CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
Rural counties trying to slow or even block data center construction are finding they have limited legal authority, the Texas Standard reported. Hill County, for example, rescinded a one-year moratorium on data center construction after being sued for $100 million by a company planning a large-scale data center project near Hillsboro.
RCM Hill argued the county lacked the legal authority to impose the temporary ban, which came after the company had already secured contracts for more than 800 acres at a cost of over $80 million.
“You’re not going to see anybody else trying a moratorium at this point because they’ve seen what happens when you do it,” said Robert Paterson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in land-use law. “You basically just get clubbed with a ridiculous amount of money.”
In Hood and Somervell counties, both southwest of Fort Worth, at least nine proposed data center projects are under consideration. Concerned residents are filling county commissioner meetings, saying the projects could raise electricity bills, strain water resources and harm tourism.
Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission to ensure new data centers reduce residential electric bills and proposed that new laws be passed during next year’s legislative session to further regulate the data centers.
Texas GOP pushes for closed primaries
Gov. Greg Abbott and other state GOP leaders declared at the recent state convention in Houston they will push to require voters to register with a party to prevent crossover voting, The Texas Tribune reported.
“We are going to make clear that in the future, only Republicans will vote in Republican primaries,” he said at the Houston convention. The party has made closing primaries a top legislative priority. The state’s current open-primary system doesn’t require party registration, so voters can cast ballots in whichever primary they want — just not both.
The Texas Republican Party sued Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson last year and was later joined by Attorney General Ken Paxton in asking a federal judge to strike down parts of the election code allowing open primaries. Nelson, who is stepping down next month, opposed Paxton’s motion and argued it is up to the Legislature to change election law.
Court: Ban barring weed user from owning guns unlawful
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled last week a Texas man’s conviction for possessing both marijuana and a pistol under an existing law preventing “unlawful” drug users from owning guns was unconstitutional. Both gun rights groups and civil liberties advocates filed briefs urging the court to take Ali Hemani’s side. He challenged the law after being arrested in 2022 by federal agents who found a pistol and 60 grams of weed when his home was searched.
His attorneys argued the law violated his Second Amendment rights and was vague since it does not define “unlawful user.”
“Is someone who uses a controlled substance once a year, ‘an unlawful user’? What about someone who uses that substance every six months, or every two weeks?” they argued. “Does it matter how much one consumes, or only how frequently one does so? The statute does not say.”
Adding to the issues in the case is that marijuana is legal to some degree in more than 40 states. Texas has a limited medical marijuana program.
Screwworm cases up to 15
As of June 21, the number of confirmed New World screwworm cases totaled 15. The Texas Animal Health Commission has placed a quarantine on parts of Coke, Edwards, Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Schleicher, Sutton, Tom Green, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb and Zavala counties. All warm-blooded animals in a quarantine zone may not be moved without prior authorization from TAHC.
Federal and state agencies are working together to eradicate the NWS by introducing sterile male flies into affected areas. Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a statewide disaster proclamation in response. The pest lays its eggs in open wounds, then the eggs hatch into larvae that feast on living flesh. While it is mostly found in cattle, one case has been found in a dog.
TAHC is urging livestock and pet owners to stay vigilant, monitor their animals, and report any suspicions of NWS infestations by calling 1-800-550-8242.
State: Camps had chances to prevent July 4 tragedy
A state investigation has concluded the deaths of 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic last summer were not inevitable, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Investigators found the camp “failed to meet emergency planning requirements, train its staff or evacuate quickly despite multiple chances to prevent the tragedy.”
The report said as the Guadalupe River flooded, at least 39 adult staff members were within reach of the children and, for hours, could have safely assisted with evacuations. Camp leader Richard “Dick” Eastland died in the flood, along with as many as 13 children and counselors, according to investigators.
The 115-page report was presented to a joint legislative committee last week, as several parents of children who died in the floods listened. Lawmakers have created new regulations that require emergency address systems, ban camps from being in floodplains and mandate redundant internet access to improve awareness of weather emergencies.
“We owe it to the victims and their families to learn every lesson that’s possible, and to ensure that those lessons result in meaningful action,” said the chairman of the Senate flood investigative committee, Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton.
Paxton’s platform short on specifics, but for crypto bill
State Attorney General Ken Paxton’s platform in his bid to be the state’s next U.S. senator is mostly devoid of specifics, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The one piece of legislation he argues is critical is a cryptocurrency bill called the CLARITY Act. Supporters say it would bring stability to the crypto market, which uses a digital form of cash.
The law was passed by the U.S. House a year ago but is stuck in the Senate. Critics include some of the country’s largest unions and banks, who say it doesn’t provide sufficient consumer protections or safeguards against money laundering.
The bill is the only piece of legislation named on Paxton’s website. He also vows to “carry the torch for Trump’s agenda.”
He faces Democrat James Talarico, a state House representative and former teacher, in the Nov. 3 general election.
Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: [email protected].
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