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- MRT 4/13-17/26 (free): $174B (!) to Avoid Water Crisis? // Talarico Announces $27M Q1 Haul // Cornyn Outraises Paxton 4:1 // Cruz for President ’28? // Dallas Preps $6 Bond // State vs. Cities on ICE
MRT 4/13-17/26 (free): $174B (!) to Avoid Water Crisis? // Talarico Announces $27M Q1 Haul // Cornyn Outraises Paxton 4:1 // Cruz for President ’28? // Dallas Preps $6 Bond // State vs. Cities on ICE
Here's What You Need to Know in Texas Today.
Matt Mackowiak
April 20, 2026
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TOP NEWS
“Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says” via The Texas Tribune‘s Carlos Nogueras Ramos, Colleen DeGuzman and Alejandra Martinez – Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.
The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.
The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.
In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said. (TX TRIB)
“Years of drought has major energy port of Corpus Christi, Texas, wrestling with water crisis” via San Antonio Express-News‘s Michael Phillis – In parched southern Texas, a yearslong drought has depleted Corpus Christi’s water reserves so gravely that the city is scrambling to prevent a shortage that could force painful cutbacks for residents and hobble the refineries and petrochemical plants in a major energy port. Experts said the city didn’t expect such a bad drought, and new sources of reliable water didn’t arrive as expected. Those problems arose as the city increased its water sales to big industrial customers. “We just have not kept up with water supply and water infrastructure like we should have. And it’s decades in the making,” said Peter Zanoni, the city manager since 2019.
Corpus Christi, a city of about 317,000 people that also supplies water to nearby counties, is closely tied to its oil and gas industry. The region makes everyday essentials like fuel and steel and ships them to the world. Zanoni said it is highly unlikely the city will run out of water, but without significant rainfall or new sources, residents may face forced cutbacks and industry may have to do with less. At a time when the Iran war is already raising gas prices, the shortage is hitting an area that produces 5% of the U.S. gasoline supply.
Droughts are common, but this one has dragged on for most of the past seven years. Key reservoirs are at their lowest point ever. The quickest fix is different weather. “We are actively praying for a hurricane,” former city council member David Loeb said, half in jest. Loeb doesn’t want anyone injured, but after wrestling with previous droughts in his time on the council, he feels the lack of rain acutely. The drought isn’t expected to lift by summer, leaving officials scrambling to tap more groundwater to avoid an emergency.
After the last drought in the early 2010s, the city approved a pipeline extension to bring in more water from the Colorado River and promoted conservation. In the years that followed, water use actually fell. The city, seeing opportunity, added a petrochemical plant and steel mill to its long list of industrial customers. City officials had allowed for drought in their calculations — just not this kind of drought, Zanoni said. It has hit especially hard because reservoirs never fully recharged after the last one. And it’s come at a bad time. (SAEN)
“Camp Mystic official says he didn’t see flood warnings issued the day before storm hit” via AP – The director of the Texas summer camp where 27 campers and counselors were killed by a devastating flood in 2025 testified Monday he did not see official warnings issued the day before the storm hit, that staff had no meetings about the pending danger and that they did not make the call to evacuate until it was too late.
Over several hours of sometimes emotional testimony at a court hearing packed with families of campers who were killed, Edward Eastland provided the most detailed description yet of how camp staff did or didn’t respond as floodwaters along the Guadalupe River quickly rose to historic levels, trapping children and counselors in cabins before they were swept away in the early morning dark of July Fourth.
“I wish we never had camp that summer,” Eastland said near the end of his testimony. He acknowledged lives could have been saved if camp staff acted sooner, but insisted they could not have anticipated the severity of the storm.
This week’s hearing comes during a legal battle between the camp owners and victims’ families who have filed multiple lawsuits and the families’ demands to preserve the damage at the camp site as evidence.
And it comes as Camp Mystic plans to reopen in less than two months. The camp has applied with state regulators to renew its license so that it can open an elevated area that did not flood. Camp operators have said nearly 900 girls have registered to attend.
Eastland acknowledged the camp had no detailed written flood evacuation plan. He also said more campers would have survived if he and his father, camp co-owner Richard Eastland, as well as a camp safety director had made quicker decisions to evacuate.
By the time they did, the waters were so high and so fast they were producing rapids that swirled around some cabins, he said.
Eastland also acknowledged staff didn’t use simple measures like using campus loudspeakers to tell campers and counselors to leave their cabins and get to higher ground earlier in the storm.
Cici Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile is the only camp victim still missing, said after the testimony the state should deny the camp’s license.
“It is so clear they are incapable of keeping children safe,” Cici Steward said.
Eastland attorney Mikal Watts declined comment immediately after the hearing. (AP)
“Energy industry scrambles to meet surging power demands” via Odessa American‘s Bob Campbell – The Texas Legislature and Permian Basin energy industry are making a maximum effort to prepare for the humongous power demands that the economic expansion of the near future will bring. The demands will be so enormous that some doubts remain if the lights will stay on in West Texas.
But the Texas Oil & Gas, Permian Basin Petroleum and Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners associations express confidence that the preparations will prove adequate.
Todd Staples, TXOGA President, said the state is experiencing a period of unprecedented economic expansion and meeting the future power demands of a growing population alongside sectors like AI and data centers requires a strategic modernization of the state’s critical infrastructure. “The Permian Basin Reliability Plan is a vital component of this effort, laying the groundwork for the state’s future transmission needs,” Staples said. “By strengthening our infrastructure we are ensuring that Texas can continue to responsibly produce the natural gas that provides the essential fuel required for the reliable power generation these new industries depend upon.”
Ben Shepperd, PBPA President, said Texas has a long history of meeting the challenges that come with growth and he is confident that will continue as demand for electricity increases whether that growth comes from demand in the energy industry or others. “The growth in artificial intelligence, data centers, manufacturing and population is a sign of a strong economy and our industry has always been an essential partner in supporting that success,” Shepperd said. “However, there are genuine concerns about power delivery to consumers in West Texas. (ODESSA A)
“Texas rancher donates part of his water rights to the state to protect region” via San Antonio Express-News Alejandra Martinez – Bob Sanders bumps along the dirt roads of his 1,100-acre ranch in a beat-up burgundy Chevrolet Suburban, the engine roaring, as his sprawling cattle operation, known locally for its wagyu beef, stretches around him. A shotgun rides in the passenger seat and battered binoculars sit on the dashboard. The sloping pasture where his rust-colored cows graze gives way to trees that flank a narrow ribbon of water. It doesn’t look like much, just a slow-moving channel threading through sweetgums and cypress, but this 2.6-mile stretch of the Big Cypress Bayou carries a lot of weight — it connects Lake O’ the Pines, the region’s main water supply, to Caddo Lake, the state’s only natural lake.
Water feels abundant in this part of Northeast Texas. But even in this lush corner of the state, water is increasingly top of mind. For Sanders and many of his neighbors in Marion County about 35 miles northeast of Longview, the bayou represents something increasingly fragile in Texas: water that still belongs to the landscape it came from. That was partly the reason why Sanders took a step few Texans have taken in decades. He donated part of his water rights to the Texas Water Trust, a little-known state program designed to save water for environmental and conservation purposes. “That’s what I am trying to preserve, is water to keep this bayou system healthy,” he said. “If North Texas gets our water, this ranch would be in a perpetual drought. It would break us and destroy the ranch.”
Texas is staring at a water shortage by 2030 if a historic drought hits the state. As the population grows, droughts become longer and more frequent and rising temperatures strain rivers and reservoirs. State water planners warn that without new water sources, Texas could run short in coming decades. Lawmakers made significant investments last year in increasing water supplies, but the looming crisis has pushed growing cities to search for new supplies.
When a Dallas developer announced plans last year to drill more than 40 high-capacity wells in three East Texas counties to export billions of gallons of water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in East Texas to water-stressed areas of the state, locals were outraged. They argued the proposal would be an “existential threat” to regional water supplies. The local groundwater conservation district voided the developer’s permits after a poultry farm sued the district, then the developer sued the district. Even in this part of Texas where water appears plentiful, Sanders and his neighbors say the threat is personal and they are ready to protect the area’s water however they can. (SAEN)
“A therapy that could revolutionize cancer treatment is getting a clinical trial in San Antonio” via Texas Public Radio | TPR‘s Bonnie Petrie – A young mother who had beaten breast cancer once got some devastating news. The cancer had returned. Her prognosis seemed grim. Available medicines didn’t offer much hope. But what if her doctors could enlist her own immune system to fight the cancer in ways never before possible?
That’s just what they’re trying to do, said Dr. Jessica Treviño Jones, a breast medical oncologist at UT Health San Antonio’s Mays Cancer Center. She’s also the patient’s treating physician.
Mays is the only site in Texas participating in a phase 2 study of an investigational therapy called STAR0602, which is designed to activate and then sustain the immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Treviño Jones’s patient is the first clinical trial participant to be enrolled and treated at UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital.
While oncologists have been harnessing the power of the human immune system for years, STAR0602 is unique because it teaches a more lasting lesson. Other therapies work only while being administered, and then the effects diminish rapidly. STAR0602 builds immune memory, so the body continues attacking cancer cells between infusions. (TPR)
2026
“Charles Perry guest column: Paxton’s persecution: Texas faithful can’t ignore what’s happening in Senate race” via Washington Examiner – Texans love to say, “As Texas goes, so goes America.” I would argue that what happens in Texas affects the world.
In many ways, that has been true in the fight for religious liberty for the last 70 years. A new battle over religious liberty is brewing in the race to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. And so far, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his team are on the wrong side of it.
Just a few days ago, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) released a list of five highly respected faith leaders from across Texas who now make up the senator’s Faith Advisory Council.
Cornyn’s opponent in the Republican primary, Paxton, and his team have chosen to respond to this announcement by attacking its pastors, including Dr. Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, who used to be Paxton’s own pastor. In what universe did Paxton and his team believe this was the morally or politically correct response?
For a Republican candidate to engage in an all-out assault on conservative pastors and faith leaders is repugnant. It is also a sign of a desperate candidate and campaign resorting to desperate measures. Instead of seeking to destroy faith leaders associated with Cornyn, wouldn’t it make more sense for Paxton to simply produce his own list of pastors whom he goes to for advice? We all need wise counselors in our lives. But it is also incumbent on those in positions of leadership to heed the wise counsel they receive. By now, the list of Paxton’s indiscretions is increasingly public and tragically long. If Paxton has not been in recent communication with as many Christian leaders as he once was, now would be the perfect time to renew those relationships.
President Ronald Reagan once told a gathering of pastors in Dallas in 1984, “Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.” I couldn’t agree more. Texas needs more of God in the public square. Not less. I applaud President Donald Trump for finally setting religious voices on equal footing with the rest of the country via the new IRS ruling lifting restrictions on religious leaders weighing in on political matters.
I applaud Cornyn for responding to the new IRS rules by ushering godly voices into the public square. And I especially applaud Dr. Graham of Prestonwood, Max Lucado of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Dr. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church Dallas, Dr. Gus Reyes, board member of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Dr. Phil Schubert, President of Abilene Christian University, for showing courage and taking action. Texas needs their voices now more than ever. May more leaders of the faith from across Texas and beyond be inspired in the weeks to come to join their ranks.
At a time when intimidation keeps people of faith out of the political process, Christians should be embracing these rare leaders. In my estimation, Paxton and his team’s persecution of their fellow believers is destructive to the process and extraordinarily hypocritical. These attacks are grounded in the age-old spiritual battle that seizes every opportunity to create confusion among Christians. Any believer who doesn’t understand unity ultimately can be used as a tool for evil.
These leaders of the faith understand that their ministry doesn’t stop at the church house door. Unfortunately, Paxton and his team seem to believe that the spiritual and political spheres should be mutually exclusive.
In my reading of Scripture, this is “cherry picking” the truth to fit their own interests. I pray that Paxton and his team seek godly voices of their own rather than seek to destroy godly counselors like Cornyn’s Faith Advisory Council.
Charles Perry is a Texas state senator. (Wash Examiner)
“John Cornyn wallops Ken Paxton in first quarter fundraising for U.S. Senate seat” via Texas Tribune’s Gabby Birenbaum — Sen. John Cornyn outraised Attorney General Ken Paxton by fourfold in the first quarter of 2026, a key period that encompassed the Senate Republican primary and the beginning of the runoff between them.
As in past quarters, Cornyn’s fundraising apparatus — which includes his campaign committee and two joint fundraising committees with entities like the National Republican Senatorial Committee — outpaced Paxton’s.
Cornyn raised about $9 million and had nearly $8.2 million in cash on hand across the accounts under his control, according to his first quarter campaign finance reports. The Cornyn campaign said that $3.4 million of that haul was raised in the weeks after the March 3 primary.
“The Cornyn campaign continues performing at a high level, building off the overperformance in the March 3rd primary to announcing a massive fundraising haul in the first quarter of 2026,” Cornyn campaign manager Andy Hemming said in a statement. (Click2Houston)
“James Talarico raises record-breaking $27 million in first quarter for Senate bid” via The Texas Tribune‘s Gabby Birenbaum — State Rep. James Talarico raised $27 million in the first three months of 2026 in his bid to flip Texas, according to his campaign.
The Austin Democrat’s haul is the largest-ever sum for a Senate candidate — in any state — in the first quarter of an election year. He outraised other Democrats this cycle who posted impressive hauls of their own in competitive Senate races where Democrats have better odds, including Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, and more than doubled the totals of former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola.
Talarico significantly outpaced Texas’ last two Democratic Senate candidates to win their primaries outright — both strong fundraisers. Colin Allred raised over $9.5 million in the first quarter of 2024, and Beto O’Rourke brought in $6.7 million in 2018 — though both ultimately lost.
The massive haul will bolster Democrats’ hopes about making Talarico the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas in over three decades — an uphill battle in any cycle and an expensive proposition in a massive state with 20 media markets. (TX TRIB)
“GOP attorney general hopefuls take aim at Supreme Court rulings” via The Texas Tribune‘s Eleanor Klibanoff – In 1975, Texas passed a law allowing school districts to exclude undocumented students from free public school. When a district in Tyler enacted such a policy, a group of families sued.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that Texas’ law was unconstitutional and children had a right to public education, regardless of their citizenship status.
Five decades later, at a candidate forum in the same city that gave rise to that landmark ruling, the Republican candidates for Texas attorney general laid out their plans to use the agency to overturn it.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy said it was one of his “foremost priorities of running for attorney general.” Sen. Mayes Middleton said it was a “terrible decision” that could be overturned if a case was brought to the new conservative majority on the Supreme Court. (TX TRIB)
“Oil Tycoon Funds Far-Right Candidate Challenging Texas Oilfield Regulator” via Inside Climate News‘s Martha Pskowski – Jim Wright ran for the Railroad Commission of Texas six years ago as a reformer. But his reforms drew the ire of powerful oil tycoons who are now trying to unseat him.
Wright championed the first overhaul of oilfield waste rules in 40 years at the Railroad Commission, the state’s oil and gas regulatory agency. Some independent oil and gas companies criticized the rules change adopted last year. One of those companies, CrownQuest, brought a lawsuit against the Railroad Commission challenging its legality.
CrownQuest’s billionaire founder Tim Dunn is known for targeting Texas Republicans who he does not consider sufficiently conservative. He is now backing Bo French, a far-right candidate, to unseat Wright at the Railroad Commission.
French, former chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party, announced his campaign in November 2025 saying he would fight “radical climate change ideology” and “foreign capture” of the industry. Key issues the Railroad Commission regulates, including flaring, injection wells and waste pits, went unmentioned. (Inside Climate News)
“Here’s what to know about Dallas ISD’s $6 billion bond issue” via Dallas News‘s Silas Allen – When voters in Dallas ISD go to the polls for the May 2 election, they’ll see a $6.2 billion bond issue on the ballot. Bond proponents say the bond issue would allow the district to build more than two dozen new schools and make much-needed upgrades to other campuses, building on progress from previous bond issues voters approved. But unlike the district’s 2020 bond issue, this one would carry a tax increase.
That’s a lot of money. What does Dallas ISD want to do with it? The proposal comes in four parts: $5.9 billion for campus construction and renovation projects, $144.7 million for technology upgrades, $143.34 million to refinance old debt and $26.25 million for renovations to the district’s swimming pools. District leaders want to use part of the construction and renovation package to build 26 new schools to replace existing buildings. The proposal would also add enough classroom space to allow them to remove all portable classrooms across the district.
Bond backers say Proposition C — the debt refinance proposal — would allow the district to pay down old debt more quickly, saving $10 million in interest costs. Voters may recognize the swimming pool proposal from the 2020 bond election. Although voters approved the largest parts of the 2020 bond issue, they rejected a proposal for swimming pool renovations. Dallas ISD is asking again this year.
How much would my property taxes go up? District leaders say it would carry a property tax increase of about $2.79 a month on a $500,000 home, which is the average home value in the district. (DMN)
2028
“Is Ted Cruz building up for another presidential run?” via Houston Chronicle‘s Jeremy Wallace – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is heading back to Iowa on May 1 to keynote a major gathering of evangelical and conservative activists. Cruz is scheduled to headline the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition’s spring kickoff, an event that has become a must-stop for presidential contenders over the years. Cruz spoke to the group in 2015 as he was campaigning for the White House.
“We are honored to welcome Sen. Cruz,” said Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition. “His leadership and constitutional convictions have inspired conservatives across the country, and we are excited to hear directly from him.”
The Iowa Caucus is historically the first stop of the GOP primary schedule and is expected to be held in January 2028. The Iowa speech comes on the heels of Cruz traveling to San Diego on Saturday for a banquet that was part of the California Republican Party’s statewide convention. In that speech, Cruz touted provisions he worked into President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill last year.
Cruz warned the crowd that they are facing a tough election cycle in 2026. “The left is angry,” Cruz said. “They hate Donald Trump.” (HOU CHRON)
STATE GOVERNMENT
“Judge temporarily reinstates women- and minority-owned businesses into Texas HUB program” via Texas Tribune’s Paul Cobler and Ayden Runnels – An Austin district judge on Monday temporarily blocked Texas’ removal of women and minorities from the state’s Historically Underutilized Business program.
Four business owners and a trade association sued the state of Texas and acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock on March 2 over the agency’s emergency rules that removed women and minorities from the HUB program and stripped their businesses of their HUB certifications. The temporary injunction on Monday blocked the emergency rules and reinstituted the plaintiffs’ certifications.
The HUB program was created through bipartisan legislation during the 1990s to give minority- and women-owned businesses a leg up when seeking state contracts. The program does not set quotas for the number of HUB-certified businesses, but sets goals that state agencies generally strive to meet.
The plaintiffs include Houston-based general contractors Ipsum General Contractors, LLC and Houston Construction Services; Sugarland-based medical technology distributor Mpulse Healthcare & Technology LLC; Burleson-based restoration firm Williams Professional Water Restoration Service LLC; and the greater Houston chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors, a nonprofit trade association that represents 155 minority- and women-owned contractors. (Denton Record-Chronicle)
“Low-tax Texas opens London office to lure jobs and investment” via The Guardian‘s Kalyeena Makortoff -- The US state of Texas is putting UK businesses in its crosshairs with the launch this month of a dedicated London office to lure jobs and investment to the low-tax Lone Star State. Texas recently secured approval for the new site, adding to a growing list of international offices from which it can try to draw corporate heavyweights across its borders.
It is the latest sign that Texas lobbyists, led by the office of the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, are widening their economic ambitions beyond American borders, having already had success luring jobs and investment from rival US states including California, Delaware and New York.
Lobbyists working in the London office are likely to court UK bosses with incentives including new, fast-track business courts and multimillion dollar subsidies. Texas charges neither corporation nor income tax.
Their targets are expected to include the City’s banks and investment houses, as the state aims to build on Dallas’s financial-sector boom, and continue its promotion of the area now known as Y’all Street. (The Guardian)
#TXLEGE
“Texas lawmakers held a hearing on data centers. Here are 4 key takeaways” via KUT‘s Mose Buchele – Data centers are popping up around Texas like fire ant hills after a rainstorm. Or maybe like bluebonnets in the spring. Either way, they seem to be everywhere — and more are coming.
Their arrival could strain the power grid, raise energy costs and siphon already scarce water resources. Lawmakers and regulators need to prepare for the disruption. But how? This week, some of the state’s biggest data center developers and operators visited Austin to respond to that question.
As representatives of industry, their answers, predictably, downplayed costs and touted the benefits of the data center boom.
But the hearing, conducted by the House Committee on State Affairs, contained some fascinating information and gave an early look into how state leaders may tackle this major issue in the 2027 legislative session. (KUT)
“Texas House committee slaps Democrats with nearly $422K in penalties for 2025 quorum break” via Texas Public Radio – A committee of the Texas House of Representatives voted late Friday afternoon to impose financial penalties totaling nearly $422,000 on Democratic House members who broke quorum last August to try to prevent the Republican-led Legislature from passing a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan.
The GOP-led Committee on House Administration imposed $303,000 in fines on the 50-plus Democratic members for being absent without leave during the first and second special sessions of the 89th Legislature. The committee assessed an additional $118,889.81 penalty to reimburse the Texas Department of Public Safety for expenses incurred in trying to compel those members to return to the chamber.
Under House rules, the members being penalized may not use political fundraising in order to pay the fines or reimbursement expenses — in this case more than $8,000 per member.
The committee voted 6-5 along party lines, under a motion by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, the committee chair, after taking testimony in executive session for more than six hours. Geren made no statement other than to read out the terms of the motion. (TPR)
“Judge rules to temporarily block Texas’ smokeable hemp ban” via Texas Tribune – A Travis County district judge has temporarily lifted a statewide ban on the sale of natural smokeable hemp products, such as flower buds and rolled joints, until at least April 23.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and several Texas-based dispensaries and manufacturers a temporary restraining order against new testing requirements that create a 0.3% total THC threshold, effectively eliminating smokeable products. Lawyers for the hemp industry argued that the agencies have overstepped their constitutional authority by rewriting the statutory definitions of hemp established by lawmakers in 2019.
The concept of the new total THC testing came from the federal government, which clarified the definition of hemp in November as containing a total THC concentration of less than 0.3% on a dry weight basis rather than only delta-9 THC, according to Zachary Berg, an attorney with the Texas Attorney General’s Office who represented Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Friday. Berg added that the federal government’s new definition doesn’t go into effect until November, but the state wanted to be in compliance early with federal law.
Jason Snell, one of the attorneys for the hemp businesses, said that by trying to mirror a federal law that isn’t yet in effect, the state clearly overstepped its regulatory authority. He also submitted to the court over 300 pages of testimony from Texans about how these new rules and regulations are already shuttering businesses and killing off the industry. (MY RGV)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
“Houston faces ‘crisis situation’: Abbott threatens loss of $110 million after HPD-ICE policy change” via Houston Public Media‘s Dominic Walsh – Governor Greg Abbott’s threat comes after the city rolled back a policy requiring police officers to wait 30 minutes for ICE agents to respond to civil immigration warrants.
In a letter to Mayor John Whitmire on Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office threatened to terminate $110 million in public safety grants to the city of Houston.
The threat came after Whitmire supported an ordinance intended to cut back on coordination between the Houston Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“This is a crisis situation,” Whitmire said in a statement. “The potential loss of state funding poses real challenges for the Houston Police and Fire Departments and will impact public safety services across our city, the 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the Homeland Security Department.” (Houston Public Media)
“Austin’s ICE policy sparks state investigation, legal questions” via Austin American-Statesman‘s Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Chaya Tong and Austin Sanders – The Texas Attorney General’s Office is investigating the city of Austin over a policy that limits how police interact with federal immigration agents, setting up a potential clash over state law requiring cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The investigation comes after policy changes implemented by Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis in March that prohibit Austin officers from arresting or detaining someone based solely on a noncriminal ICE warrant — a move city officials argue is legal but critics say may conflict with Senate Bill 4, the state’s 2017 law prohibiting cities from limiting police cooperation with federal immigration agents.
City spokesperson Jenny LaCoste-Caputo confirmed to the American-Statesman on Monday night that the Attorney General’s Office sent a letter Friday notifying the city of the investigation. City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a written statement the policies were revised earlier this year to help officers navigate an influx of administrative warrants, which are issued by ICE to arrest individuals for immigration violations.
“The revised General Orders were designed to ensure the City can continue meeting our local public safety needs, provide clarity for our officers, and continue complying with all legal requirements, including the U.S. Constitution and SB4,” Broadnax said. The Police Department’s General Orders are the policies that guide officer conduct.
Austin City Council Member José “Chito” Vela, who helped craft the Police Department’s new ICE policy, said his office worked with the city attorney and legal experts to ensure that the new guidelines comply with state and federal laws. “I firmly believe any good-faith investigation will confirm that,” Vela said in a written statement. (AAS)
“Austin breaks ground on $1.5B Walnut Creek wastewater expansion” via KXAN Austin‘s Ethan Love – Austin Water broke ground this week on a $1.5 billion expansion of the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, upgrading critical infrastructure that will improve the treatment process and protect the environmental health of the Colorado River downstream of Austin.
City leaders said the project is needed as Austin’s population is projected to grow to as many as 1.5 million people by 2040. The expansion will increase the plant’s treatment capacity by 25 million gallons per day, bringing the total to 100 million gallons per day.
Officials said the investment will help maintain reliable wastewater service, protect public health and support sustainable water use across the community.
A portion of the treated wastewater will continue to be reused through Austin’s reclaimed water system for irrigation and other non‑drinking purposes, with the remainder safely returned to the Colorado River. (KXAN)
TEXANS IN DC
“John Cornyn pushes crackdown on cities after Abbott’s Houston ICE threat” via Houston Chronicle‘s Benjamin Wermund – U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is pushing to crack down on cities that limit local police cooperation with federal immigration officers, the latest GOP response to Houston’s new ICE policy. The Texas Republican filed legislation Thursday to strip some federal funding from so-called “sanctuary” cities, allow states to sue cities and counties that do not cooperate with ICE and bar states from prosecuting local police who help with immigration enforcement.
It’s a beefed-up version of a bill Cornyn led in 2016 that drew 53 votes in the Senate, but fell shy of the threshold needed to pass. Republicans in the Senate still do not have the numbers to overcome a potential Democratic filibuster.
Texas lawmakers passed a law in 2017 requiring local police to cooperate with federal immigration officials. Still, some cities across the state have sought to manage how much local police interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive.
Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to strip $110 million in grants from Houston after the city council last week voted to scrap a policy that requires officers to wait 30 minutes for ICE officers to pick up someone with a civil immigration warrant. The city’s new policy also requires the department to make reports to the council about its cooperation with ICE. (HOU CHRON)
“Rep. Tony Gonzales to resign from Congress amid backlash over sexual misconduct allegations” via The Texas Tribune‘s Gabby Birenbaum — Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, said he would resign from the U.S. House on Tuesday, ending a five-year congressional career months after he revealed he had an affair with an aide who later died by suicide.
“There is a season for everything and God has a plan for us all,” Gonzales said in a statement Monday evening. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office. It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Texas.”
Gonzales’ resignation announcement came about an hour after Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, announced his own resignation from the House. Swalwell’s move to step down came in the wake of allegations from numerous former staffers who said the Democrat engaged in sexual misconduct, including sexual assault.
Members of Congress had planned to bring expulsion resolutions against both lawmakers this week, and numerous members from each party indicated they would vote in favor. Gonzales’ statement did not specify whether his “retirement from office” would be effective immediately, though his prior announcement that he would not seek reelection suggested his latest statement referred to resignation. (TX TRIB)
BUSINESS NEWS
“Eli Lilly acquires Houston biotech startup for $300M” via Houston Chronicle‘s Maliya Ellis – Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly acquired Houston biotechnology startup CrossBridge Bio this week in a roughly $300 million deal. The startup, which is based out of the Texas Medical Center’s innovation hub, said the acquisition could speed up development of its cancer-fighting drugs, which are currently in the preclinical phase. The acquisition is likely to strengthen the global drugmaker’s pipeline of oncology drugs.
“I’m proud of how well our team has executed and advanced our platform in such a short time since the company’s founding,” CrossBridge Bio co-founder and CEO Michael Torres said in a statement. “By becoming a part of Lilly, a leader in patient-focused therapeutic development, we are well-positioned to further accelerate the clinical potential of this approach.”
The deal is valued at $300 million, split between an upfront payment and a later payment contingent on a development milestone, according to a news release. A spokesman for Eli Lilly declined to comment further about the acquisition. CrossBridge Bio did not immediately answer a question about how the deal would affect its employees.
CrossBridge Bio, founded in 2023, expects to file an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year to study its leading cancer drug. Called CBB-120, the drug is a novel type of antibody-drug conjugate, which fights cancer by identifying cancer cells and targeting them directly with chemotherapy. (HOU CHRON)
“Tesla pushes arbitration in Austin assault case” via Austin American-Statesman‘s Andrea Guzmán – Tesla Inc. wants a judge to deny a court trial to a woman who says she was physically assaulted by a fellow employee at Gigafactory Texas. The Austin automaker’s lawyers say that Lillian Brady, who filed suit last month after her assailant was identified as the suspect in a mass shooting on West Sixth Street, agreed to an out-of-court process to resolve disputes with Tesla when she was hired and that’s how her case should be handled.
Brady’s attorneys acknowledge that she agreed to arbitration as a condition of employment but argue her claims are outside the scope of the agreement. They say the deal she signed doesn’t clearly delegate such a case to an arbitrator — and cannot if she was sexually assaulted.
Lillian Brady filed suit against Tesla four days after Ndiaga Diagne was identified by police as the gunman in the March 1 shooting spree that left three people dead and 15 injured in downtown Austin. She says he physically assaulted her in early December inside the plant, leading her to accuse Tesla of failing to monitor the factory’s common areas or supervise sanctioned activities in those spaces, “creating an unreasonably dangerous condition.” She also has accused Tesla of not knowing its employees’ backgrounds and withholding Diagne’s identity as she sought for months to pursue charges against him.
During a hearing Thursday in state District Court in Austin, Tesla attorney Joshua Romero cited Brady’s lawsuit along with Tesla’s “broad” arbitration agreement, which says “any and all disputes arriving from or related to your employment go to arbitration.” Brady’s lawyers made a case to Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle that Tesla uses arbitration when it suits it, telling the judge “they cannot use this as a sword and a shield.” They said Brady’s claims are outside the scope of the agreement’s terms and argued for the first time that Diagne’s actions that morning could amount to sexual assault. (AAS)
“Construction to start soon on $750M AI-powered D-FW movie studio” via Dallas Morning News‘s Nick Wooten – A corner of Dallas-Fort Worth is getting ready for its big close-up. Construction will soon start on the first phase of a planned $750 million mixed-use development in Mansfield centered around an AI-enabled movie studio. Super Studios USA CFO Richard Judson told The Dallas Morning News that work on the 75-acre project’s first phase is expected to begin in August. Work will include the ground-up construction of sound stages, attached office and parking.
Estimated construction costs are $50 million, and the work is expected to finish in June 2027. The project will be built out in 10 phases over the next five years. The project’s early phases will feature four 18,000-square-foot sound stages with production offices and a 42,000-square-foot, three-story office space. The third floor will be dedicated to AI, post production and data center operations, Judson said.
The 75-acre site will be home to a hotel, eight sound stages, 800 luxury condos and townhomes, parks, pools and water features. Plans call for additional office space, and more than 430,000 square feet of retail. A trade school for production assistants will be built at the property, and there will be roughly 20,000 square feet of mini data centers spread between the sound stages.
The development would bring an estimated 2,681 permanent jobs and nearly 4,400 construction jobs to Mansfield. The city originally approved plans for the project in 2023. The permits come after the Mansfield Economic Development Corp. sold nearly 21.5 acres at 561 Easy Dr. to Super Studios for $1 in February 2025. Once the building is occupied, the economic development corporation will reimburse 100% of the developer’s impact fees for the project’s first phase, said city spokesperson Dustin Dangli. (DMN)
QUICK LINKS
Fox News: “Texas emerges as the top destination for companies leaving blue states” Fox News
Reuters: “Exclusive: Valero partially restarts Port Arthur, Texas refinery after blast, sources say” Reuters
The New York Times: “In Texas Senate Race, Talarico Is Out-Raising His G.O.P. Opponents” The New York Times
HOU CHRON: “Sen. Ted Cruz says it’s time to swing for the fences in budget talks” HOU CHRON
The National Law Review: “Texas Legislature Sets Its Sights on Data Centers and AI- What You Need to Know” The National Law Review
TX TRIB: “She won a $7M grant to teach Texans how to farm. Then the Trump administration yanked it over DEI.” TX TRIB
TPR: “A therapy that could revolutionize cancer treatment is getting a clinical trial in San Antonio” TPR
HOU CHRON: “THC-infused candies? New Texas hemp rules don’t bar marketing to kids.” HOU CHRON
The New York Times: “Texas Restaurants Are Forcing a Reckoning Over Immigrant Labor” The New York Times
DMN: “JPS breaks ground on new public hospital in Fort Worth, part of $2.5 billion expansion project” DMN
Texas Standard: “Here’s what leaders across Texas are saying about Abbott’s fight with Houston city officials over ICE policy” Texas Standard
Houston Public Media: “Commissioners approve business accelerator initiative to expand child care accessibility in Harris County” Houston Public Media
Houston Public Media: “Big Bend residents and national environmental group sue Trump administration over border wall plan” Houston Public Media
DMN: “City Council raises money questions over UNT Dallas police academy, public safety complex” DMN
SAEN: “City thwarts private detention centers, but can’t block ICE facility” SAEN
KXAN: “State investigating Del Valle ISD police department” KXAN
Fox Business: “Veteran-owned Texas company reinvents grocery carrying with American-made solution” Fox Business
EXTRA POINTS
Recent Texas sports scores:
Monday 4/13
> MLB: Texas 8, Oakland 1
> MLB: Seattle 6, Houston 2
> NHL: Dallas 6, Toronto 5
Tuesday 4/14
> MLB: Oakland 2, Texas 0
> MLB: Houston 7, Colorado 6
Wednesday 4/15
> MLB: Oakland 6, Texas 5
> MLB: Houston 3, Colorado 1
> NHL: Dallas 4, Buffalo 3 (OT)
Thursday 4/16
> MLB: Colorado 3, Houston 2
> MLB: Texas 9, Oakland 6
Friday 4/17
> MLB: St. Louis 9, Houston 4
> MLB: Texas 5, Seattle 0
Saturday 4/18
> NHL: 3 Minnesota 6, 2 Dallas 1 (MIN 1-0)
> NBA: LA Lakers 107, Houston 98
> MLB: Seattle 7, Texas 3
> MLB: St. Louis 7, Houston 5
Sunday 4/19
> NBA: San Antonio 111, Portland 98
> MLB: Seattle 5, Texas 2
> MLB: St. Louis 7, Houston 5
Today’s Texas sports schedule:
> 5:10pm: MLB: Houston at Cleveland
> 8:30pm: NHL: 3 Minnesota at 2 Dallas (ESPN) (MIN 1-0)
Tomorrow’s Texas sports schedule:
> 5:10pm: MLB: Houston at Cleveland
> 7pm: NBA: 7 Portland at 2 San Antonio (NBC) (SA 1-0)
> 7:05pm: MLB: Pittsburgh at Texas
> 9:30pm: NBA: 5 Houston at 4 LA Lakers (NBC) (LA 1-0)
TEXAS SPORTS HEADLINES / LINKS:
TEXAS FOOTBALL: “How Texas QB Arch Manning turned anger into a dream 2025 finish” AAS
TEXAS FOOTBALL: “Why Steve Sarkisian is eager to bid farewell to ‘The Bubble“ AAS
TEXAS MEN’S BASKETBALL: “Which coveted forward just picked Texas basketball in the portal?“ AAS
HOUSTON ASTROS: “Astros put All-Star SS Jeremy Peña and RHP Tatsuya Imai on IL as injury woes continue” HOU CHRON