Read this in a browser.

Good morning, 

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, May 22, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

House Approves Creation of  Texas Grid Security Commission

• Members of the Texas House have signed off on a measure establishing a commission that will collaborate with state agencies to improve the security of the electrical grid. Luca Caccaitore has the details.
     
• The legislation, authored by State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood), would create the Texas Grid Security Commission. If approved by the governor, the commission would fall under the state’s Division of Emergency Management. It would be composed of representatives from various state agencies, power generators, and utility companies.
       
• The commission would evaluate potential hazards to the state’s power grid and report them to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. These hazards include weather events, cyberattacks, electromagnetic threats, and supply chain vulnerabilities.
      
• "Recent things that have happened in the world help reinforce the fact that an attack on our grid system is very serious—the growing physical threats around our country just get bigger and bigger." – Bob Hall

Legislation to Block Abortion Travel Funding Advances Out of House

• In a vote that went mostly along partisan lines, the Texas House gave approval yesterday to Senate Bill 33, which bars local governments from using taxpayer dollars to support women seeking abortions, including those who travel out of state to do so. Brandon Waltens reports the legislation was designed to close a loophole in existing law that has been exploited by left-leaning cities like Austin and San Antonio.
      

• In recent years, some cities have funneled tax dollars to nonprofit organizations that help women pay for transportation, lodging, childcare, and other costs to obtain abortions outside of Texas. 

           
• The new law prohibits any governmental entity from entering into contracts or spending money to provide logistical support for abortions, even if those services are delivered in other states. That includes funding for travel, food, lodging, childcare, counseling that encourages abortion, or any other service that facilitates the procedure.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office Plans Return of Outsourced Inmates

• As Joseph Trimmer reports, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office announced plans to begin retrieving hundreds of inmates currently housed in out-of-state facilities following a steady drop in the county jail population.
   

• Harris County officials have been spending about $54 million per year to house more than 1,200 inmates in private and public jails outside of Texas, primarily in Louisiana and Mississippi.

     
• The outsourcing began as a response to persistent overcrowding at the Harris County Jail, which has long operated above capacity. The facility, located in downtown Houston, is the largest in Texas and one of the largest in the United States. Staffing shortages and a backlog of unprocessed criminal cases exacerbated the issue.

RELATED NEWS

Houston Controller Blocks City Budget Over Lawsuit Uncertainty

Michael Wilson explains that Houston's controller is refusing to certify the new city budget altogether until the courts rule on a payment agreement stemming from an ongoing drainage lawsuit.

School Board Censures Trustee Busted in Prostitution Sting

• A Central Texas school board member busted in a prostitution sting has received a censure from fellow trustees as they eye options to replace him. Erin Anderson has the story.
      
• James Green, an elected member of the Calvert ISD board of trustees, was arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution during a sting operation conducted in Waco last month.
     

• In an emergency meeting, trustees voted unanimously to censure Green “for conduct unbecoming to the students and staff of Calvert ISD, the community, the School Board, and his oath of office.” Texas law does not allow for school board members to remove a trustee or for voters to recall trustees.

Quote-Unquote

"A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today."

– Alexander Solzhenitsyn​

Directory of Your Current U.S. & Texas Lawmakers

This information is automatically inserted based on the mailing address you provide to us. If you'd like to update your contact information, please visit our subscriber portal.