Enlarge Bob Daemmrich

Sen. Bob Hall, R-Rockwall, hosts the Texas Grid Security Summit 2016 at the Texas Capitol in Austin on April 27, 2016. The session deals with how to make the power grid safer from electromagnetic radiation attacks nationwide.

Lawmakers on the Senate subcommittee on Border Security met Wednesday morning to discuss the concept of an interstate compact to enforce federal immigration laws, which was the basis of a bill carried by state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, last session and one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's interim charges.

Expert witnesses told the senators that such an agreement would require Congressional approval, and even if that was obtained, it may face constitutional questions.

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Site Selection magazine has given Texas its Prosperity Cup for 2015, an award given to the state that scores highest on its investment-attraction index, according to an announcement from the Office of the Governor.

In 2014, Texas ranked third on the list of states.

The index takes into consideration, among other things, new and expanded facilities, capital investment, job creation and tax climate.

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And in other Texas economic development news, Gov. Greg Abbott was in Houston on Tuesday to help announce the relocation of the U.S. headquarters of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to the Bayou City, according to an announcement from the governor’s office.

The company is active in several different sectors, ranging from energy and transportation to aerospace and aviation. The new headquarters will be responsible for overseeing the company’s North American operations.

“Texas is home to around 1,200 MHI Group employees and we are honored that they have chosen Houston for their new U.S. headquarters,” Abbott said. “In Texas, free enterprise flourishes thanks to our low taxes, reasonable regulations and right-to-work laws, and I look forward to Texas’ continued growth as a North American hub for global trade and investment.”

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Dan Patrick last Friday announced his Senate appointments to a couple of joint interim committees — one that’ll look at how the government communicates directly to the people via public notices and another that’ll examine the possibility of attracting the cruise industry to South Texas.

For the public notices panel, Patrick’s appointees are:

Konni Burton, R-Colleyville — Chair
Kirk Watson, D-Austin — Vice Chair
Kelly Hancock, R-N. Richland Hills
Charles Perry, R-Lubbock
José Rodríguez, D-El Paso

For the cruise industry panel, Patrick’s appointees are:

Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham — Chair
Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen — Vice Chair
Joan Huffman, R-Houston
Eduardo "Eddie" Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville
Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood

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After completing a semester working at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker is returning home. Her alma mater Rice University announced this week that she will be joining the faculty as a professor of practice.

She will work with students through the Doerr Institute of New Leaders and teach for the School of Social Sciences, the university said. Parker was mayor from 2010 to 2015.

Disclosure: Rice University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Enlarge Esteban Monclova

Is the Sunset Advisory Commission getting tired of writing lengthy reports on the Texas Railroad Commission, only to see lawmakers reject their recommendations?

You betcha.

Consider this passage from the panel’s latest report on the curiously named agency, published Friday afternoon:

For the Railroad Commission to even be under Sunset review is a direct challenge to the commission’s status quo. Intense and pointed debate in the waning days of the 2015 legislative session rejected a proposal to delay the agency’s review until 2021 and instead culminated in this third Sunset review of the agency since 2010. Such frequent review is hard on agency staff who have their own important jobs to do in addition to attending to the needs of the Sunset review. It also heightens interest in having a positive review and a “clean” Sunset bill that will finally pass the Legislature.

As the Tribune reported, this session’s suggestions for the 125-year-old agency include: beefing up oversight of oil and gas drilling, pipeline safety and abandoned wells, giving up duties to regulate natural gas utilities and changing its name to the Texas Energy Resources Commission.

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Does the $18 billion proposal led by Ray L. Hunt to buy and reshape Oncor into a real estate investment trust still exist?

The Texas Public Utility Commission mulled that question at its open meeting Wednesday and couldn’t come to a conclusion — at least not yet.

“Is there even a transaction for us to approve?” Commissioner Ken Anderson Jr. wondered aloud.

Here’s why the question is so complicated:

In March, the PUC approved a version of the deal, but added major stipulations that Hunt’s investors say are unworkable. So the investment group last month asked for a rehearing.

But before the commission ruled on that request, Energy Future Holdings — Oncor’s parent — filed a new plan in a Delaware bankruptcy court that no longer made the Hunt deal for Oncor its centerpiece.

Under Energy Future’s new proposal, creditors could take control of Oncor, or it could sell the transmission and distribution utility to Hunt’s folks or anyone else (like Florida-based NextEra) that may be interested.

So that leaves the commissioners to contemplate whether the old Hunt proposal was tossed out with the old Energy Future plan or if it’s still technically in play.

Hunt is still asking for its rehearing, saying the commission could still bless the deal the Dallas family wants (if it wants to), which Energy Future could then pitch to the bankruptcy court (if it wants to).

“That is clearly still a viable option,” Richard Noland, an attorney for the Hunt group told the commissioners. “That would be the quickest way for the debtors to exit the bankruptcy proceeding without going through another six-month process.”

That's how long it took for the commission to issue the ruling the Hunt family calls too harsh.

But others aren’t sure that the commission can reopen the Hunt proceedings.

“What was presented to the commission is no longer relevant. It no longer exists," said Geoffrey Gay, general counsel for the Steering Committee of Cities Served by Oncor, a consumer group.

Other consumer advocates — who are also opponents of the Hunt plan — agreed.

The commissioners ultimately decided to punt on Wednesday. They will continue to debate— and possibly resolve — this existential crisis at their May 19 meeting.

Disclosure: Oncor and Energy Future Holdings have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Enlarge

For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about those Sunset Commission reviews.

More specifically, we wanted to know more about recent calls for a sunset review of the Sunset Commission. So we kicked off this week's survey by asking whether putting Sunset under sunset is an idea worth pursuing.

A strong majority of the insiders (70 percent) agreed the idea is worthwhile with 28 percent disagreeing.

We followed by asking the insiders to pick the biggest problem with the sunset review process, listing four often cited problems. The majority of the insiders didn't bother to pick among those options and instead said all of them constitute a big problem for the agency.

We next asked about a couple of high-profile agencies — the Railroad Commission and the state transportation department — that are up for review again after recent attempts to complete a full review fell short in the Legislature. In both instances, the insiders were nearly evenly split on whether the agencies' reviews would meet with more success in the upcoming legislative session.

On the Railroad Commission review, 43 percent of the insiders said it would be successful while 42 percent said it would not. On the TxDOT review, 42 percent said it would be successful while 39 percent said it would not.

We collected comments along the way, and a full set of those is attached. Here’s a sampling:

Enlarge Emily Albracht

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State Rep. Larry Phillips would like to see the Sunset Commission go through sunset review. Is that a worthwhile idea?

• "There may be better ways to do what they do. Or there may be things they review that should not be in the purview of the Sunset Commission. Also, the large 15 agencies may be better reviewed in parts. While it is not going to get rid of the process, a review may serve to find ways to do things better."

• "The Sunset Commission needs to be protected from politics in order to do a good job of assessing the government bureaucracies."

• "Of all Texas agencies, the Sunset Commission should be of highest priority for review and serious consideration be given for elimination. Its one-size-fits-all mentality and the making of recommendations that impede the state's economy have been present for far too long."

• "If putting sunset through sunset would help to sunset sunset, then I'm for it. Sunset is a painful drag more than it is anything else."

• "An alternative to a Sunset Commission could be that the joint committees attached to each agency. For example, the Railroad Commission would be jointly reviewed by the Senate Natural Resources and House Energy."

Enlarge Emily Albracht

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What is the biggest problem with the sunset review process?

• "It is a much needed and valid process. It does not need to be eliminated. If it were, there would be no regular, methodical process to review state agency operations. It is too bad that higher education isn't subject to the sunset review process!"

• "Avoiding sudden death is not a bad thing. In all the instances where a lifeboat bill had to be used to keep the agency alive for two more years, the Sunset Commission had already recommended it not be abolished. It is most perplexing that there is so much angst about a process that was set up by the Legislature AND is run by the Legislature. The Speaker has it right — self-regulation."

• "Show me when it actually worked and we shut down an agency."

• "The staff level process is pretty good. What happens under the Dome is NOT Sunset's fault."

• "Staff without detailed knowledge of agencies in conjunction with legislators assigned to the Sunset Commission review agencies sometimes coming up with suggestions that sound good but aren't feasible."

Enlarge Emily Albracht

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Testing the saying that the third time’s the charm, will the sunset review of the Railroad Commission yield successful legislation next year?

• "It's logical and helpful to voters to know that they're voting for overseers of the oil & gas industry, rather than railroads."

• "The fact of the matter is that it already has yielded successful legislation. Ninety-plus percent of Sunset's non-political recommendations were adopted in other legislation in 2011, 2013, and 2015."

• "I hope not. Just leave the place alone. No amount of tinkering with the RRC's laws is going to do what the elected commissioners couldn't do on their own."

• "DPS was punished about three times with reviews back in the 2000s and look at them now — they're now a border patrol agency and the Texas Rangers perform public integrity investigations instead of quelling."

• "Special interests always keep the Legislature from getting rid of worthless agencies. Besides, it gives the Republicans three elected offices!"

Enlarge Emily Albracht

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How about TxDOT?

• "TXDOT is every member's pork and economic development need. There are a lot more fingers in that pie. This would be a great one to break into pieces. Maybe Sunset functions of the agency if the bill containing the revisions for a specific program doesn't pass."

• "TXDOT needs an ass whoopin'. When sitting commissioner requests information from the agency and he never gets it, there is a problem. This has happened. This agency is a joke and they operate and live in an era that time forgot."

• "No. TxDOT is a whale that sunset is not going to be able to steer."

• "Too many birds feathering their nests off of the mismanagement to get any real reform."

• "Sounds like something Jimmie Johnson used to holler in the locker room."

Our thanks to this week's participants: Gene Acuna, Cathie Adams, Brandon Aghamalian, Clyde Alexander, Jay Arnold, Andrew Biar, Allen Blakemore, Tom Blanton, Chris Britton, Raif Calvert, Kerry Cammack, Snapper Carr, Janis Carter, Elna Christopher, Harold Cook, Kevin Cooper, Randy Cubriel, Curtis Culwell, Denise Davis, June Deadrick, Glenn Deshields, Tom Duffy, David Dunn, Richard Dyer, Jack Erskine, Gay Erwin, John Esparza, Tom Forbes, Neftali Garcia, Dominic Giarratani, Bruce Gibson, Eric Glenn, Kinnan Golemon, John Greytok, Jack Gullahorn, Clint Hackney, Wayne Hamilton, Bill Hammond, Steve Holzheauser, Deborah Ingersoll, Mark Jones, Walt Jordan, Robert Kepple, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Dale Laine, Pete Laney, James LeBas, Luke Legate, Myra Leo, Ruben Longoria, Matt Mackowiak, Jason McElvaney, Steve Minick, Bee Moorhead, Mike Moses, Keats Norfleet, Gardner Pate, Robert Peeler, Tom Phillips, Allen Place, Gary Polland, Jay Pritchard, Jay Propes, Patrick Reinhart, David Reynolds, Carl Richie, A.J. Rodriguez, Grant Ruckel, Andy Sansom, Barbara Schlief, Stan Schlueter, Robert Scott, Ben Sebree, Nancy Sims, Jason Skaggs, Ed Small, Martha Smiley, Larry Soward, Leonard Spearman, Dennis Speight, Colin Strother, Sherry Sylvester, Sara Tays, Trey Trainor, Vicki Truitt, Ware Wendell, David White, Darren Whitehurst, Seth Winick, Peck Young, Angelo Zottarelli.

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

Saturday, May 7

• House District Special Elections in HD-120, HD-139
  

Sunday, May 8

• Mother's Day

Tuesday, May 10

• State Rep. John Cyrier, R-Lockhart, fundraiser; Austin Club, 110 E. Ninth St., Austin (4:30-6 p.m.)
• Democratic HD-49 candidate Gina Hinojosa fundraiser; Threadgill's, 301 W. Riverside Drive, Austin (5:30-7:30 p.m.)
• Willie Velasquez Benefit Dinner, with special guests U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro, state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, and House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio; Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk, 123 Losoya St., San Antonio (6 p.m.)

Thursday, May 12

• Republican Party of Texas state convention; Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, 650 S. Griffin St., Dallas (May 12-15)
• Texas Eagle Forum Patriotic Banquet & VIP Reception; Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, 650 S. Griffin St., Dallas (6-9 p.m.)

An Austin judge temporarily blocked the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services from issuing a child-care license to an immigration detention center in Karnes City on Wednesday.

For the first time since his own presidency, George H.W. Bush is planning to stay silent in the race for the Oval Office — and the younger former president Bush plans to stay silent as well.

A new poll shows most Texans believe state leaders should draw up a plan to shift from coal-fired power to natural gas and renewables — even if the state defeats the Obama administration in a high-profile court battle.

For the past year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has used taxpayer-funded security teams and drivers to travel at least twice and as many as four times a month to North Texas where he has a home and businesses, according to records obtained by The Texas Tribune.

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz ended his campaign for the presidency after suffering a devastating loss to frontrunner Donald Trump in the Indiana primary.

A New Orleans-based appeals court says the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's restrictions on beard lengths and religious head garments for inmates violate federal law.

Charles Smith, a longtime ally of Gov. Greg Abbott, will be the next executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the governor announced Tuesday.

Both this Saturday and then two weeks later, voters in San Antonio and Houston will weigh in on the future of their representation in the Texas House. The convoluted scrambles happening in District 120 in east San Antonio and District 139 in northwest Houston began after two longtime Democratic representatives stepped down before their terms were over.

A Sikh advocacy group wants criminal charges to be filed against three people who restrained two fellow Greyhound bus passengers in Amarillo and called 911 to report them as terrorists.

The Texas A&M University System on Monday announced plans to renovate an old satellite campus to develop new research opportunities and teach as many as 10,000 new students who were "not admitted" into the university. A system spokesman said details are still being conceived, but the students would likely enroll in another university — like one of the 10 others in the A&M System — and take their courses near the flagship.

The Obama administration has agreed to temporarily keep some federal money flowing into Texas to help hospitals treat uninsured patients, despite the state's refusal to offer health coverage to low-income adults.

Energy Future Holdings, Texas’ largest power company, is going back to the drawing board in its efforts to emerge from one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in American history. The filing comes as the initial plan’s controversial centerpiece — a roughly $18 billion sale of its subsidiary Oncor to an investor group led by the Dallas-based Ray L. Hunt family — faces major stumbling blocks.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University, the Texas A&M University System, Oncor and Energy Future Holdings have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed James Hicks of Abilene to serve as criminal district attorney for Taylor County until the November general election. Hicks is the GOP nominee for the post, which is open after the James Eidson stepped down after 28 years in order to run for district judge.

Abbott has named Roger Cox of Amarillo to the post of Canadian River Compact Commissioner for a term to expire Dec. 31, 2021, and has named S. David Deanda Jr. of Mission to be presiding officer of the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2018.

Republican Party of Texas Chairman Tom Mechler has added another lawmaker to his re-election endorsement list: U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan.

Rick Figueroa, who is running for the post of Republican National Committeeman, has received an endorsement of his candidacy from the Hispanic Republicans of Texas.

SD-24 runoff candidate Dawn Buckingham collected endorsements this week from Bedford state Rep. Jonathan Stickland and three Brown County Commissioners — Gary Worley, Wayne Shaw and Larry Traweek.

In other SD-24 runoff endorsement news, the political arm of the Texas State Rifle Association noted over the weekend that it has given its endorsement to Susan King in the race.

The political arm of Texans for Lawsuit Reform said on Monday that it has endorsed Ernest Bailes in the GOP House district runoff election to find a successor to John Otto, the outgoing Appropriations chairman, to represent HD-18.

Annie’s List, which has its mission statement electing more progressive women, has endorsed Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee to represent the open HD-49 seat based in Austin. She does not have a Republican challenger in the fall.

Dallas surgeon Don Read was installed as president of the Texas Medical Association at the medical society’s annual conference held last week. TMA also installed as president-elect Edinburg gastroenterologist Carlos Cardenas, who’s perhaps better known in the Capitol as the chairman at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance.

Austin environmental attorney Kinnan Golemon has been included in an oral history project created by the Environmental Law Institute to spotlight 24 pioneers in the field of environmental law.

Eminent domain law firm Barron & Adler LLP announced that it has named Christopher Clough and Christopher Oddo as managing partners. To reflect their new leadership positions, the firm is changing its name to Barron, Adler, Clough & Oddo.

Deaths: Ken Towery, 93, who, among other things, was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, an aide to Texas Sen. John Tower, chairman of the board for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Texas campaign manager for Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign and deputy press secretary for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. Funeral services are pending with Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Homes.

Disclosure: The Texas Medical Association, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance and Kinnan Golemon have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.