NEWS IN STATE GOVERNMENT
Governor:
Governor Abbott’s Trade Mission to Japan: Governor Greg Abbott starting his mission this week by meeting with U.S. Consul General Karen Kelley, Ambassador Yamamoto, in Osaka, Japan. Click here to read more about his meetings with railway, land and infrastructure executives during his trade mission.
Lt. Governor:
Joint Statement on LBB Fiscal Update: Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen issued statements following the release of the Legislative Budget Board’s (LBB) Fiscal Year-End Update which shows the rate of state budget growth remains below population times inflation. Click here to read those statements.
Comptroller:
Joint Statement on LBB Fiscal Update: Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen issued statements following the release of the Legislative Budget Board’s (LBB) Fiscal Year-End Update which shows the rate of state budget growth remains below population times inflation. Click here to read those statements.
General Land Office:
GLO Announces Details for Austin, Beaumont and Corpus Christi Regional Public Hearings for Mitigation Funds: The Texas General Land Office (GLO) is announcing details for three regional public hearings to seek input on the use of $4,297,189,00 in funding for mitigation projects in the areas affected by Hurricane Harvey as well as 2015 and 2016 Floods. Click here to read more.
Railroad Commission:
Railroad Commission Conducts More than 133,000 Oil & Gas Inspections in FY 19 - Hires Record Number of Oil & Gas Inspectors: The Railroad Commission in Fiscal Year 2019 (Sept. 1, 2018 – Aug. 31, 2019) completed more than 133,000 oil and gas inspections, exceeding the Texas Legislature’s performance goal of 130,000 inspections for the fiscal year. Click here to read more.
Commissioner Ryan Sitton Speaks on Texas Energy Opportunities at Gulf Coast Industry Forum: Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton gave the lunchtime keynote address at the Gulf Coast Industry Forum, which brought together cities, counties, port authorities and hundreds of energy industry professionals to discuss challenges and opportunities facing the Gulf Coast energy industry. Click here to read more.
Railroad Commission Exceeds Well Plugging Goals - Plugs More than 1,700 Abandoned Wells in FY 2019: The Railroad Commission in Fiscal Year 2019 (Sept. 1, 2018 – Aug. 31, 2019) plugged more than 1,700 abandoned wells. This exceeded the performance measure goal set by the Texas Legislature to plug 979 abandoned wells in FY 2019.
Secretary of State:
Secretary Hughs Announces Collaboration with AWS Educate to Provide New Statewide Education-to-Workforce Opportunities: Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs announced a new collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to unlock job opportunities in cloud computing. The initiative will scale to create pathways towards high-paying, tech related careers for students across the state of Texas. Click here to read more.
Secretary Hughs Marks National Voter Registration Day, Urges All Eligible Texans To Register To Vote By October 7th: Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs today invited all eligible Texans to celebrate and participate in National Voter Registration Day by ensuring they are registered to vote ahead of the October 7th voter registration deadline.Click here to read more.
OTHER NEWS
State Headlines:
Texas Oil and Gas Activity Declines in Third Quarter: Activity in Texas’ oil and gas sector declined in the third quarter, according to a survey of oil and gas executives by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Subscribers can click here to read the full Houston Chronicle article.
Oil and Gas Promoter Offers Repayment to Investors: Jason A. Gilbert, the CEO of a New York-based energy company who last year was ordered to stop committing fraud in connection with an offering of unregistered investments in a multi-million-dollar oil and gas project, has made a full rescission offer to investors. Click here to read more.
Nancy Pelosi to Speak Saturday at The Texas Tribune Festival, Days After Announcing Impeachment Inquiry: Pelosi is the keynote speaker, and it’s her third time to appear at the event. Click here to read more.
Imelda Cited in Release of Almost 100,000 Pounds of Air Pollutants: The remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda, which dumped as much as 43 inches of rain in some ares of Southeast Texas, contributed to the release of tens of thousands of pounds of toxic air pollutants from area chemical plants and refineries, state records show. Subscribers can read the full Houston Chronicle article here.
Plan to Transport Nuclear Waste to West Texas Draws Concern: A proposal to send high-level nuclear waste to West Texas may seem like something Houstonians shouldn’t worry about. But if approved, some of the state’s largest metro areas could be in the path of thousands of shipments of radioactive materials as they make their way from plants across the country. Click here to read the full Houston Chronicle article.
Texas Legislature Making Strides to Protect Patients: The Legislature this year approved Senate Bill 1189 to protect Texans from deception. Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new law that will prohibit certain statements and require warnings and disclosures for legal services advertisements, and ultimately penalize those who violate the rules. The measure, which had the support of the Partnership to Protect Patient Health coalition, took effect Sept. 1. Click here to read the full TribTalk article.
TxDOT Seeking Input on Texas Transportation Plan: The future possibilities are intriguing, and TxDOT wants to know what Texans think will be the most pressing transportation needs for the next 30 years. Click here to read more.
54 Vaping-Related Illnesses Reported in Texas: Fifty-four Texans have now suffered vaping-related severe lung illnesses, part of a mysterious national outbreak that has triggered a sweeping public investigation into the harmful effects of e-cigarette use.Subscribers can click here to read the full Houston Chronicle article.
National Headlines:
China Extends Olive Branch Ahead of Trade Talks, says it Plans to Buy US Soybeans and Pork: China said Thursday that it has arranged deals to resume some purchases of key American agricultural products, which it had halted last year to retaliate against the Trump administration. Click here to read the full Markets Insider article.
FOR THE CALENDAR
Dates to Note:
September 26 - 28, 2019
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Stalwart Strategies Capitol Appreciation Party
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
The Belmont, Austin, TX
**Must have a wristband to enter. Contact rachel@stalwarttexas.com**
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Senator Watson’s Concert Under the Stars
October 3, 2019
MALC Annual Golf and Spa Day
October 7- 8, 2019
Texas House Republican Caucus Fall Golf Tournament
October 17 - 18, 2019
Texas Energy Summit at the Capitol
November 12 - 14, 2019
Click here for House of Representatives Capitol Events Calendar.
Click here for Texas Senate Capitol Events Calendar.
