AUSTIN, Texas (KBTX) -The 89th Texas legislative session kicks off Tuesday, with lawmakers set to address major issues ranging from school vouchers and immigration to water policy and sports gambling. With a Republican-dominated legislature and more than 2,300 pre-filed bills, experts predict a high-stakes 140 days.

Legislative makeup and new members

Republicans maintain control of both chambers, holding 20 of 31 seats in the Senate and 88 of 150 seats in the House. Democrats control 11 Senate seats and 62 House seats. The Senate gained one additional Republican member since the last session, and three senators are serving their first term.

The House welcomes 32 new representatives, including Brazos Valley’s District 14′s Paul Dyson, and District 12′s Trey Wharton, while also flipping two seats in November’s elections.

“This session could bring significant changes,” said Kirby Goidel, a political science professor at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service. “What the state legislature does in Texas is probably even more important to you than what happens in Washington, D.C.”

Key issues on the agenda

Among the most debated topics this session is school vouchers, a priority for Gov. Greg Abbott. Lawmakers have struggled to pass a bill in the last session which included five special sessions, but experts say momentum is growing.

“This should be something that would be easy for them to get done,” Goidel said. “The challenge is really in the details. Should vouchers be everywhere? If they are everywhere, do they hurt rural school districts without as many private school choices?”

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Another focal point will be immigration. Republican lawmakers are considering creating a state agency to handle border security and immigration policies independently of federal initiatives.

“There’s a feeling, I think, on the Republican side that now that you have a Republican in the White House, maybe that maybe there’s a dividend that we that we get back because we don’t have to spend as much time as an energy on immigration,” Goidel said. “Republicans also feel like they owe their voters to show that they are addressing the immigration issue.”

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Sports gambling is also likely to spark debate, with advocates pushing for legalization to recapture millions of dollars currently spent in other states.

“We know people in Texas are gambling on sports,” Goidel said. “There is going to be a big push to try to make that legal.”

Infrastructure and budget surplus

Water export from the Brazos Valley is expected to be a significant issue as lawmakers address statewide water policy during the 89th legislative session. With the region sitting atop critical water resources, local leaders and residents have voiced concerns about plans to transport water to urban areas outside the Brazos Valley. These exports could strain local supplies and impact long-term sustainability for agriculture and growing communities within the region.

“This is gonna be a session that’s going to have to deal with some of the water resources confronting the state,” Goidel said.

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Lawmakers will also contend with a budget surplus, with a key update from the state’s revenue estimating commission expected Monday. The surplus could influence property tax relief and other funding priorities.

“Many people are expecting [the surplus] to be very big—we may all get some property tax relief,” Goidel said.

A busy session ahead

The pre-filing of more than 2,300 bills—over 1,600 in the House and 700 in the Senate—gives a glimpse of the legislative priorities. Topics such as public education funding, social issues, and infrastructure are expected to emerge alongside the core debates.

Incoming state Rep. Paul Dyson weighs in on speaker race splitting House Republicans

The speaker’s race has revealed divisions within the Republican Party, with lawmakers split between the establishment faction and the MAGA-aligned wing, a dynamic that could influence the tone and priorities of the 89th session.

“We walk into the Texas legislative session this year not really sure who the speaker is going to be because there is a division within the Republican Party—between what I don’t really like these terms, but I’ll use them anyway—sort of between the establishment side of the Republican Party and the MAGA side,” Goidel said. “That’s got to be resolved before anything gets done, and how that gets resolved could affect everything else that follows.”

Looking ahead

With a packed agenda and a Republican-controlled legislature, experts say this session will shape Texas’ future on multiple fronts. The session, which runs for 140 days, begins Tuesday. Lawmakers are required to pass a budget before the term concludes, but political observers will also watch closely to see how key debates unfold.

KBTX News 3 will have a team in Austin on Tuesday, bringing you the sights and sounds from opening day.

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AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-based soda company Poppi is entering the apparel market. 

You heard that right, Poppi–a company known for its prebiotic sodas–has partnered exclusively with Target to launch a new clothing and accessories line. 

The collaboration also coincided with the launch of a new flavor, cream soda. 

The line features sweatshirts, hoodies, sweatpants and other clothing items with different graphics and the Poppi logo. 

Poppi was started by a husband-and-wife duo, Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, in Austin. The two ended up pitching their prebiotic sodas on Shark Tank and landed an investment deal.

Because of that deal, Poppi is now shelved in every major retailer across the country. 

“From Texas to your taste buds, with love,” Poppi’s website says. 

The clothing line launched on Target’s website at the end of December and will be available for a limited time. You can shop the new apparel line only at select Target stores or on the Target website.

AUSTIN, Texas – As devastating wildfires continue to rage across Southern California, the Austin Fire Department is taking some proactive measures to prepare for the possibility of a similar catastrophe striking closer to home. 

Multiple lives lost, immeasurable destruction, and a community in crisis as the southern California wildfires continue to wreak havoc.

For Austin Fire Department’s Senior Geospatial Analyst Braniff Davis, it’s not a matter of if, but when a devastating wildfire breaks out in the area.

To help stay prepared for a wildfire, the agency uses high-tech mapping from a company called Esri.

What they’re saying:

“We use GIS or geographic information spatial information in order to help prepare the Austin Fire Department for fighting wildfires,” Davis said.

The city of Austin is using their high-tech mapping to improve fire prevention, response and damage assessment.

“It’s a great example of a local government addressing the risk in their community and either preventing or mitigating the risk and being able to respond to it,” Esri’s Director of Fire, Rescue and EMS Mike Cox said.

Big picture view:

Here’s how it works. It all starts with understanding risk, understanding the topography and who is being impacted by the incidents.

“As an example, I can do an analysis in GI and understand how many homes have disabilities within a certain planning zone or how many homes don’t have vehicles based on, you know, with concerns for evacuation, you know, who can self-evacuate and who can’t. So, these kind of data sets are available to these responders, to these agencies to be able to do this kind of planning,” Cox said.

Then, it’s about planning the response through geographic information technology.

First responders can now track firefighter locations, coordinate large-scale search and rescue efforts, and even monitor the movement of responding helicopters in real-time.

“What you’re seeing there is obviously a map with structural footprints. You see those tracks that are laid by the responders as they move through an area, and they’re dropping symbology around damage assessment of homes or evacuations. It’s incredibly important in a command post or an emergency operations center to be able to deploy resources efficiently and put people where they need to be to have the most impact and also to keep our responders out of hazardous areas,” Cox said.

Finally comes the recovery phase.

Esri mapping can identify where the damaged structures are post-fire to help begin the rebuild process.

“The recovery process at a federal level as they start tracking these damage assessments and can start funneling the funding to the right agencies and right people that need the help the most based on this data collection,” said Cox.

Local perspective:

For Davis, he says, while in its early stages, these tools are being used city wide by Austin Fire, with the hope for all other first responding agencies to utilize them in the future.

In the meantime, he says all AFD firefighters are being trained on how to use the situational awareness platform ahead of the next wildfire. 

The goal, he says, is to get resources out to a fire as soon as it happens. 

“Once we can get everybody all their data into this platform, then it just becomes a seamless one-stop shop for every bit of information you need for an emergency situation,” Davis said.

Dig deeper:

More information on Austin’s Wildfire Hub can be found here: Wildfire

More on Esri: GIS Software for Mapping and Spatial Analytics | Esri