TODD HUNTER

Lawmakers hope to hammer out a program to replace the embattled Chapter 313 program before the legislative session ends Monday.

During the floor debate for a plan to replace the expired Chapter 313 program, House members added that the new version of the incentive must require companies to pay higher wages and create stiffer penalties for noncompliance.

Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties.

The draft, which will need a stamp of approval from the full chamber before it can head to the Senate for consideration, is likely to continue to change before the Legislature sends it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for a signature.

The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas’ population growth over the past decade.

Adam Foltz, now on the Texas payroll, played a key role in Wisconsin's redistricting last decade. A federal court threw out some of the maps and called the effort Foltz was involved in "an all but shameful attempt to hide the redistricting process from public scrutiny."

The fiery hearings had intriguing questions and answers involving the CEO’s of CenterPoint and Vistra -- two companies that have provided thousands in campaign contributions to some of those lawmakers. Full Screen 1 / 17 These images from documents show the campaign contributions made to lawmakers by power companies. In fact, analysis by KPRC 2 Investigates found that 13 members in the room last Thursday received campaign contributions from one, or in some instances both, companies. Andrew Wheat of the group Texans for Public Justice views campaign contributions in Austin as challenging. In fact, no one mentioned campaign contributions received from energy companies Vistra and CenterPoint before the questioning of their CEOs.

I want to know who did that,” said State Rep. Todd Hunter Thursday during a House hearing at the capitol. Hunter’s question is one that families frantically asked during last week’s historic winter storms in Texas. Hunter, who is out of the Corpus Christi area, grilled NRG Energy CEO Mauricio Gutierrez in search of accountability. “I want groups, I don’t need to hear about winterization, the people want to know who to look to?,” said Hunter. Hunter, a lawyer by trade, was not satisfied with one particular response telling Vistra CEO Curt Morgan, “Name me details.

Legislators greet each other on the floor of the House prior to the opening of the 2021 legislative session. Members may also remove masks during a committee hearing if protected by a barrier and socially distanced from others. Every senator will be required to test negative for the virus before entering the upper chamber or attending a committee hearing. “That is the people's House,” said Hunter, one of the House members spearheading the rules proposal. “Would Rep. Stickland — I mean Rep. Slaton — yield to a question?” Leach asked.

In terms of wind measured in kilometers/hr Hanna missed Cat 2 by just 4km/hr coming in at 150km/hr! After all, Hurricane Ike (2008) topped out at 110mph winds but had a storm surge that ran as high as 21! Okay, so what was the pressure of Hurricane Hanna? At one time, the Hurricane Center considered barometric pressure as a criteria for Category and a Cat 2 pressure measured between 965-979millibars. Hurricane Ike absolutely should have been classified a Cat 3 hurricane (because it was according to its pressure of 953mb and storm surge of 14-21).