The Bluebonnet Express

Daily, nonpartisan news on rural Texas and the Texas Legislature, from every region. Just the facts. #TxLege #RuralTexas

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#TxLege https://t.co/9Kf8BiRGEe

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Sen. @MollyForTexas (D) #SD15 filed #SB360 on Friday, which would have Texas Parks and Wlildlife develop a wildlife corridor action plan with the Texas Department of Transportation. #TLO lists Rep. @VoteLuluFlores (D) #HD51's #HB335, filed Nov. 9, as an identical companion.

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The department would have to send the plan to the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker by Dec. 1, 2028, and post it online. It would also help other state agencies and local governments consider wildlife corridors in their planing. The plan would cover the whole state.

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https://t.co/9Kf8BiSetM

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Sen. @MollyForTexas (D) #SD15 filed #SB359 on #Friday, which would add water conservation to the list of things the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must consider before approving a new municipal utility district. Under current law, @TCEQ already weighs whether a

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proposed district and the development inside would have an unreasonable effect on subsidence, groundwater levels in the region, recharge of a groundwater source, runoff and drainage, water quality and total tax assessments. The bill adds water conservation to that list. #TxLege

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water use restrictions and conservation standards for development, redevelopment or subdivision of land that begins after Aug. 31, 2027, along with other strategies to cut water use or water loss. #TxLege

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Sen. @MollyforTexas (D) #SD15 filed #SB356 on #Friday, a bill that would let county commissioners courts adopt water conservation programs by order.

The programs would cover a county's unincorporated area, including a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction. Counties could set

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@TexasTribune Rural Texans are Pro-Public Education

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He also wants higher pay for the commission’s roughly 1,100 employees, the Tribune reported. “There’s a lot of turnover. If we need to recruit more talent and retain that talent, we need to pay them more,” he told the Reporter-Telegram. Read More here: https://t.co/wdpQNnRcul

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Railroad Commissioner-elect @Jon_RosenthalTX (D) said Friday he will ask the #TxLege to double the Railroad Commission’s budget, which the Texas Tribune reported is about half a billion dollars. He also wants the agency to plug orphan #oilandgas wells faster and for less money.

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Texas has more farms than any other state, and the last AG census showed we lost more than 17,700 of them between 2017 and 2022

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Rural Texas has been left behind for a long time. Think about it. Farmers are paying more every year to grow the food we eat, and hardly anyone thanks them. The USDA expects U.S. farm production expenses to reach $492.8 billion this year, up $21.2 billion from 2025.

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Fuel and oil costs are forecast up almost 29% and fertilizer up 15%. Meanwhile, farmers get about 12 cents of every dollar we spend on food, according to the USDA's latest numbers.

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@MarijuanaMoment We can vouch for Rural Texans: Legalize it

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@dudeonthebay Rural Texans made their voices heard!

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It has been filed, has not been referred to a committee and would take effect immediately with a two-thirds vote in each house, or Sept. 1, 2027. #Txlege

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Sen. @MollyforTexas (D) #SD15 filed #SB241 (https://t.co/yUmOyiBBlw…) on Nov. 9, 2026, with joint authors Sen. @CarolforTexas (D) #SD6, Sen. @Rolandfortexas (D) #SD19 and Sen. @TaylorRehmetTX (D) #SD9.

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Cook said one failing school triggered the Houston ISD takeover. The bill would require the commissioner to remove a board of managers once each campus that led to the appointment receives an acceptable rating for two consecutive years.