period. Gov. Greg Abbott’s COVID-19 order took effect midweek removing many of the state-wide restrictions put in place during the pandemic, though counties may enforce more restrictions depending on their community’s hospitalization rates.
March 05, 2021|
Legislative News
Both Texas legislative chambers spent part of the week referring bills to committees. Now that many committees, though not all, have completed their organizational meetings, the session’s pace should pick up as they begin hearing bills.
March 05, 2021|
Legislative News
Broadband continues to be a leadership priority, as pointed out by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and state Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Minneola) at the Counties at the Capitol Day program last month. Since the interviews, two bills filed are presumed to be the preferred vehicles to address broadband development.
March 05, 2021|
Legislative News
The Texas House kicked off its organizational hearings this week, with committees holding meetings to lay the groundwork for upcoming substantive meetings on legislation. Committee chairs gaveled in, took care of housekeeping items, laid out committee rules and invited witnesses to testify to give background on issues that will likely come before the committees this session.
March 05, 2021|
Legislative News
TAC Legislative Services staff has highlighted some recently filed bills of interest to county officials.
March 05, 2021|
Legislative News
Late Wednesday evening, the U.S. House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 by a vote of 220-212. The act bans neck restraints and chokeholds and no-knock warrants in drug cases. It also eliminates qualified immunity for federal, state and county law enforcement officers.
March 05, 2021|
Legislative News
TAC's virtual Tuesday Morning Breakfasts resumed this week, picking up where they left off after February's winter storm and TAC's Counties at the Capitol Legislative Day. With the Legislature showing signs to hitting an accelerated pace after a sluggish start, TAC has decided to push the start of our weekly breakfast meetings up a half hour to 7:30 a.m. starting March 9.
March 05, 2021|
Legislative News
The activities of the 87th Texas Legislature continued this week with committee hearings and both chambers convening for a short period. Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated Texas Independence Day by making an announcement about COVID-19 safety protocols. Here are a few news articles on the week’s happenings.
February 26, 2021|
Legislative News
Delays caused by the Feb. 13-17 winter storm, unofficially known as Winter Storm Uri, continue in Austin. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, although the Appropriations Subcommittees will meet Monday through Thursday during the first week of the month.
February 26, 2021|
Legislative News
Following the winter storm's disruption, the Senate Finance Committee continued its hearings on SB 1, and the House Appropriations Committee began its work, holding its first hearings. Highlights of this week's hearings of relevance to counties are summarized below by committee.
February 26, 2021|
Legislative News
TAC Legislative Services staff has highlighted some recently filed bills of interest to county officials.
February 26, 2021|
Legislative News
An interview with Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and remarks by state Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) highlighted this year's Counties at the Capitol Legislative Day on Tuesday, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Phelan and Hughes discussed several top issues of interest to counties, including broadband internet access, which each pointed to as a legislative priority.
February 26, 2021|
Legislative News
On Feb. 19, the White House approved a major disaster declaration for 77 counties that were hardest hit by the severe winter storms beginning on Feb. 11. Since then, President Joe Biden added 49 additional counties to the disaster declaration, bringing the total to 126 at the time of publication.
February 26, 2021|
Legislative News
TAC has highlighted recent attorney general opinions and requests for opinions of interest to counties.
February 26, 2021|
Legislative News
After last week’s historic winter weather, the activities of the 87th Texas Legislature picked up with committee hearings and both chambers convening for a short period. Here are a few news articles on the week’s happenings.
February 19, 2021|
Legislative News
COVID-19, delays with the 2020 Census and the election of a new speaker made for a slower than normal start to the session. Now inclement weather, record breaking in some parts of the state, is forcing the Legislature to slow down even more than they already had – rolling blackouts and icy roads make any attempts to meet in Austin challenging and make even virtual meetings difficult.
February 19, 2021|
Legislative News
TAC Legislative Services staff has highlighted some recently filed bills of interest to county officials.
February 19, 2021|
Legislative News
An interview with Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) and remarks by Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), chairman of the Senate State Affairs Committee, headline this year's Counties at the Capitol Day. Events begin Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 8:30 a.m.
February 19, 2021|
Legislative News
Plunging temperatures, ice and snow across Texas led to swaths of electricity outages throughout the state. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, approximately 4.4 million Texas customers were without power as the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) struggled to keep up with the extreme levels of demand.
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