HCRW Legislative Center

Legislation, Public Policy & Civic Engagement

The Hays County Republican Women Legislative Page is designed to help members stay informed through official resources, legislative education, and federation updates. As a club of the Texas Federation of Republican Women and National Federation of Republican Women, we support informed civic participation, constitutional literacy, and respectful public engagement.

Track Texas Legislation Open Legislative Tracker

Texas Legislative Tracker

Current session status and official filed bill counts for the Texas Legislature. Data is sourced from official Texas Legislature Online reports and updated weekly. Click the button below to view the live official report on the Texas Capitol website.

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Filed House Bills
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Filed Senate Bills
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Session Tools
Reports & Calendars
Review chamber calendars, agendas, hearings, and reports through official legislative portals.
General Reports House Schedules Senate Agenda Senate Hearings & Events

Purpose of This Page

This page is intended as an educational resource for HCRW members. It highlights official legislative tools, federation content, and key issue areas being discussed in Texas. It is not a lobbying page, a bill-whip page, or a campaign page. Members are encouraged to review legislation through official government sources, follow committee activity, and remain informed as active citizens.

What you will find here Official Texas legislative resources, committee trackers, a TFRW legislative spotlight, educational summaries of major policy categories, and bill-tracking tools for members.
What you will not find here Instructions to support or oppose specific bills, pressure campaigns, endorsements, or content that goes beyond educational and civic-information purposes.

Texas Legislative Dashboard

The Texas Legislature Online website is the central official hub for tracking bills, committee activity, calendars, witnesses, and legislative reports. The Texas House and Texas Senate also maintain official committee pages, schedules, and chamber information. Use the tracker cards below for quick access to Texas-specific legislative tools.

General Texas Bill Tracker

Search bills, authors, captions, actions, and session information through the official Texas Legislature Online portal.

Texas Legislature Online Bill Search Text Search

Committee Activity

Monitor committee assignments, hearing notices, witness lists, and chamber-specific committee information through official House and Senate sources.

Texas House Committees House Committee Schedule Texas Senate Committees Senate Hearings & Events

Session Reports

Review official reports listing bills filed during the regular session.

Filed House Bills Report Filed Senate Bills Report

Find Your Lawmakers

Look up your Texas House member, Texas Senator, and legislative contact information using official chamber tools.

Find Your Texas House Member Texas Senate Members

How to Track a Bill & Receive Notifications

Texas Legislature Online offers public tools that allow citizens to search bills, review bill history, monitor committee activity, and create a free MyTLO account to save bills and receive email alerts. This is one of the best ways for members to stay informed using official state resources.

1. Search for a bill Go to Texas Legislature Online and search by bill number, topic, author, or keyword.
2. Open the bill page Each bill page provides captions, analyses, full text, history, committee referrals, witness lists, and related documents.
3. Create a free MyTLO account MyTLO allows users to save bills, organize bill lists, and receive email notifications when a saved bill changes status or has a new action posted.
4. Follow committee activity Many important developments happen in committee. Review hearing notices, posted agendas, witness lists, and committee schedules regularly.
5. Watch hearings and floor sessions The Senate and House provide official live or archived hearing and floor coverage so users can follow proceedings directly.
6. Recheck the latest version Bills can change substantially through substitute text, amendments, committee reports, and later chamber action. Always review the latest posted language.
Helpful tip: MyTLO and Texas Legislature Online are official state tools and are ideal for club members who want to stay informed without relying on third-party summaries.
June 2026 Legislative Spotlight

Data Centers, Water & Our Community: What the Texas Legislature Is Doing

Water Resources Energy & Grid Local Government Hays County Impact

Hays County has become a focal point in a statewide debate over the rapid growth of large-scale data centers and their impact on water resources and energy infrastructure. At least five data center projects are proposed or under construction in the county, while aquifer levels continue to decline due to persistent drought. In spring 2026, the Texas Legislature began formal interim study of the issue — and local officials, residents, and state lawmakers are actively engaged.

Key Points for Members

  • State projections estimate Texas data centers could consume 29–161 billion gallons of water annually by 2030
  • Hays County aquifers are at or near historic lows; 14+ counties are under moderate to extreme drought
  • Speaker Burrows and Lt. Gov. Patrick issued 2026 interim charges directing five committees to study data center impacts
  • Senate Bill 6 (89th Session) established a new large-load grid interconnection framework — the first statewide response
  • Counties currently lack statutory authority to impose moratoriums; the 2027 session is expected to address this gap
  • ERCOT reports 87% of new grid connection projects are data centers — the largest driver of grid strain in Texas

“Significant problems are emerging because the existing interconnection process was not built for the volume and scale of new demand.”

— Pablo Vegas, ERCOT CEO, Texas House State Affairs Committee Hearing, April 2026

Read the full article in the June 2026 HCRW Newsletter. Members can also track this issue directly through official Texas legislative resources.

Read the June Newsletter Track Texas Legislation

Spotlight source: HCRW Legislative Research, May 2026. Primary sources: KUT Austin, Texas Tribune, Texas Policy Research, Community Impact, ERCOT, Texas Legislature Online (capitol.texas.gov). This spotlight is provided for member education only and does not constitute a lobbying position or endorsement.

🏙️ Hays County Local Update ⚠️ Action Taken May 14, 2026

Wimberley Named in AG's SB 1851 Audit Compliance Action

What the new financial transparency law means for Hays County cities

Property Tax Transparency Local Government Accountability SB 1851 (89th Legislature) Wimberley · Hays County

Senate Bill 1851, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and effective September 1, 2025, requires Texas cities to complete an annual independent financial audit and file the results with the city clerk within 180 days of fiscal year end. Cities that do not comply cannot raise property taxes above the prior year's no-new-revenue rate until they do. On May 14, 2026, Attorney General Ken Paxton sent letters to more than 130 cities — including Wimberley — notifying them they are barred from property tax increases under this law. The investigation of nearly 1,000 Texas cities is ongoing.

What SB 1851 Requires

  • Cities must complete an independent financial audit each fiscal year
  • The audit and annual financial statement must be filed with the municipal clerk within 180 days of fiscal year end
  • The AG may determine a city is non-compliant and notify them they cannot raise property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate
  • The restriction remains in effect until the city completes and files the required audit

“I will not allow cities to unlawfully raise taxes on hardworking Texans. Cities cannot fail to abide by state audit requirements without consequences.”

— Attorney General Ken Paxton, May 14, 2026

Source: Texas Legislature Online; Office of the Texas Attorney General; The Texas Tribune, May 14, 2026. Provided for member education only. Not a lobbying position or endorsement.

Major Texas Policy Areas to Watch

The committee structure in the 89th Texas Legislature includes issue areas such as Border Security, Education K-16, Finance, Business and Commerce, Health and Human Services, Local Government, and more. The topic cards below are framed for member education and can be updated throughout the year as official committee work develops.

Border Security

Track border enforcement, public safety coordination, immigration-related state actions, and appropriations discussions through official committee and bill pages.

Senate Border Security

Education & Parental Rights

Follow public education policy, curriculum, school finance, academic standards, and family-choice discussions through the House and Senate education committees.

House Public Education Senate Education K-16

Property Taxes & State Finance

Monitor budget legislation, appropriations, tax policy, and local tax-related proposals using official finance and budget resources.

House Appropriations Senate Finance

Energy & Grid Reliability

Stay informed on legislation affecting energy production, transmission, reliability, and market oversight through commerce and utility-related committees.

House State Affairs Senate Business & Commerce

Water, Land & Growth

Track water infrastructure, land use, natural resource planning, and local growth-related legislation that impacts Texas communities and future development.

House Natural Resources Senate Local Government

Health, Family & Human Services

Review health policy, Medicaid-related oversight, children and family services, and public health legislation through official health committee resources.

House Public Health Senate Health & Human Services

Official Resources for Members

Use official sources whenever possible. These links help members research legislation, verify bill language, watch hearings, and learn more about the legislative process.

Texas Legislature Online Official portal for bills, bill text, authors, actions, calendars, committees, witnesses, and legislative reports. Texas House of Representatives Official House information, members, chamber news, schedules, committees, and representative lookup tools. Texas Senate Official Texas Senate portal with member pages, committees, hearings, events, and archived broadcasts. Watch Live & Archived Hearings Follow chamber proceedings and committee hearings through official video and audio archives. Congress.gov Official federal legislation research resource for bills, resolutions, actions, and summaries. Texas Federation of Republican Women Federation updates, legislative education, programs, and statewide organizational resources.

How Members Can Stay Engaged

Read the bill text Review captions, analyses, and full bill language before drawing conclusions or sharing information with others.
Follow committee activity Many important policy decisions develop at the committee level through referrals, hearings, testimony, and substitute language.
Use official sources Link to Texas Legislature Online, official chamber sites, and federation resources rather than unverified summaries.
Promote informed civic participation Encourage constitutional literacy, respectful dialogue, and member education consistent with federation standards.

Legislative Page Disclaimer

The information on this page is provided for educational and informational purposes. Hays County Republican Women encourages members to stay informed through official legislative resources and federation updates. Nothing on this page should be construed as lobbying, a directive to support or oppose specific legislation, or an endorsement of any candidate or campaign. Members should consult official legislative sources for the most current bill text, committee actions, and legislative status.