By Cyrus Reed
Well, after months of waiting with baited breath, the Speaker of the House and the Lt. Governor both released their “interim legislative charges” - issue areas they have asked various committees of legislators to take up and assess for potential recommendations. While the 90th Legislative Session doesn’t officially kick off until January 12th, 2027 and ends 140 days later on May 31st, 2027, in some sense it begins now with legislative “interim” hearings, drafting of potential bills, and the reports that each committee will issue late this year with recommendations on how to “fix” issues.
Interested in learning more? Join our Legislative Action Team meeting on April 16!
What’s in the legislative interim charges?
A lot. If you want to see them all, take a look at the Lt Governor’s charges here and here (yes, he released them in waves), while the Speaker has an even longer list which can be found here. It’s also important to know that given the high turnover rate in the Senate- with several senators resigning and others running for higher office - the Lt. Governor reshuffled the committees a bit. While the Speaker did not change the existing committees, he did create some “new” interim committees to look at things like Health Care Affordability, Housing Affordability, Government Oversight and General Aviation. Housing affordability is a big issue in Texas and one that intersects with many Sierra Club’s priorities, so we will be keeping tabs on the discussion.
While we can’t cover all the issues in this brief “blog,” many of Sierra Club’s priorities - though perhaps with a different “spin” - are being assessed in either the House, the Senate, or in some cases both. From data center development, to water infrastructure, to aging and abandoned oil and gas wells, to housing affordability, to transmission lines, there’s a lot to consider and a lot for the Sierra Club, our allies and our volunteers to get involved in.
Is there some silliness in the charges?
Of course. From the apparently real concern that “Sharia” law is being promoted in Texas, to the hope that Texas can help counties in Eastern New Mexico secede from their state and instead join our great state, there are issues that appear more to galvanize interested parties during an election year as opposed to fixing real problems.
Are we concerned with any of the proposals?
Yes. Many of the charges are coached in language that suggests that the issue that needs to be addressed is too much government regulation stifling economic development. We are particularly concerned with the charge in the House Committee on Environmental Regulation which states:
“Improving the Regulatory Process: Study environmental regulations governing air, land, and water quality, waste disposal, and industrial development. Examine opportunities to streamline permitting processes, reduce unnecessary or duplicative regulatory requirements, and improve coordination among responsible agencies. Evaluate how current regulatory requirements affect economic development, infrastructure investment, and business operations across the state while ensuring environmental safeguards remain effective. Develop recommendations to improve regulatory processes, interagency coordination, and provide greater predictability for regulated entities.”
For many communities facing real pollution impacts from industrial development, making development more “streamlined” permitting moves us in the wrong direction in a state where our agencies have often served more as permitting pushers rather than protectors of people and the environment.
Water is a key issue for both the House and Senate
Both the House and Senate plan to look at various water issues. In fact the word “water” appears 58 times in the Speaker’s proclamation of legislative charges, and it appears that the House Committee on Natural Resources will be taking a hard look at many issues of interest, including groundwater management and the powers of groundwater conservation districts (GCDs). Among the issues being assessed are “Produced Water,” innovative water supply strategies, desalination, brackish groundwater development, the afore-mentioned groundwater management, water well regulations, water impact fees for housing developments, and regional water planning. They are also looking generally at how the water funding approved by voters last session is being implemented and the issue of funding flood infrastructure. The Senate has a more focused list of priorities, but will also be monitoring the water funding issue, produced water, data center water use, and seawater desalination.
Data centers being discussed in multiple committees
The House issued two specific charges on data centers: a general one on data center development (needed tools to both encourage their development but also put some guidelines on that development), and another on their water use. The Senate was more specific, looking, yes, at their water use and needed protections, but also at their “cost” in terms of lost revenue due to tax incentives, and a more focused look at consumer electric costs. While the house will discuss these issues in the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on State Affairs, the Senate will tackle data centers in the Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, as well as the Committee on Finance and Committee on Business and Commerce.
In a related charge, the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce will also be reviewing the newly proposed large transmission infrastructure - needed in part to fuel the rise of data centers - by “Managing the Impacts of 765-kv Transmission Lines on Private Property Rights.”
Distributed energy interim charges
Both the House and Senate were tasked with looking at the issue of integration of distributed energy resources. In the House, the Committee on State Affairs was tasked with a charge to “evaluate existing aggregate distributed energy resource projects and microgrids across the state. Study existing programs, determine their efficacy, and consider how these projects improve reliability, reduce consumer costs, and support overall grid resilience. Make recommendations to improve the availability of these programs.”
The Senate received a similar charge, though a bit broader to look at “Modernizing Transmission and Enhancing Affordability: Consider proposals to improve transmission planning, construction, and ratemaking processes to protect everyday Texans from rising electricity costs. Evaluate ways to maximize existing transmission infrastructure and reduce congestion through the integration of residential distributed energy resources, energy storage, and other grid technologies. Review ERCOT's proposed changes to its interconnection process to determine what guardrails should be enacted to increase transparency and accountability, and support continued investments in the state.”
Renewable energy and battery storage development guardrails
Last session, the Sierra Club supported multiple bills to put safeguards in place for battery storage and renewable energy development while opposing broader bills that were really designed to stymie the development of renewable energy. Both the Lt. Governor and Speaker asked the Legislature to review safety and other concerns around this development - concerns that we believe have been largely addressed -but we welcome the opportunity to look at any additional issues that should be assessed.
First the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development will be looking at “Ensuring Responsible Renewable Energy Decommissioning,” while in the House the Committee on State Affairs will be assessing “Battery Storage and Safety.”
What about concerns about pollution and toxics facing communities?
Largely - crickets. While the House Committee on Energy Resources is assessing issues related to orphaned wells and water wells initially developed for energy resources, none of the committees appear to be looking at issues related to real pollution concerns like PFAS, air emissions, methane pollution, or surface water quality standards.
So, are there hearings scheduled already?
Yes, there are, particularly in the Senate where several hearings have already been announced.
For example, the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce began with a session this week on cybersecurity, supply chains, and the potential threat to our electric grid posed by China, Russia and Iran. While this particular hearing involved invited-only testimony, future hearings will be more “open” to the public.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs will consider invited and public input on May 11th on three of its charges, including prioritizing utility revenue for infrastructure maintenance, evaluating desalination viability and regulatory efficiency and safeguarding the Texas livestock industry.
Senate Finance has already scheduled three hearings - two in July and one in September - to receive comments from invited experts and public testimony on various charges, including data center investments and tax breaks, transportation funding, and rural fire protection funding and property tax reductions.
More hearings are being scheduled and happening every day.
A list of Senate hearings can be found here.
In the House, one hearing on “House Administration” - has been scheduled, while a second on data centers is happening this Thursday on April 9th, though it is invited testimony only. But a hearing can pop up in a moment’s notice and we expect that soon hearings will pop up throughout the late spring and early summer in the House. You can stay on top of house hearings here.
Key upcoming hearings
- April 9: House State Affairs: Data Centers
- May 11: Senate Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs: Evaluating Desalination Viability and Regulatory Efficiency
- July 27: Senate Finance: Data Center Investment and State Fiscal Effects
Priority committee charges
Here is a list of some key charges from committees Sierra Club follows. We have abridged the description of the charge.
The House Committee on Energy Resources is taking on a suite of topics related to industry growth and regulation in Texas's energy ecosystem. Key committee priority areas include:
- Produced water processes
- Texas' hydrogen industry development
- Carbon capture, utilization, and storage
- Severed and orphaned well remediation
- Impacts of geopolitical events on Texas energy systems
The House Committees on Natural Resources will be prioritizing the critical implications of data center growth in Texas, as well as groundwater management:
- Groundwater management
- Data Centers
- Water supply
- Brackish Groundwater
- Desalination
- Regional Water Planning
The House State Affairs Committee is also managing oversight of key regulatory agencies, the PUCT and OPUC, while examining reliability, safety and consumer costs for
- Battery storage
- Wildfires
- Microgrids and distributed energy resources (DERs)
- Data Centers
Additionally, the Committee on Trade, Workforce, and Economic Development will investigate supply chain resilience for our state's energy industry and ways the Legislature may promote secure economic development in the 90th Legislative Session.
The Senate Committee on Business & Commerce will be assessing:
- Managing data center growth
- Managing the impacts of 765-kV transmission lines on private property rights
- Modernizing transmission and enhancing affordability
- Monitoring SB 6 implementation
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Economic Development will be assessing:
- Efforts around recycling and mitigation of wind and solar projects
- Produced Water Rule Implementation
The Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs will be looking at:
- Produced water and water supply
- Large water users
- Water fees and infrastructure
In addition both the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on FInance will be taking on a number of charges related to:
- Water supply and flood infrastructure
- The Texas Energy Fund
- Data Center costs and investments
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Fund 9 (wildlife funding)
The House Committee on Housing Affordability has a wide charge on housing affordability.
How you can get involved
First, consider creating an alert through the state’s Capitol website (My TLO Account) so you are aware when hearings come up. Second, we would invite you to join us at our next Legislative Action Team meeting on April 16 where we will dive with some depth into some of these interim charges, upcoming hearings, and the beginning of the development of legislative priorities in 2027. Join us if you can!