The Texas Report 6/28

The Texas Report 6/28

What’s Happening:

• Governor Abbott calls second special session on property tax relief

• Four more charged in Texas human smuggling incident where 53 migrants died (More here)

• Texas grid smashes all-time demand record amid historic heat wave (More here)

• Texas Inmate dies while working in Huntsville

Governor Abbott calls second special session on property tax relief

Late Tuesday afternoon Governor Greg Abbott announced Special Session #2 and issued a proclamation identifying agenda items for the session that began yesterday.

What does this mean?

• The Governor of Texas can "call" special sessions on topics/issues that are important to the governor.

• Due to various political factors, the Texas House & Senate have been unable to agree on a proposal to provide billions in property tax relief to Texans.

• Property tax relief was a major campaign issue for Republicans across the state, with many promises of using the record surplus to deliver sustainable relief.

• During the 88th Texas Legislative Session, the House & Senate had differing ideas and didn't compromise on spending the $17.6 billion appropriated for property taxes.

We are now in our second special session, and the governor has two items on the agenda:

• ELIMINATING A PROPERTY TAX IN TEXAS: Legislation to put Texas on a pathway to eliminate school district maintenance and operations property taxes.

• LASTING PROPERTY TAX RATE CUTS: Legislation to cut property tax rates by reducing the school district's maximum compressed tax rate to provide lasting property-tax relief for Texas taxpayers.

The House and Senate both gavel in at 11:00 a.m. we will likely learn more about a potential compromise (or lack thereof) then.

During the first special session, the House passed a bill lowering school M&O tax directly per the governor's call. The bill that passed the Seate included increasing homestead exemptions to $100,000, and the governor essentially came out against this proposal.

This has resulted in an extremely rare public battle between the two top Texas Republicans, Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (who leads the Senate.) Patrick has routinely called out Abbott for his stance on property taxes via social media, radio shows, and press conferences. Abbott continues reaffirming his support for a plan focused on lowering M&O taxes. It's hard to see where this potentially ends; Texans have to vote this November on a property tax relief plan, so there will be some form of compromise, but as of right now, neither side seems willing to drop their priorities.

We are now in a wait-and-see/standoff between the House, Governor, and Lt. Governor, with billions in property tax relief in the balance.

Good analysis of the two plans:

Four more charged in Texas human smuggling incident where 53 migrants died

U.S. officials in Texas arrested four Mexicans indicted on suspicion of operating a human smuggling ring responsible for the deaths of 53 migrants last year.

Dozens of migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras were found in a tractor-trailer with malfunctioning air conditioning abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio on June 27, 2022, where the high was 103 Fahrenheit.

Department of Justice (DOJ) officials allege the suspects operated a smuggling ring for adults and children from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to the United States. Overseeing the fateful journey with eight children and a pregnant woman aboard.

When the suspects opened the door after a three-hour journey, they found 48 of the migrants dead, including the pregnant woman, prosecutors allege. Sixteen others were taken to the hospital, five of whom died.

A grand jury indicted the four men on June 7 on a host of illegal transport charges that could result in life imprisonment if they are convicted, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said in a statement.

"The allegations in the indictment are horrifying. Dozens of desperate, vulnerable men, women, and children put their trust in smugglers who abandoned them in a locked trailer to perish in the merciless south Texas summer," Jaime Esparza, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, said in the statement.

Each defendant is charged with:

• one count of conspiracy to transport migrants illegally, resulting in death

• one count of conspiracy to transport migrants illegally, resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy

• one count of transportation of migrants illegally resulting in death

• one count of transportation of migrants illegally resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy.

They are due in court on September 11.

Texas grid smashes all-time demand record amid historic heat wave

The Texas power grid officially broke its record for highest energy demand day on Tuesday afternoon, with a system-wide demand level of 80,875 megawatts (MW) at 4:20 p.m. The previous state high was 80,148.

During the record-breaking surge, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) dashboard stated that the grid had 6,983 MW of operating reserve power available at the time—a sizable cushion compared to past instances of record energy draws.

ERCOT said that its Weather Watch will continue through June 30, and grid conditions are expected to be normal. Texans can receive grid notifications here via the Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS):

ERCOT has requested Texans to voluntarily conserve power during a specific conservation period if safe to do so. And all government agencies (including city and county offices) to implement any and all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities. (Current grid conditions)

The grid has already been significantly tested this summer, and should it continue to hold up throughout a summer of record heat, it may help affirm actions taken by the legislature and governor to shore up concerns following the 2021 Winter Storm.

Energy experts have credited the state's diversity of energy sources for helping keep the grid online. For example, Some 16,800 megawatts of solar power could be produced on the state grid as of the end of May, compared with 2,600 in 2019, according to data from ERCOT.

Texas Inmate dies while working in Huntsville

Tommy McCullough, a 35-year-old inmate, died of cardiac arrest Friday morning while mowing a field at the Goree Unit in Huntsville.

KXAN & Nexstar reported that the family had heard complaints from McCullough about excessive heat and insufficient access to water. The family has requested an autopsy to determine the official cause of death and were advised results could take up to two weeks.

"We received a call yesterday afternoon that he passed away due to a heat stroke because he was made to stay out mowing even with heat advisory and very minimal water," McCullough's sisters said. "If you have a loved one in the Texas prison system, please check on them."

"He looks sick," sister Kristie Williams said of video conversations they had the week of his death. "You can see he's sweating; his eyes are dark."

"It's absolutely inhumane, heartless, and senseless," sister Melissa Neshyba said. "Someone needs to be held accountable for this cruel act."

According to the Texas Tribune McCullough was one of at least five prisoners since mid-June to die of a reported heart attack or cardiac arrest in uncooled prisons where the regions’ outdoor heat indices were above 100 degrees, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of prison death reports and weather data. Another man who died last week in a separate Huntsville prison was only 34.

At least four other prisoners died in hot prisons this month with undetermined causes of death.

It’s not immediately clear how much of a role, if any, the heat played in the nine deaths. Like all prison deaths, they’re being investigated, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Amanda Hernandez.

“Labeling these as heat-related before the investigation is completed would be inaccurate,” she said.

Hernandez also said that TDCJ officials have reason to believe McCullough may have been on methamphetamines, from interviews and conversations in the unit. McCullough’s family disputes those claims and insist he wasn’t on drugs.

As we reported on Monday, This past legislative session had significant discussion about ensuring all TDCJ units have adequate AC supply for the safety of inmates and state employees. Lawmakers filed legislation requiring universal air conditioning, but the bill never received a full debate on the House floor. In the state budget, a section was added requiring an annual report by TDCJ on inmate complaints on temperature, death caused or exasperated by temperature, and agency procedures to mitigate excessive heat.

In April, State Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) told Nexstar that the Senate had a ways to go on supporting universal air conditioning. He said, "Texas was a thriving state before air conditioning was even created."

And added, "So our families outside of the penal system and the prison system lived in the state of Texas for decades and decades and decades before air conditioning was even a thing. So we have to balance the cost of that, we have to meet court scrutiny…but at the end of the day, we've got a little ways to go on that one."

As of last Thursday, TDCJ told Nexstar that four inmates have required medical care beyond first aid for heat-related injuries in 2023. Nine staff members have also had heat-related illnesses. Since 2019 the department reported adding 3,598 beds and a plan to add 5,861 more by this year.