Latest news with #Kolkhorst
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How RFK Jr., Democrats and Republicans found common ground over food labels in Texas
Months ago, when Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chair Lois Kolkhorst first held a hearing on Senate Bill 25 — requiring among other things, warning labels on foods containing certain additives — the first person to speak was Calley Means, a top adviser to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. 'Texas can really lead here…These bills represent a Texas way that prioritizes transparency, prioritizes good education and prioritizes incentive change,' said Means, a former food and pharmaceutical consultant, who spearheaded the federal Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission. He's also the brother of Casey Means, President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Surgeon General. It was a powerful opening to Kolkhorst's first Senate health committee meeting of the year and also signaled immediately that Kolkhorst's SB 25 — also called the Make Texas Healthy Again bill — and other efforts of fellow Republicans dovetailed perfectly with those on the federal level by echoing Kennedy's interests. For a relatively quiet Texas legislative session for health, the RFK effect stands out. Republican-backed bills on everything from putting more regulation on doctors who administer COVID-19 vaccines and letting parents opt out of childhood immunizations more easily, to halting the use of food stamps to purchase sugary drinks and SB 25 have either passed or are about to before the end of session today. It begs the question, though, of exactly who is calling the shots in the Texas Capitol. Is Kennedy directing Texas, using the state as perhaps a test kitchen for his larger initiatives, or is Texas out-MAHA-ing Washington? 'I think it's both,' said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. 'Long before Robert F. Kennedy gained some kind of surprising legitimacy by being named to the cabinet, these currents were already flowing in Texas, but they just get a lot more momentum from these national figures.' In a way, Washington and Austin have moved in on what was once the Democrats' exclusive turf: consumer health. It's become an easy pivot for Republicans as they incorporate healthy eating and exercise, traditionally left-leaning priorities, into typical GOP talking points such as national security, individual choice and reduction of health care costs. The result has been a seamless state-federal party alliance on an issue that can attract both the left and the right. Ten Democrats signed on in the Senate, and three Democrats in the House sponsored or co-sponsored SB 25. 'This is about the MAHA parents and the crunchy granola parents coming together to say, 'We are sick and tired of being sick and tired,'' Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, said, before SB 25 passed the House on May 25. 'I have personally spoken to the White House who said they are looking to us, to Texas, to get this done to stand for our children and our future.' Alarmed food company executives from across the country flew into Austin when word spread that the Texas Legislature was prioritizing a bill requiring food labeling. A coalition of about 60 industry groups and producers, including Walmart, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Frito-Lay and General Mills, implored in a letter to Texas lawmakers to strip any requirement to label foods, saying the state 'could destabilize local and regional economies at a time when businesses are already fighting to keep prices down, maintain inventory and avoid layoffs.' As initially filed, SB 25 was wide-ranging, asking producers to put a warning label on any product containing artificial coloring, a food additive or other chemical ingredient banned by Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom. Sweeteners, including high fructose corn syrup and aspartame, were then later added to the proposed label list. After pushback from the food industry and from several House members during a 4-hour floor debate a week ago, Hull amended the bill to remove the sweeteners, but kept a list of 40-plus additives that would trigger a warning label. House Democrats still worried that the warning label requirement would push up food costs. 'What we don't want to do is destroy anyone's business and or create such a burden or financial cost that the cost of food will continue to rise,' said state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, D-San Antonio. Kolkhorst back in February proclaimed that 'the market will adjust.' The bill was eventually weakened further when state Rep. Gary Van Deaver, a supporter of the bill, successfully proposed a change that invalidates SB 25's state labeling requirements for ingredients if the federal government moves forward with similar or a more far-reaching measure. The state labeling requirements would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027 but a loophole exists that if on Dec. 31, 2026 a snack food producer wants to stick with its existing packaging for another decade, no warning label is needed because the new law only 'applies only to a food product label developed or copyrighted on or after January 1, 2027.' Even so, the bill takes a step forward that states across the U.S. are still mulling. For Kolkhorst, the bill boils down to a national conversation about the health of Americans, especially American children. 'This sweeping legislation is not just another bill. It's a call to action — one that so many Texans and Americans are realizing — that something is wrong and that something needs to change in our food industry and in our sedentary lifestyle,' Kolkhorst told The Texas Tribune. While most of the attention has been on the food labeling language, the bill contains a major education plank. SB 25 will require elementary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions to re-prioritize health and exercise. It also forces health professionals to take continuing education courses regarding nutrition and metabolic health. And it will require recess or physical activity for kids in charter schools – physical activity is already required in public schools. Supporters of the bill, such as the Episcopal Health Foundation and the Meadow's Mental Health Policy Institute, see some big benefits for Texans. 'The amount of money and time we're spending treating diabetes as opposed to preventing it is huge, especially in Texas, especially in certain areas like East Texas,' said Brian Sasser, the foundation's chief communications officer. 'This is an important first step in changing that focus to prevention.' Diabetes care costs Texas Medicaid up to $8 billion annually. In a world that pretends the brain is not part of the body, this bill will put tools in the hands of children, parents and teachers to begin truly addressing emotional health and wellbeing, said Andy Keller, the president and CEO of Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. 'I am proud of the work we have done with the encouragement of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. who personally called me and urged the passage of Senate Bill 25,' Kolkhorst said. In the summer of 2024, Kennedy was running for president on a campaign focused on rising chronic health concerns for many Americans, as well as vaccine hesitancy. At that time Means, who became Kennedy's right hand in the MAHA movement, was leading a coalition of health and fitness CEOs in pitching policies designed to rein in additives and promote healthier food choices. The end goal was to force 'Big Food' to offer healthier versions of food, like those found in Europe and Canada, through similar regulations. It's not surprising that Texas lawmakers, who are always on the lookout for the public's next policy fixation jumped on this opportunity, said Henson, of the Texas Politics Project. Lawmakers have to take advantage of openings to pursue agendas that come with some federal support. 'Without that national influence [some bills] might not have gone anywhere,' he said. And, the Trump administration knows how important Texas can be to its causes. As the nation's second largest state, both in size and population, any change in food regulation no matter how small, is expected to have a ripple effect elsewhere. Thirty years ago, regulations on food, the environment and land use, crafted by California's State Assembly, became policy standards for the rest of the country. In recent years, that title has shifted to Texas. The aim of Kolkhorst's bill is to change food formulas or perhaps offer Americans the same formulas sold to countries with stricter additive and coloring standards. Kolkhorst has maintained that no group had a role in crafting her bill, that it was unique to her and her staff based on the concerns of constituents. 'No outside groups provided any language for the filed version of SB 25," she told the Tribune. Nutrition advocates, who often fear legislative cuts to their programs, welcome the plug for more nutrition-backed measures. Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, which represents 20 food banks statewide, praised Kolkhorst and Hull for also spearheading the passage of House Bill 26, which creates a pilot program within Medicaid to offer pregnant moms with nutritional counseling and medically-tailored meals. "We share the Legislature's goal of improving the health of low-income Texans and were very encouraged to see a focus this session on the link between good nutrition and health," Cole said in a statement to the Tribune. Keller found the prospect of state and federal collaboration exciting. Texas ought to lead the nation in the fight for children's health, he said. 'Nothing actually, really happens at a national level,' Keller said. 'Ultimately, all decisions about the well-being of children happen locally.' Sen. Bryan Hughes agrees. Texas waits for no one, he said. His Senate Bill 314 bars certain food additives in free- and reduced-cost school lunches. 'As in so many cases we're not waiting on Washington. We're thankful for what's happening about health in Washington, but we're not going to wait on them. Texas will act,' Hughes said in February. Disclosure: Episcopal Health Foundation, Feeding Texas, and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas moves close to ban on some land sales to foreigners
With just three days left before the deadline, the House has approved the negotiated version of a bill that bans people tied to the governments of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran from purchasing land in the state. The bill awaits Senate approval before going to the governor. Senate Bill 17 has moved forward in Texas despite a federal court ruling that a similar law in Florida was likely beyond the state's authority. It's the second attempt by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, who said in 2023 that the right time to address concerns over foreign entities owning Texas land is before it becomes widespread — something she sees as a way to bolster national security. The latest data available shows that investors from the four countries own a small portion of farmland in Texas and nationally. Chinese investors own about 383,000 total acres of U.S. farmland — about 600 square miles — which is less than 1% of total, foreign-held acreage, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's 2021 land report. On Thursday, the House approved a conference report on the measure after both chambers passed versions of the bill. Last session, although the Senate passed a similar measure, the House failed to take it up. In mid-May, Kolkhorst initiated a process to reconcile differences between the chambers over who should be banned. The select group of lawmakers known as a conference committee worked in private on the conference version that is now up for a vote in the Senate. The conference report preserves the last-minute amendments from the bill passed by the House: giving the governor the authority to add more countries to the list, restricting leaseholders from renting for up to 100 years to just one year, and including language that barred people who were part of a ruling political party from buying land. The conference committee version requires that the person have permission to live in the U.S. legally, but also that the property would serve as a primary residence. Under that version, those in the United States on work or student visas are also barred from buying a controlling interest in land as a business investment. 'The metric by which we decide who can and cannot be buying land here is to help the asylum seeker, but not to allow someone that just happens to be here on a tourist visa or a student visa to buy multiple properties, investment properties and everything else,' Kolkhorst said on the Senate floor in May. Asian Texans for Justice, an advocacy group that opposes the effort, said they see the bill as racist and discriminatory. The group has said the bill revives 'a shameful chapter in American history — when Asian immigrants were banned from owning land.' Lily Trieu, executive director of the group, said that by passing the bill, lawmakers were setting up Texans to have their taxpayer dollars spent on inevitable lawsuits. 'The Florida bill is caught up in the courts. So why would you model a bill after one that's being challenged legally?' she said in an interview. 'Why wouldn't you file a bill that you know is legally sound and constitutional? The conference committee version also lays out specific procedures for the attorney general to investigate, and the process by which land could be reclaimed if someone were found to have violated the law. Texas and Florida are not alone in their attempts to pass such legislation: between January 2023 and July 2024, at least 22 other states initiated similar bills, according to the federal Congressional Research Service. Florida's law, which also includes Cuba, Syria, and Venezuela, was struck down by a U.S. District Court in 2023, but the law remains in effect while the state is appealing it. In a 2023 letter to the court, the U.S. Department of Justice said the law violates the federal Fair Housing Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution: 'These unlawful provisions will cause serious harm to people simply because of their national origin, contravene federal civil rights laws, undermine constitutional rights, and will not advance the State's purported goal of increasing public safety,' the Department of Justice wrote. The Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union raised similar concerns. "Discriminating against residents based on their national origin is not only barred by the Constitution's requirements for due process and equal protection, but it also tramples on the United States' prerogatives on foreign relations," said David Donatti, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. Sarah Cruz, a policy and advocacy strategist with the ACLU, said the policy could also lead to racial profiling. 'How is it going to look in practice?,' she said. 'If an individual who just simply looks like they may be from one of those designated countries, does that open them to … some additional scrutiny? The bill is a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and has received the encouragement of Gov. Greg Abbott. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill adding regulations to Texas renewable energy misses key deadline
This story is supported by the Pulitzer Center and is part of the 'Texas Energy Crossroads' project, a partnership between The Hill and Nexstar Texas stations examining the oil and gas industry and the politics surrounding it following President Trump's second inauguration. AUSTIN (KXAN) – Legislation that would have added several layers of regulation to new wind and solar power facilities – rules opposed by renewable energy producers and environmentalists – missed a key deadline Saturday and is unlikely to pass this year. Senate Bill 819, authored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, would require new utility-scale wind and solar plants to undergo Public Utility Commission approval and public notice. In addition, new wind turbines would have to be set back from neighboring property lines by twice the height of the turbine and blade unless a waiver was signed, according to the most recent version of the measure. EXPLORE: Texas Energy Crossroads The bill passed the Senate but the House State Affairs Committee didn't pass it by Saturday, the last day for House committees to report senate bills, according to legislative schedules. Kolkhorst described the new rules as necessary to 'help balance the need for these structures with the state's responsibility to protect nature.' At a Senate committee hearing on the bill in March, Kolkhorst said her bill was not about stopping renewable energy production, but she was critical of the environmental and visual impact of wind and solar and their intermittent electricity production. As political winds shift, Austin braces for renewable energy impact Kolkhorst filed similar legislation in 2023 that didn't pass. Back then, and now, the bill faced opposition from environmental groups, renewable energy producers and landowners profiting from wind and solar plants located mostly in rural counties. Jeff Clark, CEO of Advanced Power Alliance, said the bill would 'kill' the state's renewable energy industry. Clark, who previously gave KXAN a tour of a South Texas wind and solar farm, noted Texas leads the country in renewable power production. Wind and solar, he said, keep Texans' energy bills lower and reduce strain on the Texas grid during extreme summer heat and demand. Adrian Shelley, Texas director of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, applauded the likely failure of Senate bill 819 as a 'victory' for Texas electricity ratepayers, and he described it as a recognition that 'renewable energy sources are an indispensable part of powering the state.' Kolkhorst did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Restrictions on wind, solar unpopular among Texas Republicans: Poll
Most Texans — including a new majority of Republicans — support the state's booming renewables industry and oppose the idea of state moves to quash it, a new poll has found. The polling by Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation comes out amid a multifront push by suburban Texas Republican legislators to hamstring the growth of wind and solar in the state. Texans 'understand what is at stake,' CTEI state director Matt Welch said in a statement, supporting a wide range of common sense, market-driven solutions,' said Matt Welch, state director of CTEI. 'By getting this right, Texas will remain a national leader in energy production and job creation.' The survey of 1,000 likely voters with about a 4 percent margin of error was completed March 22-30. It found that 91 percent of Texans 'strongly supported' landowners' ability to use wind and solar on their own land, or lease it to utilities. And 51 percent of Texans 'strongly supported' that right, per the survey. The findings come as the Texas renewable industry comes under legislative assault. The Texas Senate has passed two bills — S.B. 819 and S.B. 388 — that would restrict landowners' ability to put wind and solar energy on their land, and require every new watt of renewable power to be accompanied by a watt of power from coal or natural gas. Backers of these bills argue that the state's renewables boom is ultimately bad for the state. Texas is 'number one in wind, number one in solar,' Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R), who represents the suburbs of Houston and sponsored both S.B. 819 and S.B. 388, told KXAN. 'I'm not sure that's something to brag about,' Kolkhorst added. The CTEI survey suggests that opposition to renewables — and in particular restrictions on landowners' ability to install them — are not popular positions, even among Republicans. The CTEI poll found that 80 percent of Texans supported more government action to increase development of renewable energy — with more than 40 percent strongly supporting such state intervention. The poll found that 75 percent of Republicans — and 90 percent of independents — also favored 'government action to accelerate clean energy.' Nearly identical numbers of Texans also supported the use of energy efficiency measures to cut total use of power — a proposal that the pollsters found was especially attractive to Republicans. While self-described 'very conservative' Texans were the most opposed to renewables of any group, 56 percent of such respondents still supported it — a jump from the 49 percent who responded that way in 2023. And a more than three-quarters of men without college degrees also support renewables — up from less than two-thirds in 2023. These findings don't imply blanket support for green policies or renewable energy. A plurality of Texans — 45 percent — want to see the state develop more gas resources. In statements to the press, Kolkhorst has insisted that her measures wouldn't meaningfully harm renewables, but would 'places guardrails to ensure every inch of Texas is not covered' by windmills and turbines. 'I have no doubt that with SB 819, Texas will be able to build the generation it needs to keep up with growth while also protecting Texas land,' she said. The renewable energy industry disagrees. The bill 'will kill renewable energy in Texas,' Jeff Clark, CEO of Texas Power Alliance, said during public testimony on the bill earlier this month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Restrictions on wind, solar unpopular among Texas Republicans: Poll
Most Texans — including a new majority of Republicans — support the state's booming renewables industry and oppose the idea of state moves to quash it, a new poll has found. The polling by Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation comes out amid a multifront push by suburban Texas Republican legislators to hamstring the growth of wind and solar in the state. Texans 'understand what is at stake,' CTEI state director Matt Welch said in a statement, supporting a wide range of common sense, market-driven solutions,' said Matt Welch, state director of CTEI. 'By getting this right, Texas will remain a national leader in energy production and job creation.' The survey of 1,000 likely voters with about a 4 percent margin of error was completed March 22-30. It found that 91 percent of Texans 'strongly supported' landowners' ability to use wind and solar on their own land, or lease it to utilities. And 51 percent of Texans 'strongly supported' that right, per the survey. The findings come as the Texas renewable industry comes under legislative assault. The Texas Senate has passed two bills — S.B. 819 and S.B. 388 — that would restrict landowners' ability to put wind and solar energy on their land, and require every new watt of renewable power to be accompanied by a watt of power from coal or natural gas. Backers of these bills argue that the state's renewables boom is ultimately bad for the state. Texas is 'number one in wind, number one in solar,' Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R), who represents the suburbs of Houston and sponsored both S.B. 819 and S.B. 388, told KXAN. 'I'm not sure that's something to brag about,' Kolkhorst added. The CTEI survey suggests that opposition to renewables — and in particular restrictions on landowners' ability to install them — are not popular positions, even among Republicans. The CTEI poll found that 80 percent of Texans supported more government action to increase development of renewable energy — with more than 40 percent strongly supporting such state intervention. The poll found that 75 percent of Republicans — and 90 percent of independents — also favored 'government action to accelerate clean energy.' Nearly identical numbers of Texans also supported the use of energy efficiency measures to cut total use of power — a proposal that the pollsters found was especially attractive to Republicans. While self-described 'very conservative' Texans were the most opposed to renewables of any group, 56 percent of such respondents still supported it — a jump from the 49 percent who responded that way in 2023. And a more than three-quarters of men without college degrees also support renewables — up from less than two-thirds in 2023. These findings don't imply blanket support for green policies or renewable energy. A plurality of Texans — 45 percent — want to see the state develop more gas resources. In statements to the press, Kolkhorst has insisted that her measures wouldn't meaningfully harm renewables, but would 'places guardrails to ensure every inch of Texas is not covered' by windmills and turbines. 'I have no doubt that with SB 819, Texas will be able to build the generation it needs to keep up with growth while also protecting Texas land,' she said. The renewable energy industry disagrees. The bill 'will kill renewable energy in Texas,' Jeff Clark, CEO of Texas Power Alliance, said during public testimony on the bill earlier this month.
