Gov. Greg Abbott said Dec. 19 the state is initiating a billboard campaign across Central America and border cities in northern Mexico to discourage migrants from attempting to enter Texas, the Austin American- Statesman reported.
The billboards are in multiple languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and Russian. They tell stories of migrants being sexually assaulted while trying to enter the United States.
“This is tough medicine,' Abbott said. “But we want no were reported that could affect public drinking water. In addition, 289 property owners were notified that such contamination could have an impact on their private wells.
The state relies on groundwater from aquifers for roughly 55% of its water supply.
Voters in 2023 approved a $1 billion fund to develop more water resources, including desalination of brackish groundwater.
“Any groundwater contamination is a cause for concern,” said Adam Foster, director of Commission with the purpose of keeping Texas at the forefront of the space program, the Texas Standard reported.
Institute Director Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg, a former astronaut and an engineering professor, noted the U.S. and Texas face competition from inspections dropped 20% statewide over the past decade.
The reasons include staffing at state and local law enforcement agencies failing to keep pace with the state’s growth and thousands of Department of Public Safety troopers being sent to the border for Operation Lone Star and other immigration- related issues.
DPS spokeswoman Sheridan Nolen acknowledged the border assignments have hamstrung commercial vehicles oversight operations. The agency plans to ask the Legislature for more money in the next session.
The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles reported the number of commercial vehicles operating solely within state lines rose to 459,000 last year from 340,000 in 2013.
At least one Republican elected official is critical of the decrease in safety inspections.
“With the safety concerns that we have, I think that pulling officers off for Operation Lone Star or any other gimmick is just bad governance,” said Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett in Odessa.
School districts asked to refund $16 million to feds Federal officials are asking Texas schools to return $16 million they say was billed incorrectly to Medicaid, The Tribune reported.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent an email recently to 572 school districts in the state asking them to return anywhere from $100 to $800,000 for services billed in 2011. A 2017 audit found Texas schools had improperly billed the agency 238 times.
The state has already paid the $16 million and now is required by law to recoup its costs from the districts, many of which are struggling financially. “Because this comes in the middle of a budget year, it makes planning for schools virtually impossible,” said Brian Woods, director of advocacy at the Texas Association of School Administrators. “Had this clawback been known prior to schools approving their budgets in the summer of 2024, then at least it could have been planned for, right?”
More than 40 schools owe more than $100,000 while more than half owe less than $10,000.
Commission adopts new oil and gas waste-management rules The Texas Railroad Commission has adopted a “significant overhaul” of rules and regulations for oil and gas waste-management facilities in Texas. It is the first overhaul of the agency’s waste-management rules in four decades.
The adopted rules enhance the commission’s oversight of waste-management facilities, with staff dedicated to environmental permit compliance, according to the news release.
“The oil and gas industry has evolved dramatically since the 1980s. After a years-long process, and with thoughtful and thorough deliberation from the public, agency experts and industry stakeholders, I am proud to report the Railroad Commission has passed its first overhaul of waste-management rules in 40 years,” said Chairman Christi Craddick.
The new rules can be found on the commission’s website at rrc.texas.gov.
Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@texaspress. com
