Latest news with #R-Palestine
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How a $350M nuclear power proposal could transform Texas' energy landscape
A sweeping proposal to provide up to $350 million to private companies to help them build advanced nuclear power generation plants in Texas is one step away from reaching Gov. Greg Abbott's desk after the House author said Thursday that he expects the chamber to accept tweaks made by the Senate. "Yessir," state Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, told the American-Statesman in a text message response to a question about whether he'll recommend sending the Senate's version of the bill to the governor. Abbott signaled early in the legislative session that he looks forward to signing such a measure into law. House Bill 14, by Harris and sponsored in the Senate by Georgetown Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner, would establish the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Office and the Advanced Nuclear Development Fund under the governor's office. The new agency and funding arm would assess the need for additional nuclear generation or explore ways to promote future plant construction. The bill sets up guidelines and benchmarks for companies planning to develop nuclear plants to help meet Texas' seemingly insatiable appetite for electric power, and it makes available public financial assistance for both planning and constructing power plants. "Advancements in nuclear energy offer a promising opportunity to strengthen our electric grid with reliable, dispatchable generation while supporting the growth of this innovative industry," Schwertner said as he explained the Senate version of HB 14. Both chambers passed the bill with bipartisan support, though there was some skepticism expressed about the funding provisions. "Would it not make more sense to maybe do a revolving loan so that they (power companies) would pay them back and we could re-enter and save more money into the system and encourage more nuclear development?" state Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, asked Schwertner. The proposed grant system would be a more persuasive tool, Schwertner responded. Plus, he added, the legislation contains payback provisions if companies do not deliver what they promised. "They do have risk," he said. Under HB 14, the state Public Utility Commission will develop a framework to tie grant amounts to the amount of electric generation a project would produce. In his State of the State address shortly after the Legislature convened in January, Abbott called for a "nuclear renaissance" in Texas to ensure that the rapidly growing state can meet the demand for power that comes with not only adding to its population, but also attracting more commercial and industrial development. Texas is home to two nuclear power plants, but both are aging. The Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant's first phase was completed in 1990 after several delays and setbacks since construction began in 1974. The second phase of the plant, which is about 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth, went online in 1993. The South Texas Project in Matagorda County, about 90 miles south of Houston, began operations in 1988. More: Why Texas A&M University wants state-of-the-art nuclear power plants on its campus As of last year, there were 54 commercially operating nuclear power plants with 94 nuclear power reactors in 28 states, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Illinois has 11 reactors, the most of any state. The nation's largest nuclear power source, the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Georgia, has four reactors. The average age of all U.S. nuclear plants is around 42. Reed Clay, president of the Texas Nuclear Alliance, called the legislation "a giant leap forward for our state and our country." He predicted it would revive an industry that "was all but dead for decades." "With the passage of H.B. 14 and associated legislation, Texas is positioned to lead a nuclear renaissance that is now rightly seen as imperative for the energy security and national security of the United States," Clay said in a statement to the Statesman. Meanwhile, Texas A&M University's research-focused RELLIS campus near the system's flagship institution is working to develop a nuclear generation project just a fraction of the size of traditional nuclear plants like those in Comanche Peak, and the South Texas Project. The university's permit is awaiting approval from the NRC. Also, Natura Resources is seeking federal approval for a nuclear plant in Abilene. The first small modular reactor in Texas will be located on Dow's Seadrift plant just north of San Antonio Bay near Victoria. Dow is partnering with the company X-energy on the project that was bolstered by an initial $80 million grant from the U.S. Energy Department. The formal permit application was filed with the NRC in March. Called "small modular reactors," the newer-generation plants are a fraction of the size and can be manufactured offsite, trucked to their permanent locations and buried underground, which proponents say is both safer and better protects them from being targeted by terrorists or other hostile forces. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas lawmakers near nuclear bill passage. How it'll help power grid.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
State Rep. Cody Harris' bill to help preserve access care across East Texas passes State House
AUSTIN, Texas (KETK)– The Texas House of Representative passed an East Texas State Representative's bill on Tuesday to help rural hospitals and preserve access care across East Texas. State Rep. Cody Harris' (R-Palestine) HB 3505 was passed by the Texas House to give rural communities the tools they need to keep their hospitals strong. Rep. Harris' bill to make Texas 'Nuclear Capitol of the World' passes State House In 2019, Harris said they created a tool to help smaller counties work together to fund Medicaid through local participation programs. 'But unless the Legislature acts, the Northeast Health Care Provider Participation District, which supports hospitals in Henderson, Hopkins and Lamar County, will expire in 2025,' Harris said This bill will extend this 'life-saving' program and give rural communities the stability they need to keep their secure and care available close to home. Harris said he is proud to carry HB 3505 and fight for the future of rural healthcare in Texas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to |
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers push to spend billions of dollars for water projects and debate which ones to prioritize
Texas lawmakers agree that the answer to the state's looming water crisis is to invest billions of dollars into fixing the problem. What they don't agree on, at least for now, is exactly how to spend the money. State. Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, and state Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, filed bills this month that take big swings at solving the ongoing water issues plaguing Texas. They include investing billions of dollars into repairing and upgrading aging infrastructure like water pipes as well as creating new water sources for the future. The discussion comes at an important time — a Texas Tribune analysis found the state could face a severe water shortage by 2030 if there was a recurring, statewide record-breaking drought and if state leaders and water entities failed to use strategies that secure water supplies. A pair of proposals — Senate Joint Resolution 66 and House Joint Resolution 7 — would allocate up to $1 billion a year to boost water projects. Their accompanying bills, House Bill 16 and Senate Bill 7, both would create new water committees to oversee the funding and promote investment into new water projects. Gov. Greg Abbott has declared water an emergency item for this legislative session, which means the bills could be on a fast track in the Legislature. Here's what you need to know as lawmakers begin to debate the two packages of bills. Both proposals would funnel up to $1 billion a year to the Texas Water Fund — a special account voters approved in 2023 to help pay for water projects. Perry's resolution calls for 80% of the money to fund projects to create new water supplies and 20% to repair aging infrastructure. Harris' resolution does not specify how the money would be split and would leave the structure how it is — letting the Texas Water Development Board decide how to prioritize projects. The debate around the bills centers on whether to prioritize projects for new water sources or repairing aging water pipes that leak massive amounts of water throughout the state. Water experts agree that projects to create new sources of water need to be funded. However, there is concern about neglecting repairs on water pipes around the state. A Texas 2036 report estimated that the state needs nearly $154 billion by 2050 for water infrastructure, including $59 billion for water supply projects, $74 billion for leaky pipes and infrastructure maintenance, and $21 billion to fix broken wastewater systems. Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network, said the House and Senate will have to find a balance to move water legislation forward. 'I don't think anybody takes issue with the fact that we need to invest in new water supplies,' Fowler said. 'But there is a tremendous need to address aging infrastructure. We have a lot of immediate needs, like yesterday.' Texas is looking to desalination to remove salt from seawater or brackish groundwater to create more water for drinking, irrigation and industrial uses. Another strategy would be treating produced water, which is wastewater that comes out of the ground during oil and gas production. According to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, every barrel of oil produced also generates five barrels of wastewater. Perry lists both options as eligible for state money in Senate Bill 7. He also acknowledged that old pipes are leading massive amounts of water every year, calling that primarily a local issue. 'But I'm willing to leverage tax dollars, as we have in the past, and work on that at the same time,' Perry said. 'But supply has to be priority one.' Jennifer Walker, director for the Texas Coast and Water Program for National Wildlife Federation, said repairing old, leaking infrastructure should be considered a new water supply and urges lawmakers to be more liberal in that definition. 'Stopping that [water] loss and delivering more drops to customers, that is a new water supply for our communities,' she said. 'We're not delivering it to our customers otherwise, unless we address that.' A 2022 report by Texas Living Waters Project, a coalition of environmental groups, estimated that Texas water systems lose at least 572,000 acre-feet per year, or about 51 gallons of water per home or business connection every day — enough water to meet the total annual municipal needs of Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, Laredo and Lubbock combined. Some of Texas' water infrastructure is nearly as old as the state itself — the oldest pipes date back to as early as the 1890s. In 2019, Little Bill's Plumbing in Pampa unearthed a wooden water pipe that experts believed could have been used before the city was incorporated. Tom Gooch, vice president and a water resource planner with Freese and Nichols, said much of Texas' water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life, but repairs remain largely a local responsibility — and funding is limited. "The tradition in Texas has been that this kind of maintenance and repair tends to be a local responsibility." Many pipes across the state are over 100 years old, and underground pipes can be damaged when the ground around them expands and contracts during droughts and wetter weather cycles. Corrosion and leaks are hard to detect, and with thousands of miles of underground pipes, repairs are expensive and time-consuming. Sources like the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas give local governments money to help, but there are more funding requests than the Water Development Board can fund. Most of the experts agree that both new water supply and fixing deteriorating infrastructure is important. However, some think it would be best to keep giving the water development board discretion over how state money is spent. Fowler, with the Texas Water Infrastructure Network, said he believes a lot of people supported the structure of the Texas Water Fund before because it was set up in a way to give flexibility to the board. 'If we're too prescriptive, then it could potentially impact our overall spending power and what we can actually do,' Fowler said. During a House committee meeting this week, Sarah Kirkle with the Texas Water Association testified in support of the House Joint Resolution. She said it would allow communities to meet new growth needs, upgrade existing facilities and fix broken lines. She was also in support of keeping the power to prioritize spending with the Water Development Board. Gooch said repairing and keeping old infrastructure running is essential. 'I don't know that you can rank it, you've got to do both,' Gooch said. 'You've got to keep your system functioning well, and you've got to go find additional water to put into the system, to appropriately use your resources to get both those things done.' Disclosure: Texas 2036, Texas Living Waters Project and Texas Public Policy Foundation have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas House bill proposes to ban DEI in required university curriculum
Before students at the University of Texas graduate, they are required to take global cultures and cultural diversity courses. It's part of a plan set in 2006 to ensure students take "skills and experiences courses" to prepare them to enter the world and hold successful careers after graduation. Former UT President Jay Hartzell has said the university is reviewing its graduation requirements to ensure they are still best for students and the workforce. But state Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, has filed a bill to limit diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education curriculum. House Bill 2548 — one of several proposals to legislate courses and curriculum over race, gender or sexuality at public universities — comes after similar attempts in the 2023 legislative session to pass legislation to keep faculty members from "compelling" students to adopt a belief about race, sex, society or politics died in the House. HB 2548 specifically seeks to ban coursework that is required or otherwise "constrain(ed)" — such as by "failing during any semester to provide sufficient open seats in alternative courses" — on the following topics as they "relate to contemporary American society": Critical race theory, whiteness, systemic racism, institutional racism, anti-racism, microaggressions, decolonization Race-based reparations, privilege, diversity, equity, inclusion, stratification, marginalization Intersectionality, gender identity, social justice, cultural competence, decolonialization Systemic or structural bias, implicit bias, unconscious bias, decolonization The bill would not prevent required classes on "historical movements, ideologies, or instances of racial hatred or discrimination," including slavery and the Holocaust, but it says the courses can't "distort significant historical events" or consist of curriculum based on "theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States." If degree programs specifically state they concern one of those topics, such as LGBTQ+ or African American studies, they can continue with the requirements, but other majors, like sociology, cannot. The Austin Justice Coalition, university professors and community members came together last week to oppose Harris' bill, saying the proposal would censor diversity courses. Chas Moore, founder and co-executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, a local organization that advocates to improve the lives of people of color and impoverished Texans, said the bill is "another attempt to erase, eradicate and diminish very large groups of people," invalidating the experience of marginalized residents who still face oppression. "Our college institutions ... are the places where a lot of kids, for the first time, they get to take deep dives into history," Moore said. "But now instead of incentivizing this, we want to penalize institutions, take away academic freedom, put all types of work into the administration just in the name of this crazy attack on diversity, equity, inclusion." Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, who sponsored the conference room at the Capitol for the AJC and others, said Harris' bill follows a national pattern to "suppress discussions on system injustice and maintain the status quo of inequality." "H.B. 2548 is nothing more than an ideological gag order designed to keep students from learning the full truth about American history and society," he said in a written statement shared by AJC. "We will not let extremists erase our history or dictate what knowledge students can access." Harris did not return multiple American-Statesman calls seeking comment. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, on the first day of the legislative session had indicated his desire to ban "critical race theory" in higher education, and many GOP lawmakers have been outwardly critical of diversity-related coursework. Moore said at the Feb. 20 news conference that the group was highlighting Harris's bill because of his seniority. Rep. Daniel Alders, a freshman republican from Tyler, introduced a similar bill on course requirements. The Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential conservative think tank, released draft legislation that would push civic education as required coursework and establish an "independent School of General Education" at each higher education institution that has the "sole control over most of the new required courses," also reflecting a push to center civics and Western history over more diverse requirements. Rep. Carl Tepper, R-Lubbock, and Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, both proposed bills that would sunset programs that do not give students a positive return on investments on average after graduation, likely in response to an interim charge from Patrick seeking to prioritize "credentials of value" over "DEI." Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, has filed legislation to further expand the state's DEI ban in higher education. HB 2311 would fully eliminate DEI-related coursework, student organizations, research and recruitment — which were exempted in Senate Bill 17, the 2023 law by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, that prohibited DEI-related offices, programs and hiring at public universities and colleges effective Jan. 1, 2024. Harrison also filed HB 2339, the Defunding Indoctrination in Education (DIE) Act, which would prohibit LGBTQ+ courses and programs at colleges and universities as well as any program "in diversity, equity, and inclusion, including but not limited to, promoting differential treatment of individuals on the basis of race, color, or ethnicity." Esmeralda Rubalcava Hernandez, an adjunct professor in social work at St. Edwards University and a doctorate candidate at the University of Texas at Arlington, who studies how immigration and policing intersect, said at the news conference that bills targeting higher education curriculum would prevent requiring sociology students from taking courses in diversity, giving them a limited understanding of the future people they might serve. "To send social work, sociology, criminal justice and other students out into the profession without knowing the realities that impact every single one of us today, regardless of our racial identities, of our ancestries, we are all impacted," she said. "Not having students who know this and are out doing work in communities, is going to inevitably harm our communities. It is going to cause a great amount of danger to people who are already marginalized." Sully Snook, at St. Edward's University senior, said they became a sociology major to "learn how the world works" and has gained valuable knowledge about society by taking diversity courses. They spoke at the conference to ensure other Texas students wouldn't lose that chance. "I'm learning so much that lower ed doesn't teach people," Snook said in an interview after the news conference. "It's so important and impactful to be able to see the truth." Mary Elizabeth with the Austin Justice Coalition, said Harris' bill will "stifle free exchange of ideas" and prevent societal problems from being addressed. Elizabeth, a white woman, said she was shocked to see Harris' bill would restrict required courses mentioning gender too. "That's new for me," Elizabeth said. "While I support all marginalized groups, I want women across Texas to know they're in the spotlight as well." Dominique Alexander, a minister who is the founder and president of social justice organization Next Generation Action Network, said Harris' bill would prevent students from learning about the racism, gender inequity and injustice in today's world and thus prevent them from solving it. "We understand that the American history, the true American history, is a history of all," Alexander said. "This kind of censorship creates the fear of classrooms. It forced professors to second guess their words and suppress a critical conversation that is necessary to shape and inform citizens, limiting students' educational exposure." The House Committee on Higher Education has not yet met to consider these bills. The Senate Committee on K-16 Education has not yet heard bills related to higher education curriculum. "We cannot build a society if students are denied the tools to understand injustice," Alexander added. The next "Thurgood Marshall, Angela Davis, Barack Obama could be sitting in a Texas classroom right now. We cannot rob them of the knowledge or the courage that's needed to form and transform our society." Eric Hepburn, a San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist fellow, introduced himself as a white Christian man who is against HB 2548 because he believes it would prevent Texans from confronting the hard truth about modern society. "I walk here with only love in my heart," he said. "No one can be protected from the truth." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Legislature: House bill would ban DEI in university curriculum
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep Harris pens bill to require students sing state song at school-sponsored athletic events
Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, has introduced a bill to the 89th Texas Legislature that would require school boards to adopt a policy ensuring the national anthem and 'Texas, Our Texas' are played before every school-sponsored athletic event. 'America is an exceptional place and we are all privileged and blessed to call this great country our home. Even more so for Texans. I believe that Texans have a better understanding of patriotism than any other place in the country because we are doubly blessed with a rich heritage of fierce independence and pride in our culture because of our unique history,' Harris said. 'This bill, requiring 'Texas, Our Texas' to be played at all UIL sporting events is a simple acknowledgement of that double blessing. 'It's time to get back to the basics – teaching our kids to honor our flag, respect our country and take pride in the Lone Star State," he said. "We must stand firm in defending our values. God bless Texas, and God bless America.' Logan Treadaway History teacher Logan Treadaway is urging the Texas Legislature to make it a law that all schools should play the Texas state song after the playing of the national anthem. Logan Treadaway, 27, from Ennis said he called on Harris to pen HB 2171. Treadaway, who teaches history and special education in Waxahachie, said his wish for the bill is to encourage state pride, especially in youth. 'This bill would require the playing of our state song, 'Texas, Our Texas,' after the national anthem at public K-12 sporting events,' Treadaway said. 'If we are comfortable singing the national anthem, there should be no controversy in also honoring our state with its anthem. "This is not an unfunded mandate. There shouldn't be any cost to the taxpayers through this bill.' Treadaway believes every member of the Texas Legislature who calls the state home and loves Texas must vote in favor of HB 2171. 'There is no reason a true Texan should oppose this bill,' he said. Treadaway had nothing but good things to say about Harris and his staff. 'I love Cody Harris and I appreciate him and his staff,' he said. Cody Harris is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 8.
