Rural counties trying to slow or even block data center construction are finding they have limited legal authority, the Texas Standard reported. Hill County, for example, rescinded a one-year moratorium on data center construction after being sued for $100 million by a company planning a large-scale data center project near Hillsboro.
RCM Hill argued that the county lacked the legal authority to impose the temporary ban, which came after the company had already secured contracts for more than 800 acres for more than $80 million.
“You’re not going to see anybody else trying a moratorium at this point because they’ve seen what happens when you do it,” said Robert Paterson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who specializes in land use law. “You basically just get clubbed with a ridiculous amount of money.”
In Hood and Somervell counties, both southwest of Fort Worth, at least nine proposed data center projects are under consideration. Concerned citizens are filling county commissioner meetings, saying the projects could raise electricity bills, strain water resources, and harm tourism.
Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission to ensure that new data centers actually reduce residential electric bills and proposed that new laws be passed during next year’s legislative session to further regulate the data centers.
Texas GOP pushes for closed primaries
Abbott and other state GOP leaders declared at the recent state convention in Houston that they will push to require voters to register with a party to prevent crossover voting, The Texas Tribune reported.
“We are going to make clear that in the future, only Republicans will vote in Republican primaries,” he said at the Houston convention. The party has made closing primaries a top legislative priority. The state’s current open primary system doesn’t require party registration, so voters can cast ballots in whichever primary they want — just not both.
The Texas Republican Party sued Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson last year and was later joined by Attorney General Ken Paxton in asking a federal judge to strike down parts of the election code that allow open primaries. Nelson, who is stepping down next month, opposed Paxton’s motion and argued that it is up to the state Legislature to change election law..
Paxton’s platform short on specifics, except for crypto bill
Paxton’s platform in his bid to be the state’s next U.S. senator is mostly devoid of specifics, according to the Houston Chronicle. The one piece of legislation he argues is critical is a cryptocurrency bill called the CLARITY Act. Supporters say it would bring stability to the crypto market, which uses a digital form of cash.
The law was passed by the U.S. House a year ago but is stuck in the Senate. Critics include some of the country’s largest unions and banks, who say it doesn’t provide sufficient consumer protections or safeguards against money laundering.
The bill is the only piece of legislation named on Paxton’s website. He also vows to “carry the torch for Trump’s agenda.”
Gary 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: [email protected].
