NEWS IN STATE GOVERNMENT
Governor:
Governor Abbott Announces Intent To Appoint Jane Bland to Texas Supreme Court:Governor Greg Abbott announced his intention to appoint Jane Bland to the Texas Supreme Court upon Justice Jeff Brown’s formal resignation. Click here to read the full news release.
Governor Abbott Appoints Carson and Hellums To Health And Human Services Transition Legislative Oversight Committee: Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Bonnie Hellums and Wayne Carson, Ph.D. to the Health and Human Services (HHS) Transition Legislative Oversight Committee for terms at the pleasure of the Governor.Click here to read the full news release.
Governor Abbott Issues Disaster Declaration in Response to Drought Conditions in South Texas: Governor Greg Abbott issued a State Disaster Declaration for seven counties in South Texas currently experiencing severe drought conditions resulting in an increased threat of wildfire. Click here to read the full news release.
General Land Office:
Commissioner Bush Statement on HUD Issuance of Federal Rules for Mitigation Funds: Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. announced the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released mandatory rules for the use of more than $4.3 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for mitigation projects. Click here to read more.
Railroad Commission:
RRC Receives National Energy Education Award For RRC OIL; Online Oil & Gas Inspection Query: The Railroad Commission of Texas is the winner of the 2019 Chairman’s Stewardship Award for Energy Education from the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission. The award is in recognition of the Commission’s RRC Online Inspection Lookup (RRC OIL) tool. Click here to read the full news release.
Chairman Christian Passes National Resolution Opposing the Green New Deal: The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) this week passed Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian’s (R – Texas) resolution urging the federal government to oppose the Green New Deal in the spirit of cooperative federalism. Click here to read more.
Public Utility Commission:
Public Utility Commission Names New Director of Market Analysis: The Public Utility Commission of Texas announced that industry expert Rebecca Zerwas has returned to the agency to serve as Director of Market Analysis. Click here to read the full press release.
OTHER NEWS
State Headlines:
Gov. Greg Abbott Attends Fulton Fishing Pier Groundbreaking, Signs Emergency Management Bills: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott visited Fulton on Saturday to sign bills related to emergency management, response and recovery, and to attend the Fulton Fishing Pier Groundbreaking. Click here to read the full KRIS News article.
BP to Quit Alaska After 60 Years with $5.6 Billion Sale to Hilcorp: British oil major BP Plc (BP.L) on Tuesday agreed to sell all its Alaskan properties for $5.6 billion to privately held Hilcorp Energy Co, exiting a region where it operated for 60 years. Click here to read the full Reuters article.
PDC Energy and SRC Energy Merge in Latest Shale Deal: The latest move to consolidate the US shale sector came on 26 August as PDC Energy said it would acquire SRC Energy in an all-stock transaction valued at just over $1.7 billion in assets and assumed debt. Click here to read the full Journal of Petroleum Technology article.
820 New Texas Laws go Into Effect in September. Here are Some that Might Affect You: This Sunday, 820 new laws passed during the 2019 session of the Texas Legislature will go into effect. They range from the huge — a $250 billion two-year budget — to the symbolic — a number of bills to rename parts of Texas highways. Click here read the full Texas Tribune article.
Analysis: 2020’s Real Texas House Prize Fights are in the General Election — not the GOP Primaries: While the state’s political class is entranced with allegations that Republican House leaders would like to see some of their GOP colleagues replaced, the real stakes are on what happens when the 2020 primaries are over — and which party is in control when it’s time for redistricting in 2021. Click here to read the full Texas Tribune article.
Sutherland Springs Pastor Announces Run for Texas Senate: The pastor, Frank Pomeroy, said Sunday he will run as a Republican for District 21, currently held by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. Click here to read the full Texas Tribune article.
U.S. Government Takes Step Toward Releasing $4.3B in Harvey Relief Funds:Texans have been waiting a year and a half for more than $4 billion in disaster recovery money Congress approved after Hurricane Harvey and major floods the two years before. They’ll have to wait several months more, but the federal government finally cleared a major hurdle toward sending the cash on Friday. Click here to read the full Houston Chronicle article.
National Headlines:
Judge Orders Drugmaker to Pay $572 Million in Opioid Lawsuit: An Oklahoma judge on Monday found Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries helped fuel the state’s opioid crisis and ordered the consumer products giant to pay $572 million, more than twice the amount another drug manufacturer agreed to pay in a settlement. Click here to read the full Associated Press article.
Farmers’ Frustration With Trump Grows as U.S. Escalates China Fight: American farmers have become collateral damage in a trade war that Mr. Trump began to help manufacturers and other companies that he believes have been hurt by China’s “unfair” trade practices. With complaints from farmers fed up with President Trump’s trade war, Sonny Perdue (US Secretary of Agriculture) found his patience wearing thin. Click here to read the full New York Times article.
