Speaker Phelan Hires Chief of Staff Speaker Dade Phelan has hired lobbyist and former House member Mike Toomey to be his new chief of staff.  Toomey served three terms in the Texas House, first elected in 1982.  He then served as former Governor Bill Clements’ chief...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: CenterPoint Rate Case Continues An administrative law judge this week denied CenterPoint’s request to withdraw its pending request to increase rates.  The company filed a petition in March to increase the...

AG Paxton to Investigate CenterPoint Texas AG Ken Paxton announced this week that he has launched an investigation into CenterPoint regarding their conduct during Hurricane Beryl.  CenterPoint supplies power to all of Harris County and other surrounding areas...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week:Continued Hurricane Beryl Aftermath CenterPoint executives met late last week with Gov. Abbott and were told that their timeline to replace utility poles, trim vegetation, and take other actions to avoid future...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: Hurricane Beryl Hurricane Beryl made landfall around 4AM Monday morning near Matagorda packing sustained winds of 80 MPH.  Gusts as high as 97 MPH were recorded on Surfside Beach, just up the coast from...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: I wasn’t planning to do an update this week, thinking it was going to be a slow holiday week.  But there were enough relevant developments, so here’s a quick recap for everyone before the holiday weekend:...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: Paxton Investigation Continuing It appears that even though the Texas Senate acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton last year on all charges that led to his impeachment, a federal grand jury is moving forward...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: Tropical Storm Alberto The Coastal Bend area near Corpus Christi was the hardest hit by tropical storm Alberto that went ashore near Tampico, Mexico early Thursday morning.  Wind gusts and flooding affected...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: ERCOT Predicts Possible Rotating Outages this Summer Officials at ERCOT – the Electric Reliability Council of Texas – announced this week that the state has a 16% chance of having controlled outages – rolling...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: Speaker Race Update A group of 46 Republican House members and nominees – those that will assuredly win their November election – signed a letter this week pledging to only support a Speaker that commits to...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: Results of May 28th Runoffs Six of the eight Republican House incumbents that were forced into runoffs were defeated in the runoff election on Tuesday.  And all six were soundly defeated, all losing by at least...

Here’s a quick recap of what happened over the last week: Early Voting this Week for May 28th Runoffs Early voting continues through 7PM today for the runoffs on Tuesday, May 28th.  The runoff races will go a long way in determining the direction of the Texas House...