TXD Customer Service Manager - Texas Desal Association

Texas Desal Legislative Update from Kyle Frazier | March 2022

March 9, 2022 By TXD Customer Service Manager

Primary Election Results
Texas election results 2022 for governor, Congress and more primaries | The Texas Tribune

The 2022 primary election held few surprises yesterday. Governor Abbott and Beto O’Rourke each won their respective primary elections with respectable margins. Governor Abbott was forced to spend considerable funds to achieve his victory but has an immense war chest waiting in the wings for the upcoming general election in November and is an accomplished fundraiser. Former Congressman O’Rourke is also a talented fundraiser and should be able to raise sufficient funds to run a respectable race. Both candidates have already begun sparing, should be interesting to watch.

The only other statewide race that was interesting to watch was the race for attorney general. With General Paxton’s legal problems, the outcome for this race was always in question. Current Land Commissioner George P Bush outpaced the other candidates and will face Paxton in the runoff on May 24^th.

Other statewide runoffs include:

Lt. Governor- Democratic
Land Commissioner- Democratic and Republican
Comptroller- Democratic
Railroad Commissioner- Republican

There were very few surprises in the Texas Senate races. Phil King will take on Incumbent Beverly Powell in the redrawn SD 10. Mays Middleton won the SD 11 seat formerly held by the retiring Larry Taylor, there is no Democratic opponent. Republican Tan Parker will take on Francine Ly in Senator Jane Nelson’s old seat. Former Senator Pete Flores will take on Paul Reyes in the SD 24 open seat and in the South Texas seat formerly held by Eddie Lucio II, Morgan LaMantia will face Sara Stapleton-Barrera in the Democratic primary runoff.

In the House there were a number of Incumbent Republicans with contested primaries. Kyle Kacal in a redrawn district 12 will face former House member Ben Bius in the runoff. Incumbent Glenn Stephenson will take on Stan Kitzman in HD 85.

Ellen Troxclair and Justin Berry will face off in the newly drawn and open HD 19. While Ms. Troxclair was in front going into the runoff, the margin was much closer than people suspected. The recent announcement of the indictment of Austin Police officer Justin Berry actually appeared to help him in this race. Only time will tell whether that trend will continue into the runoff.

Attempts by far-right groups to drastically alter the House makeup appear to be stymied, at least at this time. It is reasonable to expect that Speaker Phelan will again be elected as Speaker. But, with the large number of retirements in the House, look for new leadership on several key committees. On the Senate side, Lt. Governor Patrick will have general election opposition, it remains to be seen who that opposition will be and whether the individual can raise sufficient funds to be competitive.

There are a number of additional runoff races around the state, for a complete listing follow the Texas Tribune link above.

Getting voters out again (Texas is notorious for low turnouts anyway) is difficult in the best of circumstances. With the ongoing distractions both in Texas and abroad and the lack of several big-ticket statewide races on the runoff ballot (other than the AG race), turnout will be marginal and sporadic.

While House and Senate interim charges have not yet been released those listings should appear soon on both sides, promising a busy summer and fall. There is always the possibility of some of these hearings to occur in areas of the state outside of Austin. Stay tuned. How the current situation in Europe will impact Texas is not yet known. While the amount of Russian oil imported into the US is small compared to Europe, it may influence an increase in oil and gas production here in Texas. That means more jobs and yet another potential increase in state tax revenue. Remember that Texas is already awash in surplus tax revenue from the various COVID relief efforts, both personal and governmental. How this money is spent will be the next big series of questions to be considered.

JKF

Texas Desal Legislative Update from Kyle Frazier | February 2022

February 8, 2022 By TXD Customer Service Manager

Early voting begins on February 14^th and concludes on February 25^th. Primary election day, seemingly early this year is on March 1^st. With an unprecedented number of primary and open seat elections, there apparently is something for everyone. What this large number of races does is to ensure a significant number of new members destined for the House and Senate for the 2023 legislative session.

Potentially as many as 40 new House members and 5 new senators. Possibly more when you include contested general election races. With all the statewide offices also on the ballot and an ever more unpredictable electorate, forecasting what will happen has become a much larger cottage industry. The accuracy of these predictions remains to be seen.

The single most important factor in all of this chaos is you the voter and your responsibility to go and vote. Changes in the “absentee” voting process make this option a bit more challenging so if this is your usual voting method, begin early.

What does the upcoming legislative session have in store for employers and businesses in Texas? There are as many predictions as there are predictors. There are 3 items that are for certain:

Substantial number of new decision makers
Influx of a significant amount of new federal money funneled into the system
Significant amount of new state tax money pumped into the system

All of this new money, a larger influx of “new” funds than I have seen in my lifetime around state government (39 years) will impact our state, for good and bad, for years to come.

The Federal Government has injected significant amounts directly, $194 Billion sent to the State of Texas directly or sent to individuals and families with that total expected to reach $246 Billion when all is said and done.

In turn, much of the Federal money has been spent within our local communities. These expenditures have helped drive our various state tax revenues significantly higher.

As a percentage change current vs. last year, total tax collections are up 30%. Of that total, Sales Tax (typically our largest source of state revenue) is up 23.31% vs last year, Motor Vehicle Sales and Rental Tax is up 20.66 % and Alcohol Beverage Taxes up 49.13% as examples.

What does all this money mean? It means that everyone will want to spend it. Pet projects, new projects, old forgotten projects, new programs, failed programs, bad programs, etc. EVERYONE will have their hand out including the elected officials seeking something specific for their districts. Legislative sessions are always easier when there is NO money, decision makers can tell everyone NO. Not this session…

The one caveat that everyone must remember is that this particular gravy train will come to an end. The federal government, more than likely will not be sending large amounts of cash our way in the future. Our various sources of state income will not maintain this increased level and everything should at some point in the not-too-distant future return to normal (whatever that looks like).

This unique situation does offer the prudent the opportunity to make one-time long-term investments. Infrastructure, roads, water, rural health care, electric grid, rural broadband, education etc. Also, opportunities to make long needed investments in our state and teacher retirement systems.

When candidates come knocking, these are the questions that you need to ask. How will they utilize this situation to the betterment of the people they represent and Texas as a whole? What will they do in this real-life unique circumstance and how will they work with the other elected officials to achieve what is best for our state?

These are not the easy “hot button” questions, but these are the questions and the ultimate answers that will impact us all.

Oh, and one more thing…

If Russia invades Ukraine all bets are off.

JKF

Texas Desal Legislative Update from Kyle Frazier | January 2022

January 3, 2022 By TXD Customer Service Manager

2022 Retirements and Filings

December 13^th was the filing deadline for state and federal elected offices. The first election after a census year is often time for significant change. Once the redistricting process has been completed, the new districts lines will often be cause for dramatic change. This year is no different.

There is a large list of retirees and incumbents with contested primary and general election races, although most of the truly contested races are in the primaries. All of this change guarantees that both the House and the Senate will look much different than how these institutions have looked over the past several cycles.

There are 5 open state Senate seats, 25 open House seats and 36 incumbent members with primaries from both parties. This is a large number of contested races in any set of circumstances.

The Texas primary is on March 1^st. The first day to vote early is February 14^th and early voting ends on February 25^th.

These dates are fast approaching and will be here before we know it. Candidates are busy now and will be for the next several months. Raising money and identifying primary voters will be their most important activity. If you want to get involved, now is the time. Candidates will be looking for help and remembering those who help out now, when they need it the most.

Make sure your employees and co-workers are registered to vote. Because of the sheer number of contested races, the potential change in both the House and Senate promises for a legislative session that will be full of surprises.

Get ready for a bumpy ride…

2022 Retirements – Candidates

Texas Desal Legislative Update from Kyle Frazier | July 2021

July 15, 2021 By TXD Customer Service Manager

POST SESSION REPORT | July 2021

As of this morning 385 bills and resolutions have been filed by members of the House and Senate. The majority of these bills deal with state and local elections in some fashion. The remainder deal with a host of other issues, most of which are on Governor Abbott’s Special Session call, but not all. Property tax, bail bond reform, transgender athlete issues, abortion, banning critical race theory curriculum, and addressing possible censorship by social media companies, among several other issues comprise the majority of the rest of the filed legislation, all of which are within the call of the Special Session. If a bill is brought up on either the House or Senate floor for discussion that is not contained within the Governor’s order it is subject to a point of order. Typically, these bills do not make it that far.

But there is no rule that bills outside the call cannot be filed.

Over the weekend there were hearings on election bills in both the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over elections. Several hundred people attended and many waited until early in the morning to testify on these proposed bills. HB 3 was voted out of committee along party lines on Sunday, SB 1 was voted out of committee on Monday, also along party lines.

On Monday afternoon, at least 51 Democratic members of the Texas House left Texas and flew to Washington. This exodus effectively breaks the quorum needed to convene the Texas House of Representatives.

According to House rules adopted at the beginning of the regular session, two-thirds of the 150-member chamber must be present to conduct business. When the House is in session, legislators can vote to lock chamber doors to prevent colleagues from leaving and can order law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled.

While much hay has been baled regarding “arresting” the House members who left, they of course would have to be in Texas to be arrested by Texas law enforcement, AND if they return, law enforcement would have to find them. Texas is a big state, lots of places to hide.

Expect lots of political activity for the foreseeable future. Both sides will use this situation to attempt to raise money. As to what happens next…

Since the House cannot meet (or conduct any type of business) no actions can be taken. The Senate may continue to meet, hold hearings and even pass legislation. Until the House convenes that is where it will end, at the Senate door.

This Special Session ends at midnight on August 7th. The Governor has the ability to immediately call another Special Session beginning at 12:01 August 8th if he so chooses. He can include all of the same issues and anything else he wants to add.

This issue will probably come to a head around mid-August during the 2nd called Special Session, someone will have to blink. The Governor already has 2 primary opponents and this is all about getting reelected (on all sides). As you will recall, the Governor used his line-item veto authority to veto the portion of the state budget that pays legislators, but also pays all legislative and many other capitol and research staff. This is several thousand working folks who may or may not be particularly political. They will begin working for free September 1st. The current quote from a House Democrat spokesman was that the Governor vetoed the funding that’s his problem.

While the rest of the Special Session issues are not time sensitive, certainly people getting paychecks is and will be at some point.

Also, don’t forget, sometime this fall the Legislature will have to redraw the district lines that each of them and all Congressional candidates must run in. They will have to meet to do that.

I’m sure there will be more to come.