Abbott: 'Texas has achieved a major milestone in our transportation infrastructure'

Governor Greg Abbott announced the Texas Music Office (TMO) and the City of Marble Falls will co-host a Music Friendly Texas Community workshop on Tuesday, July 18.

Governor Greg Abbott announced that the City of Beaumont, having completed the multi-step training and certification process, has been designated as a Film Friendly Texas Community by the Texas Film Commission.

Governor Greg Abbott announced over $6.5 million in Texas Talent Connection grants awarded to 21 workforce skills training and job placement programs in communities across the state.

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Provisional Attorney General John Scott has released the following statement:

Governor Greg Abbott appointed Angela Colmenero as the interim Attorney General of Texas, under Article 15, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution, effective 10:00 AM on Friday, July 14. This announcement follows the departure of John Scott, who the Governor appointed as the short-term interim Attorney General of Texas in May.

Governor Greg Abbott announced eight Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants to support career and technical education (CTE) training by six North Texas-area educational institutions. Presented by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the combined $3,511,598 in grants will help the schools purchase and install equipment to initially train 1,164 students for high-demand occupations.

The Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) reached a $5 billion multistate settlement with CVS for the company’s role in the national opioid epidemic, including inadequately monitoring opioid prescriptions. Over $300 million is designated for Texas. The agreement with CVS is one of numerous multi-billion-dollar settlements resulting from litigation by state attorneys general against the pharmaceutical industry for practices that escalated a nationwide crisis of fatal abuse of addictive prescription narcotics.

Governor Greg Abbott announced the next 2023 Governor’s Small Business Summit will be held in Arlington on Thursday, July 13. The Governor’s Small Business Summits aim to help Texas small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs reach new heights by connecting them with the resources and information needed to start, strengthen, and grow a business.

First Lady Cecilia Abbott and Secretary of State Jane Nelson today announced that they will lead an economic development mission to Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, organized by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism and the Texas Economic Development Corporation. The Texas delegation will depart tomorrow, July 8, 2023 and return on July 15, 2023. During the trip, the delegation will tour businesses and hold meetings with European leaders to promote Texas’ world-class economy and attract more global business investment to the state. This will be First Lady Abbott's second trip to Germany, the United Kingdom, and France.

Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-TX) has added a budget rider namely, "Prohibition on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practices in the Special Provisions Relating Only to State Agencies of Higher Education." The special provision would ban any state funding for DEI offices or practices on public universities and colleges in Texas.

The Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce met on Feb. 16 where they held a hearing to discuss overhauling the state energy grid.

Governor Greg Abbott today announced a record 10-year, $100 billion statewide roadway construction plan with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) that will increase the number of transportation projects to improve congestion, maintain roadways, and increase safety across Texas.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office sent letters to state universities and agencies asserting that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, tests and programs are illegal as a condition for hiring.

The Energy Alliance highlighted its newly published research, which criticizes the actions taken by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) intended to improve the reliability of the grid. Authored by Policy Director Bill Peacock, the research says that the PUC's plan will actually increase costs and reduce reliability by continuing heavy investment and subsidization of wind and solar generation and avoiding the creation of an "energy-only" market environment.