Austin, TX

Texas version of DOGE got to work at Capitol

Published

10 months ago

March 5, 2025

Texas version of DOGE got to work at Capitol

Texas DOGE committee got to work

The Texas version of DOGE got to work on Wednesday. The Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency was created by House Speaker Dustin Burrows. It is modeled after the controversial federal team led by Elon Musk.

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas version of DOGE got to work on Wednesday. The Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency was created by House Speaker Dustin Burrows.

It is modeled after the controversial federal team led by Elon Musk.

What is the Texas DOGE program?

What they’re saying:

The House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency (DOGE) got underway Wednesday with a promise from Committee Chairman Giovanni Capriglione.

“For too long, government inefficiency has been tolerated, accepted and ignored. That ends now,” said Chairman Capriglione (R) Southlake.

This Texas twist on the federal DOGE program is similar in name to the one led by Elon Musk. But the chairman denied it was a political copycat.

“This is going to be different. This is, as I say, everything in Texas, a little bit bigger and a little bit better. And that’s what we’ll be doing here in this committee will be looking at using scalpels, and we’ll also be able to look at sledgehammers,” said Chairman Capriglione.

Chairman Capriglione was asked if there is waste in the Texas government. Did he think the state has been mismanaged for the past 20 years by Republican leaders?

“It hasn’t, but we only meet every two years. So, this is an opportunity for us to go and look at what’s been done over the last two years and possibly longer,” said Chairman Capriglione.

Dig deeper:

The committee’s initial focus on Wednesday was on the state’s IT department, the newly formed Space Commission, and even the Sunset Advisory Commission.

Committee member Tony Tinderholt (R) Arlington asked the Executive Director of the Sunset Advisory Commission, Eric Beverly, how often the organization determines that an agency should be eliminated.

“I can tell you that we have just, in the last 12 years, recommended abolishing eight different agencies,” said Beverly.

Most state agencies not only go through a Sunset review, all go through a review during the Legislative Budget process. Despite that, Chairman Capriglione does not believe his committee is redundant.

“You always need an independent a third party, if you will, to go and look at what’s been done and what’s going on. And that’s what this committee is going to do,” said Chairman Capriglione.

During the hearing, committee member Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos indicated House Democrats will embrace being part of the Texas DOGE.

“I would love to learn more about exploring waste, fraud, and abuse under Operation Lonestar and I hope that, you know, our legislature would really be committed to transparency there, knowing how much we’ve spent billions and billions over the past few years,” said Rep. Rodriguez Ramos (D) Richardson.

The Texas DOGE committee will not issue pink slips. But members are expected to make recommendations about staffing and file legislative reforms that could reassign staff.

“We’re going to go and point out wherever we see inefficiencies. Right. And so, obviously, that goes to each individual agency to decide. But we already have bills that are coming to our committee that are going to talk about how to make sure that what people want and the services they need align with the resources that we’re putting into it,” said Chairman Capriglione.

Local perspective:

There is the potential for scoring political points beyond Operation Lone Star, according to Brian Smith with St. Edwards University.

“Democrats might be able to make something of this,” said Smith.

High-profile cuts, according to Smith, may be more difficult to accomplish.

“Everybody’s going to justify their program under the Dome as being very efficient,” said Smith.

Smith also noted that Texas runs a lean budget unlike the federal budget. Chairman Capriglione is confident reforms can be made.

“The goal of this is to make sure that the government’s working for the taxpayers, not the other way around,” said Chairman Capriglione.

What’s next:

The state has almost 270,000 different rules and regulations on the books.

Based on the hearing on Wednesday, it appears the committee’s initial focus may be on that, as well as contracts and property management, rather than the state workforce.

The Source: Information from the Texas legislative session

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Austin, TX

Democrats go statewide in Texas House races

Published

9 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Democrats go statewide in Texas House races

AUSTIN — For the first time in modern Texas politics, Democrats will field candidates in every one of the state’s 150 House districts.

It’s a milestone party leaders hope will boost turnout, money and organization up and down the ballot, even as Gov. Greg Abbott enters the cycle with a well-tested ground game of his own.

Democratic leaders say the move is less about flipping deeply red districts and more about expanding the electorate and forcing Republicans to defend territory they have long taken for granted.

Houston Rep. Christina Morales, the new chief of the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, said a full slate of candidates creates infrastructure that can benefit statewide races, regardless of the odds in individual districts.

Campaigns that once existed only on paper now bring door-knocking, phone banking and voter registration efforts, she said.

Morales also is coordinating with national Democrats, trying to harness energy from Texas’ high-profile Senate race, marked by a bitter GOP feud.

In that primary, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.

The Democratic Senate contest, featuring state Rep. James Talarico of Austin and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, has drawn wide voter interest and donor support.

But attention and money only go so far.

Abbott enters the cycle with a major advantage: a mature, statewide voter-mobilization network built over decades of Republican control.

“Abbott has made it his own,” said longtime GOP strategist Thomas Graham, citing sustained relationship-building at the precinct level and focus on local concerns. “Democrats are still rebuilding a statewide party. The ground game heavily favors the governor.”

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Austin, TX

Environmental experts say Texas data centers come with uncertainty

Published

21 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Environmental experts say Texas data centers come with uncertainty

article

The main switchyard at a Midlothian power plant. The federal government is sending Texas more than $60 million to strengthen the state’s power grid. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Texas is home to approximately 400 data centers — some currently operational, others still under construction and a number that are still in the planning stages. Experts say the boom comes with a lot of uncertainty.

Texas data center power demand

What they’re saying:

“Data centers are a relatively large power demand in a small area, something like, you know, 100 or 200 megawatts of power. That’s more than a small city or a small town would be consuming itself,” said Carey King, a research scientist with the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.

Over the past year, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has received more than 200 gigawatts worth of large load interconnection requests, approximately 73% of which are from data centers. That has led to questions about whether the state’s grid is up to the task of supplying power to the facilities.

“Many of us who suffered through winter storm Uri still have PTSD over, you know, fears that the grid won’t be able to meet demand,” said Luke Metzger, the executive director of Environment Texas, a local nonprofit working to safeguard the state’s natural environment.

Question of infrastructure

That’s not the only question. King points out that there is also a question of whether all the proposed data centers will actually be built. He says if they don’t end up materializing, it could spell trouble for anyone making investment decisions based on the projections. And if infrastructure is built to accommodate the needs of projects that never come to fruition, those costs could be passed off to consumers in the form of higher rates.

Experts say these speculative data center projects have led to uncertainty around how much power will actually be needed to meet the demands of the state’s data centers.

Senate Bill 6, which was signed into law last June, outlined new requirements for data center projects, including stipulating that data centers put up more capital up front for things like transmission studies and interconnection fees. The bill is, in part, intended to reduce some of that uncertainty around speculative power loads.

Potential environmental impact

But concerns still remain around the potential environmental impact of the state’s data centers.

“There are an estimated 130 new gas-powered power plants that have been proposed for Texas, in part to meet this demand for data centers, and if they’re all built, that’s going to have as much climate pollution as 27 million cars,” said Metzger.

Above all, Metzger says the biggest uncertainty is water, as there is no central entity in the state that collects and compiles information on those needs.

On average, a single data center consumes millions of gallons of water annually, according to researchers with the University of Michigan. Metzger says that’s of particular concern here in Texas, where water supply is already being pushed to its limits.

“Texas is a very drought-prone state, and already, you know, you know, according to the Water Development Board, you know, we don’t have enough supply to meet demand,” said Metzger. “There is no way to make more water. And so, I think ultimately, you know that that could be the greatest concern for the state.”

Over the past year, residents across Central Texas have spoken out about data centers in places like Round Rock and Taylor, citing additional concerns including falling property values, noise, and health impacts.

What’s next:

Moving forward, experts recommend that local leaders undergo long-range planning to determine whether they’re able to allocate limited resources to data centers in the long run prior to approving these projects.

The Source: Information in this article comes from FOX 7 interviews with experts.

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Austin, TX

Silver Alert issued for missing 73-year-old man in Austin

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Silver Alert issued for missing 73-year-old man in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a Silver Alert for an elderly man who has been missing since Friday afternoon in Austin.

The Austin Police Department is looking for Charles Evans, a 73-year-old man diagnosed with a cognitive impairment. Evans was last seen at 5:37 p.m. on Jan. 9 in Austin.

Silver Alert issued for missing 73-year-old man in Austin

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Police describe him as a 6’3″ tall white male, weighing 225 pounds, has gray hair, hazel eyes, and who uses a walker.

Law enforcement officials believe his disappearance poses a credible threat to his health and safety.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5000.

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