Day 63: Texas Is Burning, And Republicans Are Pouring Gasoline

The Legislature is ignoring wildfires and storms while handing the fossil fuel industry more power.

We’ve seen some incredible weather across the country these last few days, including a tornado outbreak, in which the death toll is thus far 42. Two EF4s hit Arkansas, which is not a common occurrence. There were a total of 66 tornados in 36 hours.

On Friday, in North Texas, the air was hazy, but it was hard to tell if it was the dust storm from the panhandle, which killed 3, or the fires from Oklahoma, which killed 4.

Meanwhile, thousands of acres burned in Gillespie County.

And yet, despite the devastation, we all wake up the following day and go about our lives as if this isn’t happening. As if the death toll isn’t climbing, as if entire communities aren’t being reduced to ash, as if families aren’t left sifting through rubble that used to be their homes. We go to work, we buy groceries, we scroll through headlines about another deadly storm, another historic fire, another record-shattering heat wave, and then we move on because what else are we supposed to do?

We are in a climate emergency, and it will only get worse.

The people who are supposed to protect us, our lives, our businesses, our communities, and our economy are doing nothing. The Republican-controlled legislature isn’t responding with urgency. They aren’t strengthening infrastructure, preparing for future disasters, or investing in the kind of solutions that could prevent Texas from becoming a wasteland of burned-out fields and flooded towns. Instead, they mock climate science, deregulate industries, and let corporations plunder the land for profit.

One day, we will all pay for it.

Instead of investing in climate resilience, they’re pushing HJR107.

HJR107 is a constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to drill, frack, and extract oil, gas, and other minerals with virtually no restrictions. If passed, it would make it even more difficult for local governments to regulate pollution, protect water supplies, and transition to cleaner energy.

First, I want to point out that Brooks Landgraf (R-HD81), the Chair of the House Committee on Environmental Regulation, is the author of this bill, which is a slap in the face to the people of Texas. Instead of working to protect Texans from climate disasters, air and water contamination, and environmental destruction, Landgraf is using his position to serve the fossil fuel industry at the expense of public health and safety.

It’s a deliberate move to preemptively block climate action and make sure that even if Texans demand stronger environmental protections in the future, the oil and gas industry will always have the upper hand.

Secondly, a constitutional amendment would need 100 votes in the House to be put on the ballot, meaning if it makes it past committee, at least 12 Democrats would have to vote along with Republicans. We’ll see what happens, but this is one bill to watch.

And now, as if HJR107 weren’t enough of a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry, let’s talk about HB206, a bill designed to make it even easier for oil and gas companies to bulldoze their way through Texas counties without local accountability.

HB206 restricts counties from requiring cash bonds as a condition for pipeline construction approval unless, of course, the pipeline company gets to control how the money is used. If the company doesn’t approve of how a county plans to use the bond funds, it can demand a full refund.

This bill strips counties of power to hold pipeline companies accountable for damages.

According to industry lobbyists and bill supporters, it’s a “burden” for pipeline companies to put down money upfront. Never mind that these same companies rake in billions in profits every year. Never mind that pipelines routinely destroy rural roads, bridges, and land, leaving local governments and taxpayers footing the bill. Or that taxpayers pay to clean up their messes every year, but let’s give the oil and gas industry another tool to steamroll local communities.

We’re in a climate emergency, and Republicans are making it worse.

Otherwise, in the Texas House, mostly bipartisan bills went through the committees yesterday.

Brian Harrison (R-HD10) was crying on social media that Democratic bills were getting heard in the House Committee on Public Health, but all the GOP bills on public health are sent to the Insurance Committee because of profits over people.

While Texas’ maternal mortality rate is akin to third-world nations, it’s only Democrats who have filed bills to do something about the thousands of women dying during pregnancy and childbirth every year.

Donna Howard’s (D-HD48) bill will allow for swifter reporting on the maternal mortality rate, an issue that has been a problem. It should be bipartisan, anyway. But you can count on a handful of Republicans to vote against it anyway.

Another bill I think is worth watching is HB336 by Mike Schofield (R-HD132). This bill allows private groups, like HOAs and wealthy landowners, to pay for extra policing in their areas if they live in an unincorporated part of their county.

This bill could create a two-tiered system in which wealthier communities receive enhanced policing while lower-income areas do not. County officials would not have oversight of these private police forces.

The Senate Committee on State Affairs focused on anti-immigration bills.

SB8 by Charles Schwertner and Joan Huffman will force counties to work with ICE to deport undocumented migrants. If you want to know how awful these bills are, the only thing you need to know is the worst right-wing “Constitutional Sheriffs” showed up to testify in favor of it, including Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourne.

I haven’t watched the Tarrant County Commissioners’ Court in a few months since the legislature is in session. Still, last I heard, Waybourne wasn’t addressing the Court on the abundance of deaths in the Tarrant County Jail, something the community has repeatedly asked for.

It’s funny. We always see Waybourne across the state and the country, making this appearance or that, but we never see him addressing all of his failures at home.

Here is what some of the opposition to SB8 said about this bill:

Taxpayers do not need to spend any more money, making our communities unsafe for neighbors. SB8 is the latest in a long line of Texas Republicans’ attempts to weaponize law enforcement against immigrants.

Texas already leads the country in deaths in county jails due to neglect, abuse, and poor conditions. Now, sheriffs are being forced to prioritize deportations over addressing their own failures.

We face a housing crisis, a crumbling energy grid, and an economy dependent on immigrant labor. Instead of fixing these real problems, Republicans are pushing mass deportation schemes to rally their base.

This bill should never become law.

Bryan Hughes’ (R-SD01) anti-Asian agenda.

While SB8 is a blatant attack on immigrant communities, it’s just one part of the right-wing crackdown we saw yesterday in the Senate Committee on State Affairs. Bryan Hughes unveiled a slate of bills under the guise of “national security” that are thinly veiled attacks on Asian communities, businesses, and Texas residents.

Let’s break down these bills:

• SB1349: This bill claims to fight “transnational repression” (a phrase meant to evoke images of Chinese spies operating in Texas). But in reality, this bill is about expanding state surveillance powers, criminalizing activists, and fearmongering about Chinese Texans. Hughes even tied the bill to Trump’s 2020 closure of the Chinese Consulate in Houston.

• SB667: This bill would force Texas to divest public pension funds from companies with “ties” to the Chinese Communist Party.

• SB1585: This bill prohibits Texas government agencies from contracting with telecommunications companies linked to “foreign adversaries.” Hughes focused on Huawei and ZTE, claiming they are tools for Chinese espionage.

• SB2312: This bill would create an “advisory committee” to assess geopolitical threats to Texas. Packed with Abbott’s political appointees, this committee would monitor supply chains, critical infrastructure, and investments for “foreign influence.”

Make no mistake, this is an anti-Asian legislative agenda. Hughes and his allies are using the same Cold War-style tactics we saw during Japanese internment, McCarthyism, and post-9/11 Islamophobia.

• Fearmonger about foreign threats.

• Expand government surveillance powers.

• Create vague laws that allow the state to profile, blacklist, and punish entire communities.

This is red-scare politics wrapped in “security” language. These bills are dangerous, xenophobic, and completely unnecessary, but because Texas Republicans are addicted to fear-based politics, they’ll keep pushing them anyway.

This is what happens when we don’t show up.

If all of this makes you angry, it should. If it feels like the Texas Legislature is deliberately making our lives harder while refusing to address real issues because they are.

Texas is burning, drowning, and suffocating under corporate greed, Republican corruption, and right-wing extremism. And instead of doing something to help working families, they’re passing giveaways to the fossil fuel industry, gutting local power, expanding police forces for the rich, and weaponizing law enforcement against immigrants and people of color.

None of this should be surprising. This is what happens when 7.2 million registered voters stay home.

And what do we get for that apathy?

A state where billionaires and oil companies run the show.

A state where extremist sheriffs get more power than local leaders.

A state where Republicans use national security paranoia to justify racism, xenophobia, and mass surveillance.

The good news? We don’t have to accept it.

Every legislative session reminds us why elections matter. Every bill passed by these right-wing lawmakers is a reminder of what’s at stake.

We can stop them. We can vote them out. But only if we show up.

No more sitting on the sidelines. No more excuses. No more waiting for someone else to fix it. If you aren’t already involved, get involved now.

Because if we don’t fight back, they will keep winning.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

• June 3: The beginning of the 2026 election season.

• Click here to find out what Legislative districts you’re in.

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