Latest news with #TheTexasTribune
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas oil companies face new deadlines to plug inactive wells
Texas oil and gas companies face new deadlines to plug defunct wells after the Texas Legislature agreed this week to send Gov. Greg Abbott a bill setting new rules for the industry. The bill, which passed with bipartisan support in both chambers, is the first legislative step in years toward addressing the growing environmental problem for which the state's taxpayers have become increasingly responsible. Written by state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, Senate Bill 1150 requires oil and gas operators to plug wells that have been inactive for at least 15 years. The Texas Railroad Commission, the agency regulating the oil and gas industry, must start enforcing the new rules in September 2027. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, the Texas Oil and Gas Association applauded the bill. The bill 'recognizes that once a well has reached the end of its economic life and there is no useful purpose, the owner should be responsible for the plugging, and makes this the law in Texas,' said Todd Staples, the association's president. More than 150,000 inactive wells puncture Texas land, regulators estimate. Nearly 8,900 of them have no established owner because the company is either bankrupt or no longer exists. The commission calls these orphan wells, some of which have become conduits for water traveling underneath them. At least eight have burst with brine since October 2024, costing the state millions of dollars to fix. Current Texas law allows oil companies to indefinitely extend the amount of time they have to plug wells. Middleton's bill changes that, but there are exceptions. An operator can still ask for an extension in a number of scenarios. For instance, regulators can consider requests from operators with a proven history of plugging other inactive wells.. Another provision allows extensions for operators who can't afford to plug the well. If approved, the well would have to be plugged by 2042. Under the bill, regulators must evaluate a number of factors, including the operator's plugging history, the number of inactive wells on the property and whether the operator has a plan to reactivate the well. It will be up to the commission to work out the details of how to enforce the bill. Regulators must consider risks to public safety and the environment, as well as the state and location of the well. Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift Action, a group that advocates for stronger environmental regulations, said she was impressed to see the oil and gas industry support Middleton's bill, but disappointed the rules aren't more stringent. Lawmakers should have given operators 10 years, instead of 15, to plug the wells, she said, adding that the bill contains too many extensions. She said she hopes the commission's rules will be stricter. 'I'm optimistic that this law is going to help reduce some of the problems we've had from unplugged wells,' Palacios said. 'But, in the bigger picture, we could have so much more efficient laws if we had lawmakers actually taking feedback from the people that are most affected, who are seeing these problems play out on the ground, and are seeing what the solutions should be.' First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
USA Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Key vote moves Texas closer to displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools
Key vote moves Texas closer to displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools Show Caption Hide Caption Texas school board approves Bible-infused curriculum The vote in Texas to allow Bible stories in public school course materials is part of a trend across the region sometimes dubbed the Bible Belt. The Texas House of Representatives advanced a bill requiring all public schools in the state to display the Ten Commandments in the classroom, the latest effort by conservative-led states to integrate religion into public education. The Republican-controlled House voted 82-46 to approve a version of Senate Bill 10 on May 25 after about a week of debate and several attempts by Democratic lawmakers to amend the bill to require other religious texts from Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism be posted in classrooms. Those amendments were rejected. The bill was passed with an amendment to clarify that the state, instead of schools or school districts, will defend and pay for any legal challenges to the law. The legislation likely faces legal action as critics have raised concerns over its potential violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits public schools from providing religious instruction" in a devotional manner or prescribing "prayers to be recited by students or by school authorities." Supporters of the bill have argued that the Ten Commandments are a foundational aspect of U.S. history, according to The Texas Tribune. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign the measure, which would take effect in September. The state Senate passed the bill in March with a 20-11 vote. The bill would require all public classrooms to display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments that is at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall. No school would be exempt from the bill, and schools that do not post the Christian doctrine would be required to "accept any offer of a privately donated poster or framed copy." Related: What to know about charter schools after the latest Supreme Court ruling Republican-led states push for religion in public schools Conservative lawmakers across the country have been leading an effort to spread religious teachings to public school classrooms, including introducing the Bible into reading lessons and requiring classrooms to post the Ten Commandments. In states where evangelical Christians make up a sizable portion of constituents, incorporating Bible teachings into the curriculum has gained traction, Ira C. Lupu, a professor at George Washington University School of Law who has written on religion in the First Amendment, previously told USA TODAY. In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a law in June 2024 directing every public classroom to display the Ten Commandments. The law was later blocked by a federal judge who declared it unconstitutional, and was also challenged by parents and several civil rights groups. A similar law was recently passed in Arkansas, Little Rock Public Radio reported in April. In November 2024, Texas officials proposed a curriculum incorporating teachings from the Bible in schools. In July 2024, Oklahoma's top education official ordered public schools to teach the Bible, which large state school districts have largely ignored. Despite the state's Republican-controlled Legislature's rejection of his $3 million request to fund the effort, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has insisted that classrooms would all have Bibles by fall 2025. School administrators and civil rights advocates have been pushing back, saying these mandates violate students' rights. 'Courts have repeatedly ruled that it is unconstitutional for public schools to coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exercise," Megan Lambert, legal director of the ACLU of Oklahoma, said in a statement in response to Walters' directive last year. Contributing: Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY; Murray Evans, The Oklahoman
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$12 billion added to congressional spending bill to reimburse states like Texas for border spending
Billion of dollars of funding to reimburse Texas and other states for border security spending has been added to the Republican spending megabill. House members on Wednesday set aside $12 billion to reimburse states for efforts to enforce immigration laws since the day of former President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021. Texas has spent an estimated $11.1 billion on Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star program, which used state funds to militarize the southern border. The Texas governor had criticized the Biden administration for not enforcing immigration laws and issued a disaster declaration at the border in 2021. Abbott and Texas Republicans in Congress have been ramping up requests for reimbursement of the state in recent months. The governor discussed his request with President Donald Trump in February. If passed by the House and Senate, the bill would require the Homeland Security Secretary to develop a grant application process for the states to get reimbursed. Texas has the largest claim of any state to such reimbursements. The megabill includes reforms to Medicaid, cuts to SNAP benefits, extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts and other key Republican policy efforts. The House is expected to vote on the bill within the next day, according to Republican leadership. The border funding addition in the budget reconciliation bill was a last minute addition to the package. Multiple Texas Republicans — including Reps. Chip Roy of Austin and Keith Self McKinney— have been critical of the megabill and have not formally announced that they will vote to support the legislation. Roy and Self have said that they want to see more spending cuts and changes in the bill before they are willing to pass. It is unclear so far if the 42 pages worth of changes to the bill released late Wednesday will be enough to push the members, and other holdouts, to support the bill. Members who spoke to the Tribune, including Roy, about their push for reimbursement said they didn't think refunding Texas goes against their party's push for lower government spending. 'We already spent it when it was the federal government's job,' Roy said in an interview with The Texas Tribune in late April. 'We should get paid back.' Sen. John Cornyn told The Texas Tribune earlier this month that he was not willing to vote for a budget reconciliation bill without Operation Lone Star reimbursement. The senator said anything less than full compensation, in his opinion $11.1 billion, was unacceptable. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas bill clarifying when doctors can perform life-saving abortions wins early House vote
(The Texas Tribune) — The House voted 129-6 on Wednesday to preliminarily approve a bill to clarify Texas' near-total abortion ban, after it passed the Senate unanimously last month. Despite wide bipartisan support for the bill, some conservative lawmakers raised concerns about whether this would create a loophole allowing doctors to 'rubber stamp' otherwise prohibited abortions. Bill sponsor Rep. Charlie Geren, a Republican from Fort Worth, stressed that this was not a 'choice bill,' but rather an attempt to ensure the existing limits of the law are 'clear, consistent, fair and understandable.' 'We do not want women to die from medical emergencies during their pregnancy,' Geren said. 'We don't want women's lives to be destroyed because their bodies have been seriously impaired.' Texas banned all abortions three years ago, with a narrow exception that allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy only to save a pregnant patient's life. Immediately, doctors and legal experts warned that this exception was too narrow and vaguely written, and the penalties too severe, to ensure that women could get life-saving care. That has proven true in many cases. Dozens of women have come forward with stories of medically necessary abortions delayed or denied, and at least three women have died as a result of these laws. Faced with these stories, Republican lawmakers have conceded that the language of the law might need some clearing up. Senate Bill 31, also called the Life of the Mother Act, does not expand the exceptions or restore abortion access. It instead aims to clarify when a doctor can terminate a pregnancy under the existing exceptions by aligning language among the state's abortion laws, codifying court rulings and requiring education for doctors and lawyers on the nuances of the law. The bill was tightly negotiated among lobbyists for doctors and hospitals, anti-abortion groups and Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Bryan Hughes of Mineola, who authored the bill, and Geren. 'These groups don't always see eye to eye,' Geren said. 'But in this case, they worked together to ensure pregnant women with pregnancy complications get appropriate and timely care.' In the Senate, Republicans threw their support behind the bill, while Democrats pushed back on its narrowness, noting that Texas law still does not allow abortions in cases of rape, incest or lethal fetal anomalies. 'The folks who are working on this fix are, from my perspective, the folks who have created the problem,' said Houston Sen. Molly Cook. 'Over the past four years, we've watched women suffer and die, and this bill is the confirmation that we all agree that something is broken in Texas.' In the House, however, the bill faced headwinds from the right, as conservative Republicans rallied to the idea that this bill would allow doctors to resume elective abortions. Rep. Brent Money, a Greenville Republican, said he believed the laws were clear as written but there had been 'malicious interpretations' by pro-abortion doctors. 'People that want to promote abortion have tried to make it murky what our current law is,' Money said. 'And so my question is to you, is this law written to ensure that malicious actors won't be able to find loopholes to allow abortions that would not be allowed under our current law?' Geren touted his own perfect record of voting for every anti-abortion measure that's come before the House in his long career, and assured Money and his fellow conservatives that this was not an end-run around the laws. 'We are in no way promoting abortion on this,' Geren said, adding later that if a doctor were to abuse this clarification, they could face 99 years in prison and 'they would deserve it.' Many anti-abortion Republican women rallied to Geren's side, including Rep. Shelby Slawson, a Stephenville Republican who carried the bill in 2021 that led to Texas banning nearly all abortions. She framed this bill as just codifying the Legislature's original intent to protect the live's of pregnant women. They took the mic to offer up examples of times doctors should be allowed to terminate a pregnancy – in cases of cancer diagnoses, kidney failure, premature membrane rupture, ectopic pregnancies. But still, some Republicans were not appeased. Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Deer Park lawyer who has been involved in some of the state's most contentious abortion litigation, asked Geren if 'more or less babies will die' as a result of this bill. Geren conceded that by affirming that doctors can perform abortions to save a woman's life, it was possible more babies would die, although he noted that many women were traveling out-of-state to get the same medical care they were denied in Texas. Rep. Brian Harrison, a Midlothian Republican, said he was 'alarmed' to hear Geren's comments, and said it was the 'height of irresponsibility to tinker with these pro-life protections that have already saved countless lives.' Some doctors groups, including the Texas chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have criticized the bill for not going far enough to protect doctors and the patients they treat. Others say these changes will be sufficient to free doctors to perform medically necessary abortions without fear of lengthy prison sentences and massive fines. 'At the end of the day, our hope is that political differences can be set aside, because at the heart of this is a pregnant mother whose health and safety are on the line,' Texas Hospital Association president John Hawkins said in a statement. 'Hospitals and doctors need to be able to act on the medical facts and merits in front of them, without fear of prosecution. We sincerely believe this will have an immediate and positive impact, helping us provide life-saving care to our patients.' Despite the back-and-forth between Republican factions over the bill, it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, with just six Republicans, including Harrison, voting no. Ten Republicans, including Cain and Money, declined to vote on the measure. The House also preliminarily approved Senate Bill 33 on Wednesday, which prohibits a city or county from using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion-related expenses. The bill is aimed at Austin and San Antonio, where city officials have allocated budget dollars to support abortion funds that help pay for people to travel to abortion clinics out-of-state. Despite efforts from Democrats to kill the bill on procedural grounds, it passed 89-57. Disclosure: Texas Hospital Association has been a financial supporter 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 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic Rep. Vikki Goodwin to run for Texas lieutenant governor
(The Texas Tribune) — State Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, has filed paperwork to run for lieutenant governor in next year's midterm election, giving up a safe seat in the Texas House to seek one of the state's most powerful offices. Goodwin has long been expected to run for the seat, currently held by Republican Dan Patrick, who has said he will seek reelection next year. The four-term Austin Democrat told the Tribune in 2023 she was mulling a run, and since then she has openly signaled her plans to allies. She appointed a campaign treasurer for her lieutenant governor bid on Monday, the first formal step for a candidate to start raising money. Unseating Patrick will be a daunting task for any Democrat. The lieutenant governor is sitting on a war chest of more than $33 million, and he has many deep-pocketed conservative allies ready to ride to the rescue if he finds himself endangered. Texas Democrats have struggled to mount competitive statewide campaigns in recent years, including in 2022, when Patrick won reelection by 10 percentage points. But the party is hoping for more favorable conditions next year, driven by backlash to President Donald Trump and the prospect of Attorney General Ken Paxton — a Republican who has faced various legal scandals — leading the ballot if he is nominated for the U.S. Senate over incumbent John Cornyn. In 2018, the first midterm under Trump, Democrat Beto O'Rourke came within three percentage points of defeating Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Patrick won reelection by nearly five percentage points that year. Democrats have not won a statewide election in Texas since 1994. Goodwin will have to make up significant ground financially, with just over $150,000 in her campaign account as of Dec. 31, the last date covered by public campaign finance reports. Goodwin, a 58-year-old real estate agent, has served in the Texas House since 2019, representing a district that covers parts of west and north Austin and the western side of Travis County, including parts of Bee Cave and Lakeway. She is seen as one of the more liberal members of the state House and currently serves on the chamber's Appropriations and Insurance committees. With Goodwin running for lieutenant governor, Travis County Democratic Party Chair Pooja Sethi is seeking to fill the open seat. Sethi announced she is stepping down as party chair in June, and she recently filed paperwork to run in Goodwin's district. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
