Texas Government Insider
2025 Archive
Saluting Texas Lone Stars – Trey Duhon
Trey Duhon - County Judge, Waller County Public career highlights and education: I obtained a BS in Economics from Texas A&M and my law degree from University of Houston Law Center. I’m currently in my 3rd term (11th year) as County Judge of Waller County. I was...
Amtrak releases Advance Notice for procurement of delivery partner on the 240-mile Dallas-Houston high-speed rail project
Amtrak has released an advance notice to initiate procurement for a project partner to bring a 240-mile high-speed rail line to connect Dallas and Houston. The company is expected to publish a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in late March or early April soliciting a...
Patrick Frost appointed to ERS Board of Trustees
Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed Patrick Frost to serve as a member of the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) Board of Trustees. His term will conclude Aug. 31, 2030. The ERS Board is responsible for maintaining a public pension system for Texas state agency...
Attorney General Paxton appoints three to leadership roles
Attorney General Ken Paxton has made a selection of new appointments to round out his executive leadership team. Austin Kinghorn will take over as deputy attorney general for civil litigation, transitioning from his most recent role as deputy attorney general for...
Texas unveils 5-year blueprint for economic expansion
Gov. Greg Abbott is laying out a five-year blueprint focused on Texas’s economic future. The Bigger. Better. Texas. Economic Development Strategic Plan pushes for job creation and continued growth with targeted efforts toward specific sectors and regions. The plan was...
Gov. Abbott makes Board of Director appointments to Guadalupe River authorities
Gov. Greg Abbott has announced multiple new appointments and reappointments to river authority boards of directors along the Guadalupe River. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority (UGRA) oversees the control, storing, preservation, distribution and management of water...
GLO releases $98 million to improve water systems, drainage, infrastructure
The Texas General Land Office (GLO) will allocate $97.6 million to support regional mitigation projects across the state. The funds will empower four counties and 13 cities and ports to advance critical water systems, drainage and infrastructure projects. The...
Glenn Hegar appointed chancellor of Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University (TAMU) System Board of Regents has unanimously voted to appoint Glenn Hegar to succeed John Sharp as the system’s chancellor. Glenn Hegar currently serves as the Texas comptroller, originally elected to the role in November 2014. As...
Gov. Abbott makes three appointments to Texas Juvenile Justice Board
Gov. Greg Abbott has made a new appointment to the Texas Juvenile Justice Board, alongside two additional reappointments. Matthew Marick, Joe Barton, Ph.D., and Stephanie House, Ed.D. now have terms set to conclude Feb. 1, 2031. The board oversees development and...
Saluting Texas Lone Stars: Katy Fallon-Brown
Katy Fallon-Brown Director of the Opioid Abatement Fund Council, The Comptroller of Public Accounts Public career highlights and education: I was a government major at the University of Notre Dame, with a concentration in public service. I earned a master’s degree at...
TWU plans $30 million investment into new College of Business building
Texas Woman’s University (TWU) has released a solicitation for a designer for its $30 million College of Business project. While a construction date has not been selected, officials anticipate the project will be completed by spring 2027. The project will create a new...
Schertz approves design for $32 million road reconstruction project
The city of Schertz has approved a $31.8 million project to reconstruct a roadway. Currently in the design phase, construction is expected to begin in September 2025. The project includes significant improvements to a 2.52-mile stretch of Lower Seguin Road. The...
Texas school districts to spend $114 million on construction, renovations
Three school districts across Texas will invest a combined $114 million to improve their campuses, including plans to build facilities, convert school buildings and renovate failing systems. The Anderson-Shiro Consolidated Independent School District (ASCISD) has the...
Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows announces his executive team for the 89th Legislature
With the official convening of the 89th Texas Legislature, Dustin Burrows was elected the 77th speaker of the House. Speaker Burrows has served as a state representative from Lubbock since 2014. Before his appointment, he served as chair of the House Calendars...
Gov. Abbott makes new appointment, reappointments to TAMU System Board of Regents
The Texas A&M University (TAMU) System Board of Regents will welcome a new member and two reappointments. Gov. Greg Abbott announced the appointments on Feb. 26. 2025. All terms are set to expire Feb. 1, 2031. Kelley Sullivan Georgiades is the latest appointment...
West University releases $502 million CIP, prioritizing drainage infrastructure
The city of West University Place has developed a plan of action to invest $502.3 million over the next decade into critical capital projects. Drainage infrastructure will be the city’s primary focus, accounting for approximately 62% of the 2025-2034 Capital...
Saluting Texas Lone Stars – Kelly Keel
Kelly Keel - Executive Director, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Public career highlights and education: My career at TCEQ started 23 years ago and I’ve served in several capacities throughout the agency. Prior to my current position, I was the Director of...
Bobby Jenkins, Jr. appointed as presiding officer of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
Robert “Bobby” Jenkins, Jr. has been appointed as the presiding officer of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority. His term will end Feb. 1, 2027. The authority is a subdivision that enables transportation, planning and project delivery leaders to collaborate...
Texas research institutions may face major medical funding cuts under new NIH policy
Research institutions across Texas could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding under a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy. Medical research, especially in the biomedical field, stands as the most vulnerable to an updated policy that would...
TWDB provides $53 million for water system improvements and water loss prevention
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) will deliver $52.8 million to supplement local funds for water system improvement and loss projects. A total of 10 projects will receive the largest partition of the funding - $34.8 million – to execute and complete water loss...
Coppersmith, Halman reappointed to Board of Department of Information Resources
On Feb. 7, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Walter “Frank” Coppersmith, III and Keith Halman would retain their positions with the Board of the Department of Information Resources (DIR). Both were reappointed with terms ending Feb. 1, 2031. DIR is responsible for...
El Paso University Medical Center allocates $400 million to expand healthcare centers, improve access
The University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC) will spend $396.6 million to build new healthcare centers and clinics, expanding access to lifesaving care. The funds will support several initiatives designed to better serve the people of El Paso, including the...
Brian Gardner leaves Dallas to accept deputy CIO position with Austin
After a seven-year stint with the city of Dallas, Brian Gardner has accepted a new role with the city of Austin as deputy chief information officer (CIO). He brings more than 33 years of executive leadership and IT experience in both public and private sectors to the...
TEA appoints board of managers, new superintendent to replace SSAISD board of trustees
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has revamped the South San Antonio Independent School District (SSAISD), appointing a new superintendent alongside a seven-member Board of Managers. The board will replace the current elected Board of Trustees, assuming their...
Texas city approves $18 million to build a police station, remodel fire stations
The city of Fate will spend $17.7 million to build a police station and remodel two fire stations. Bids for designers will open in March 2025, with construction beginning later this year. Constructing the police station will cost $15.7 million. The two-story building...
Texas receives C-grade for infrastructure, falls short in water, transit and broadband sectors
Although Texas' infrastructure ranks better than many other states, it still requires significant state investment to ensure the well-being and security of its residents. That’s according to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – the leading organization of...
Dr. Karen Molinar chosen as superintendent of Fort Worth ISD
The Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) Board of Trustees has selected Dr. Karen Molinar as the lone finalist for superintendent. Dr. Molinar was unanimously voted into the role Feb. 18, 2025. She has been operating as the district’s interim superintendent...
DART outlines $2 billion plan to modernize transit system
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will modernize its system to better address the region’s travel needs and demands. The DART Transform program will prioritize enhancing the customer experience with updated vehicles, better passenger facilities and increased resilience...
UT-Austin names Jim Davis as interim president
The University of Texas (UT) System has named Jim Davis as the interim president of UT-Austin, effective immediately. Before his selection as interim president, Davis was UT-Austin's chief operating officer (COO) since 2023. He has been with the institution since...
TAMU solicits designer for $28.3 million athletic player development center
Texas A&M University (TAMU) is seeking an architect to design a $28.3 million player development center at Blue Bell Park. Construction is anticipated to begin in December 2025. The project will enhance the university’s baseball stadium with new player development...
Pflugerville to begin $146M expansion of water treatment plant
The Pflugerville City Council approved a $146 million contract to expand the city's surface water treatment plant with construction set to begin in 2023 and an estimated completion in 2026. The plant upgrade will increase water capacity and address damage caused by...