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Senates Water Bill Sidesteps Streamlining Issue for Now

The America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 revealed by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on May 8 seeks to tackle a number of water-related infrastructure issues. But one thing it does not do is deal with streamlining the permitting process for dam, levee, water system, and port projects – a top-of-mind issue for the Trump administration and one supported by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Ranking member Tom Carpe

Senior Senate Appropriator Collins Sounds Alarm on Highway Trust Fund

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees transportation programs, warned that the Trump administration's approach to project investment "fails to address the greatest threat to our nation's infrastructure, which is the ever-growing insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund." The senior appropriator continued with several criticisms of the administration's approach on various programs in her opening statement at an April 11 hearing on th

Here are 5 takeaways from the first half of the special session

Gov. Greg Abbott kicked off his first special session two weeks ago. That puts the Legislature at the halfway point if they choose to take the maximum 30 days they are permitted to meet — and given Abbott's ambitious agenda, it's looking like they may need all the time they can get. So far, the special session hasn't been too different from the 140-day regular session that ended in May. The Senate has rushed to pass nearly all of Abbott's priorities. The lower chamber has tak

Senate panel rejects Trump’s effort to slash transportation funding

A Senate panel has rejected President Trump’s effort to eliminate Obama-era transportation grants, instead opting to provide a funding boost for the program. By voice vote, the Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, housing and urban development approved a fiscal 2018 spending bill that includes $550 million for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. The program was set up by the Obama administration’s 2009 economic stimulu

Don’t let Abbott mess with tree ordinances

Despite the legislative session being one of the most contentious in recent memory, homebuilders and cities managed to agree on a bill limiting local tree ordinances. But Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the bill and called for statewide repeal of tree ordinances in the special session that begins Tuesday. Based on past incidents, one can easily predict the consequences of Abbott’s legislation; homebuilders from California will come into our community and clear-cut entire hillsides of

Blue Cities Want to Make Their Own Rules. Red States Won’t Let Them.

At a time when Democrats are locked out of power from the White House, both chambers of Congress, the majority of governor’s offices and three-fifths of the country’s state houses, their ideas at least have one reliable outlet. Democrats still control most of the country’s biggest cities. Even that power center, though, is increasingly under attack. In the last few years, Republican-controlled state legislatures have intensified the use of what are known as pre-emption laws,

Senator Introduces Bill to Remove Restrictions on LNG Exports

US Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican of Louisiana, has introduced the License Natural Gas (LNG) Now Act to remove barriers placed on US exporters so they can quickly access the market and meet the global demand for natural gas. This legislation would revamp the current system put in place by the Department of Energy decades ago and establish market growth of US exports. Under the act, the US would have the opportunity to meet the anticipated four to five percent of annual LN

Special Session Proclamation For Sunset Legislation

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME: WHEREAS, the legislature adjourned its 85th regular session without extending the existence of the Texas Medical Board, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, and the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners; and WHEREAS, without legislative action, these five agencies will be abolished

Office of the Texas Governor: Supplemental Call

NOTICE: This document is an unsigned working draft. It is being released for informational and discussion purposes only. It is subject to change. It has no legal effect. TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE EIGHTY-FIFTH TEXAS LEGISLATURE, FIRST CALLED SESSION: WHEREAS, the people of Texas have placed the constitutional power to call the legislature into special sessions in the hands of the governor; and WHEREAS, the members of the 85th Legislature, first called s

Abbott plots aggressive approach to special session

Gov. Greg Abbott is plotting an aggressive approach to the upcoming special session of the Legislature, diverting from his above-the-fray style to try to see through an ambitious 20-item agenda. The push came into public view Thursday, when Abbott's office began announcing lawmakers who will take the lead on individual items — state Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, and state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, intend to author legislation cracking down on mail-in bal

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