Texas bond elections often pass with low voter turnout and simple majorities, driving up local debt as a result. Raising voter approval thresholds could protect taxpayers and ensure a stronger consensus for public spending. Key points: Even though tax relief has been funded at the state level, increased debt at the local level has led...
Groundwater supplies over half of the water used in Texas, and over 99% of drinking water for rural Texas (TGPC, n.d.). Groundwater conservation districts cover most of the state and nearly all of the aquifers that supply groundwater. The districts, which are governed by Chapter 36 of the Texas Water Code, are the state’s preferred...
Part 3: How Texas Can Solve Its Winter Reliability Problem Five years after Winter Storm Uri, the ERCOT grid is still not ready for the next major winter storm. The first two installments of this series showed that demand has grown more than 20% since 2021 while firm generation capacity has barely budged, and the...