TIMESRECORDNEWS.COM MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024 5A More Texas news Get the latest headlines and updates at timesrecordnews.com. TEXAS Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick put improving housing bility, antisemitism on college campuses and examining charitable bail organizations among 57 items on a to-do list for senators before the next legisla- tive session begins in January. Patrick, who oversees the Senate and wields tre- mendous power over bills passed into law, said the list was whittled from hundreds of ideas submitted from the 31 senators, which the lieutenant governor reviewed with his January 2025, the Senate will hit the ground running at the start of the 89th Legislative Patrick said in a statement.
priorities of the con- servative majority of Texans will be accomplished, in- cluding school choice, continued property tax relief, and strengthening the power Patrick charged a Senate committee with tackling the state's housing crisis as high home prices ice would-be homebuyers out of the market and put pressure on renters. He wants them to study "issues related to housing, including housing supply, homelessness and methods of providing and nancing housing." budding interest in housing cri- sis could create strange political Patrick said he wants senators to recommend how to "reduce regulatory barriers" and "strengthen proper- ty rights" possibly a nod to the idea of reducing city zoning and land-use rules that determine what kind of housing can be built and where. Critics of those rules, including many housing advocates, argue those poli- cies get in the way of building enough homes to meet demand and thus drive up home prices and rents. Mea- sures to reduce those regulations made it through the Senate last year, but mostly under the radar before they died in the House. Texas Republicans have in- creasingly signaled that similar ideas could make a comeback next year.
Patrick also signaled he shares Gov. Greg Abbott's concerns that so-called institutional investors, mean- ing investors and corporations that buy single-family homes to rent them out, have too much of a presence in the state's home-buying market, unduly outbidding buyers. Abbott last month called on the Legislature to rein in their activity in the housing market. Patrick called on lawmakers to "evaluate large-scale purchases of single-family homes by domestic entities and its im- pact on housing for Texas families." Economists and housing experts have expressed skepticism that limiting investors from buying and owning homes would improve housing and give homebuyers a better shot at secur- ing a home. Though institutional homebuyers' activity ticked up during the pandemic, estimates show investors own a small share of the country's housing stock.
In another nod to Patrick directed sen- ators to study workforce productivity. He asked the natural resources and economic development commit- tee to work within existing resources to maintain child- care availability. Patrick outlined a number of to-dos on higher edu- cation, including reviewing the roles of faculty senates. That vaguely-worded item comes after Patrick clashed with professors during his failed to eliminate fac- ulty tenure at public universities. Two charges also asked senators to walk on a line on campus free speech.
One asked them to review university policies to ensure they adequately prevent antisemitism while another directs senators to ensure Texas higher education institutions do not infringe on the First Amendment rights of faculty, and stu- dents. Texas are increasingly looking to crack down on anti-Israel sentiments as students and faculty have expressed opposition to the way the country has waged its war with Hamas. Last month, Abbott issued an executive order calling on universities to discipline acts of antisemitism on campus, while singling out pro-Palestinian student groups. The lieutenant governor also asked the criminal jus- tice committee to take a look at the practices of charita- ble bail organizations, which secure the release of de- fendants who cannot to post bond. Patrick wants senators to make recommendations to for these groups when defendants are arrested while on bond, as well as restrict their ability to post bond for violent individuals.
The charges also direct the border security commit- tee to study how deployments in long-term Operation Lone Star have the health and well being of Texas Guard members and non-Guard em- ployment, who have been stationed at the border on extended missions to curtain illegal crossings. They also ask senators to monitor the success of legisla- tion passed last year, which allowed federal law en- forcement to assist in making arrests for state-level crimes. Patrick directed the education committee to over- see how public schools spent the massive of federal COVID-19 relief, including funds received un- der the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), with an eye for districts that improved student outcomes while spending the money. That commit- tee is also charged with reviewing the success of bills the Legislature previously passed to improve public school safety in the wake of the Uvalde elementary school shooting, as well as library procurement and content policies that have become deeply important in Republican politics. Another charge is Delta 8 and canna- bis-derived products that are currently legal under state law because of their low THC content.
It also directs the state committee to consider bills that would stop retailers from marketing these prod- ucts to children. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, non- partisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastri- bune.org. Lt. Gov.
Dan Patrick lists housing antisemitism on campus among 2025 priorities Zach Despart and Joshua Fechter, The Texas Tribune Wichita Falls Times Record News Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presides over on the Senate floor during the day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin on June 28, 2023. EVAN TEXAS TRIBUNE Millions of Americans rely on drinking water systems that have recently exceeded new limits for toxic that the Environmental Protection Agency announced on Wednesday. USA TODAY found 608 systems across the country that have measured PFAS, or and oroalkyl substances, at or above the newly established limits since last year.
Together, those water systems serve nearly 35 million people. Another 13 million people drink water from hundreds of other systems that have recently detected the chem- icals at levels that require reporting to the EPA, but not quite enough to surpass the new limits, according to USA analysis. These results represent one-time samples, and the EPA require water systems to make changes un- less their running annual average passes the new limits. The chemicals are nearly indestructible and have been used widely for decades in food packaging, foam, and other nonstick and water-repellent items. PFAS can eventually build up in the environment and human bodies, increasing the risk of cancer and oth- er serious health problems.
Last year, the EPA began requiring thousands of water systems to test for more than two dozen types of PFAS, in the most widescale ever to track their spread across the United States. However, USA analysis shows more than 200 large systems yet available in the EPA data set, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Balti- more and Philadelphia. The number of Ameri- cans will surely grow as the EPA publishes quarterly up- dates to its data. The EPA estimates the new limits could up to 100 million people. Among the places where data is available, USA TO- analysis shows large cities have exceeded PFAS limits at higher rates than smaller places.
About a third of water systems serving over 100,000 people have sur- passed the limits. For the smallest systems, 1 in 10. Again, these results represent single points in time in some cases just one result that passed over the new limits among several tests. For example, the EPA data shows Louisville, Kentucky, measured the chemical PFOA at about double its limit one time in the half-dozen samples reported last year. rule is a running annual average, and one sample dictate public said Kelley Dearing Smith, vice president of communications and marketing at Louisville Water Co.
the long-term trend that matters, said according to David Trueba, a chemist and president of Revive Envi- ronmental, which has patented new technology to de- stroy PFAS. Hundreds of systems within the EPA data show the same water sampling sites exceeded the new limits across more than one test date last year. For example, the County Water Authority on Long Island, New York, reported one sample tested almost double the limit for the chemical PFOS in March 2023. The same result increased to more than four times the limit in No- vember. Authority did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Across the country, in Fresno, California, the water utility found PFOS in one well seven times over the limit in March 2023 and again at 3.5 times over last Septem- ber. In total, about of test results for the past year surpassed the new limits. Chad Colby, water system supervisor at de- partment of public utilities, declined to comment. Other water systems have told USA TODAY they sus- pect their recent sample results to be false positives. That can happen, Trueba said.
He estimates error rates may be as high as one in every tests. However, with the new PFAS standards, he said, cities will need to plan ahead. How much will it cost? There are thousands of forever chemicals, but the EPA has now put standards on six of the most common and most studied. Nearly 7,000 water systems may have to eventually take action to remove these PFAS from their water, according to EPA estimates. Doing so cheap.
Installing new equipment to get in line with the new standards could cost $3 million for a medium-sized city, Trueba estimates. Collectively, the EPA estimates it will cost $1.5 billion per year for 66,000 public drinking water sys- tems to monitor their water for PFAS, inform customers of the results and new sources of water or install equipment to treat their water. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $9 billion to help places struggling with contamination from PFAS and other The law also in- cludes $12 billion for general drinking water but Trueba said all that investment likely solve every PFAS problem. is zero funding for the ongoing operations and maintenance costs associated with keeping up on Trueba said, noting some cities will have to raise custom- rates to it. How long until EPA issues The PFAS limits are now but the EPA is rolling them out in phases over the next several years to reduce the burden on cities, many of which have limited budgets and personnel.
not going to be able to react to this said Rory Jones, director of the water department in Tampa, Florida. In 2020, the utility began piloting a water treatment technology called suspended ion exchange, the pro- ject of its kind in the U.S. The pilot program showed promising results, Jones said, but expanding to a full- scale system will require time and money. In terms of timing, water systems must complete their initial monitoring for PFAS within the next three years. Then, from 2027 to 2029, systems will continue monitor- ing their levels at least once annually and inform cus- tomers of the results and any violations.
The EPA said they should begin looking for solutions if their levels consistently violate the new limits. The limits can be enforced starting years from now, but Trueba said the potential penalties for violating the limits are PFAS levels in water get further scrutiny Time will tell if new EPA limits change systems Austin Fast and Cecilia Garzella USA TODAY.
