Day 28: The Wealthy Cash In, Texans Get The Fallout—Literally

How the Texas GOP is sacrificing public health, education, and the environment for profit.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham showed up to the Senate Finance Committee ready to get everything she requested.

Did you see Elon Musk’s presser from the Oval Office yesterday? Over the last few weeks, we’ve all said at some point, “Well, that was dystopian.” I’ve personally said it no less than a dozen times. But watching the wealthiest man on the planet give a press conference from the Oval Office while his kid flicks boogers on the resolute desk and the president sits there in silence and subdued is the oligarchic icing on the dystopian cake.

At one point, a reporter asked Musk, “Your detractors, including a lot of Democrats, say that you’re orchestrating a hostile government takeover, and you’re doing it in a non-transparent way.”

Musk responded, “The majority voted for Trump. We won the House. We won the Senate. The people voted for major government reform.”

Never once did he deny it was a hostile government takeover. He was basically like, yep, we’re doing this, but it’s what the Trumpers voted for, so screw the laws and the Constitution.

Elon Musk reminded me a lot of the Brainworm Brigade.

Their premise in attempting to exclude 62 elected Democrats from the legislative process was, “We have the majority.” It doesn’t matter that there are 150 members in the House. Republicans have the majority, so they can rule by brute force and do anything they please. Forget the rules. Forget the Constitution.

It’s almost like the Republicans in Austin and the Republicans in DC do not understand how government works.

The Brainworm King sees words in the summary of a student group. Gets mad at words. He lies to his followers, but they still eat it up.

That’s the thing about fascists. They don’t actually believe in laws, except as tools to wield against their enemies. They don’t respect the Constitution, except when they can twist it to justify their power grabs. The second the rules get in their way, they discard them like yesterday’s talking points.

And when they get called out on it, their response is always the same: We have the power, so we can do whatever the hell we want.

Side note: it dawned on me yesterday that newer readers to Lone Star Left aren’t going to know that the Brainworm Brigade is the far-right faction in the Texas House. I’ll have to explain it again later and tell them we voted on it. It’s lore now.

Yesterday, I Googled “What happens if America collapses?” The best I could find was that the states would break up into multiple countries. As a Texan, this is a frightening thought.

But as our federal government seems to be crumbling before our very eyes, our state government is trucking on full steam ahead.

Day 28 - Senate Finance Committee, Budget Hearings - Day Ten.

Yesterday’s Senate Committee on Finance started with Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham’s boobies testimony. No, of course, we don’t slut-shame, but we’ve talked about Republican women before and how the only way Republican men validate them in their party is with the constant reminder that they will always be seen as property.

Dr. Dawn Buckingham is a physician and oculoplastic surgeon with a decade of experience in the Texas state government. It just speaks volumes that when she comes to the Capitol to ask the Republican-led government for money, she has to frame her appeal in terms of her body because that’s the only kind of credibility Republican men in power recognize.

It makes me very sad for her and other Republican women. She’s not just a seasoned politician or an accomplished surgeon. She’s a woman in a party that demands submission, and the easiest way to prove her loyalty is to play along with their degrading little game.

About the General Land Office (GLO):

This Texas governmental agency is responsible for disaster recovery, oil and gas, veterans’ services, coastal protection, and the Alamo restoration project.

The state gave the GLO $400 million 2023 to restore the Alamo. Buckingham is asking for another $150 million to continue restorations this year. I don’t know enough about the cost of historical restorations, but half a billion dollars seems like a lot. Imagine how many hungry kids we could feed with half a billion dollars.

The GLO also funds coastal protection projects primarily benefiting oil refineries and petrochemical industries. Corporate polluters are not paying their fair share, and the burden falls on taxpayers. This is just another aspect of Greg Abbott’s “Texas miracle.” CEOs and corporations reap massive profits while the people of Texas pay for it.

The state is pouring money into Gulf Coast protection but not addressing the root causes of climate change. Coastal restoration is essential, but Texas continues to promote policies that increase fossil fuel dependence. Texas taxpayers are funding their own destruction.

---

Lone Star Left is dedicated to keeping our work free from paywalls—but we can’t do it without your help. Become a paid subscriber today to support independent Texas journalism and assist us in holding the powerful accountable!

---

We heard from Christi Craddock at the Railroad Commission on their budget.

If you don’t already know, the Texas Railroad Commission regulates oil and gas in Texas, not the railroad. It’s what they were named long ago, and even though their responsibilities have changed over the last century, their name hasn’t. Over the years, many legislators have filed bills to change their name so that Texas voters know the seriousness of this agency, but the recipients of big oil money have always blocked it.

There are three Railroad Commissioners: Wayne Christian, a staunch climate change denier; Jim Wright, who works in the oil business; and Christi Craddick, the daughter of the longest-serving member of the Texas House, who has enriched himself through oil.

To say that oil and gas are basically unregulated in Texas would be an understatement.

We’ve all heard about these “zombie wells” in Texas that leak fluids and gases. Some are gushing rather than leaking. Yesterday, Commissioner Craddick testified that the Railroad Commission plugs about 1,000 of these wells annually, but more new wells are emerging than are being plugged. So, their backlog of zombie wells that need to be plugged is roughly 8,500, and they’ll never complete this work because of the number of new zombie wells that are popping up.

If that isn’t scary enough, we learned yesterday that the Railroad Commission runs on a 40-year-old mainframe computer system. Their IT systems are green screens from 1985. It’s mind-blowing.

The Railroad Commission’s failure to regulate oil and gas properly may kill us, but what’s happening at the TCEQ is much worse.

The hearing discussed concrete batch plants and industrial facilities producing dust and air pollution. These plants are usually located in working-class neighborhoods and communities of color.

Senator Royce West pressed TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) officials about complaints from residents across Texas, particularly in North Central Texas. He asked whether the agency was taking action against polluters.

First, the agency’s representative didn’t know how many complaints they’d received. He had to check with a colleague. Then, after some fumbling, another official admitted they’d received 67 complaints statewide about concrete batch plants this year.

Now, 67 might not sound like much until you remember that these plants are notorious for operating illegally and blanketing entire neighborhoods in dust before anyone catches on. And when they do get caught? The punishment is a joke.

Take the case in Dallas: A concrete batch plant operated without a permit for two to three years, polluting the air, exposing residents to health risks, and violating regulations. What did the TCEQ do? They gave the company a permit. After breaking the law for years, the company was rewarded with legal authorization to continue operations.

Senator West, rightly appalled, pointed out that this was a blatant failure. The TCEQ official admitted that the agency issued an “agreed order” (a settlement deal) with the company. The agreement required the plant to stop operations until it received its permit, which it got despite public outcry.

That’s how it works in Texas: Break the law, pollute communities, and instead of punishment, the state hands you a permit.

Then there was the 800 Middle Street Housing Scandal. If you live in Houston, this may not be news to you, but the rest of Texas (and the country) is just starting to grasp the scale of this catastrophe.

This so-called “affordable housing project” has become one of the biggest boondoggles in recent history. A $135 million taxpayer-funded disaster sitting next to a heavily contaminated fly ash site, an old incinerator dumping ground where literal black ash crumbles into Buffalo Bayou.

How bad is it? Well, let’s just say four federal agencies, the EPA, HUD Inspector General, FBI, and DOJ, executed search warrants at the site. Yes, the federal government is investigating.

During the Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Bettencourt (R-SD04) pressed TCEQ officials about how this environmental catastrophe was approved. The response? More bureaucratic shrugging.

TCEQ officials admitted the project is now 95% complete but completely unlivable, with no realistic path forward to occupation. It’s an affordable housing project that no one can ever live in. That’s $135 million of public money flushed straight into a toxic dump.

And here’s the kicker: somehow, this project was approved by the Houston Housing Authority in the first place. A housing development next to a contaminated incinerator site, where any reasonable environmental assessment should have screamed DO NOT BUILD HERE.

And what did TCEQ officials say when asked about their remediation plan?
“We’re still assessing it.”

Translation: They have no idea how to fix this.

It makes you wonder how much other affordable housing in Texas has been built on toxic waste, but no one has noticed yet.

To top it off, the TCEQ has been holding closed-door meetings, which is a massive no-no in state government.

You can see the entire TCEQ testimony here.

The other testimony at the Senate Finance Committee.

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller testified about his agency’s budget. You can view his full testimony here. However, I want to draw attention to his testimony about hungry children in Texas.

Miller noted that one in five children in Texas is hungry. However, Feeding Texas says the number is closer to one in four. 

The Legislature funded free breakfast for reduced-price students, but unpaid lunch debt remains a problem. According to Miller, every school in Texas carries between $20,000 and $100,000 in unpaid meal debt annually.

Related:

• The Economic And Social Case For Universal Free School Meals In Texas

Texas prioritizes billionaires and corporations over children, working families, and taxpayers. As long as we’re under Republican control, that will never change.

The other testimonies at the Senate Finance Committee yesterday:

• Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife

• Animal Health Commission

• Texas Soil and Water Conservation Board

• Texas Water Development Board

Something truly horrific.

Over the last two weeks, we’ve watched dozens of government agencies appear before the Senate Committee on Finance, each begging for more money due to being understaffed, underfunded, and working on decades-old IT systems.

Knowing that it was an alarming moment when the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission appeared before the committee and said, “Nope, we’re good. We have everything we need.”

Every agency is underfunded and begging for cash, but the guys handling radioactive waste are like, “No thanks.”

Don’t think for one second that’s because they’re well-funded because no agency in Texas is well-funded. Truly frightening.

Expanding the homestead exemption.

Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Local Government met to discuss Senator Bettencourt’s bill to expand the homestead exemption to $140,000. This policy applies only to school district taxes, not city, county, or special district property taxes. The state will cover the revenue loss for school districts, ensuring that education funding is not negatively impacted.

Here is the entire hearing, but it was bizarre because, throughout the hearing, Bettencourt repeatedly tried to impersonate Trump.

Super cringe—and he did that throughout the hearing.

But instead of discussing the homestead exemption or the hearing, I want to highlight the testimony of Every Texan:

Since 2019, Texas has spent $51 billion on property tax cuts, which amounts to $51 billion in lost revenue, money that could have gone to public education, infrastructure, health care, or workforce development.

But instead of reassessing priorities, Republicans want to double down on more tax cuts.

Shannon Hook, the representative of Every Texan, pointed out that while the state currently has a $25 billion budget surplus, it won’t last forever. When the next economic downturn hits, Texas will scramble to fill revenue gaps, and public schools will be the first to be cut.

It’s a familiar cycle:

1. Republicans cut taxes to win elections.

2. The state covers lost revenue—for now.

3. The economy slows, and suddenly, there’s a budget shortfall.

4. The Legislature scrambles to “fix” the problem by slashing school funding, cutting social programs, or passing emergency fees.

They’ve followed the same playbook for decades: gut revenue streams, claim a funding crisis, and then push for privatization and corporate-friendly “solutions” to “fix” the crisis they manufactured.

Who actually benefits from these cuts?

Hook made one thing clear: Texas Republicans love to claim they’re helping working-class homeowners, but most of these tax cuts overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy.

Every time Texas passes another round of property tax cuts, the top 20% of income earners walk away with more than half of the benefits. The most significant breaks go to wealthy homeowners and real estate investors, while working-class Texans see far less relief.

But what about the 4 million Texans who rent?

Hook argued that the state should consider a renters’ rebate or targeted relief for low-income Texans instead of throwing more money at property tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy. The current system leaves renters with zero direct benefits, even though landlords frequently hike rents to account for property tax increases.

For the record, two organizations frequently testify at the Texas Legislature that I trust 100%.

1. Every Texan

2. Sierra Club

The House met briefly yesterday.

Several resolutions passed, nothing major, and the far-right was silent.

The Texas GOP’s priorities are clear—and they’re not with us.

After weeks of budget hearings, one thing is painfully obvious: Texas Republicans have endless money for corporate tax breaks, fossil fuel subsidies, and shady real estate deals, but when it comes to schools, healthcare, infrastructure, or feeding hungry kids? Suddenly, there’s no money left.

They’ll dump $51 billion into property tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy, but public schools are still underfunded, teachers are underpaid, and school lunch debt keeps growing. They’ll funnel millions into coastal restoration projects that protect oil companies but refuse to address climate change. They’ll let concrete plants poison neighborhoods and reward violators with permits instead of penalties.

And if that’s not dystopian enough, they’re perfectly fine with a crumbling IT infrastructure, unregulated zombie wells, and an affordable housing project built on toxic waste.

The Texas GOP doesn’t govern. They grift. They hoard power, serve their donors, and ignore the people living in this state.

The question isn’t whether Texas has the money to fix its problems. It does. The question is who benefits from the policies they pass and who gets left behind.

And after watching these budget hearings, the answer couldn’t be more apparent.

• March 14: The last day Legislators can file bills.

• June 2: The 89th Legislative Session ends.

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

LoneStarLeft is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Follow me on Facebook, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Instagram.