Texas has offered major sales-tax breaks to data centers for more than a decade. The exemption was intended to lure a growing technology industry and generate high-paying jobs.
But data centers are no longer an emerging industry. Driven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence, they are spreading rapidly across Texas — and the projected cost of the tax break has climbed into the billions.
Recently state lawmakers asked if Texas is giving up revenue for projects that would be built anyway.
Politics Breakdown
Texas politics is entering a volatile stretch.
For years, Republicans have dominated statewide elections and controlled every lever of state government. But voters are increasingly focused on affordability and not so much on the cultural issues.
New polls show the U.S. Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico could be an upset.
So, is Texas politics beginning to change — or are Democrats once again mistaking dissatisfaction for a realignment?
Scott Braddock of the Quorum Report sorts through what’s happening in Texas Politics.
He's the editor of the Quorum Report and one of the most closely followed observers of Texas politics. He is also the host of the podcast Quorum Report Radio.
SNAP Cuts
Hundreds of thousands of Houstonians rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to provide food for themselves and their families.
But they’re facing challenges because of sweeping cuts to the federal program in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed a year ago.
Houston Public Media’s Keenan Vaughan reports.
