Bill Filed for $1,500 Household Checks

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat, filed a bill Monday that would send a one-time $1,500 payment to each of Texas’ 11.6 million households, turning a key campaign promise from Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa into legislation.

Senate Bill 297 would pay per household, not per person, with no income limits, for those living in Texas on Jan. 1, 2027. The comptroller would aim to send payments by the end of 2027 and take applications through 2028.

The $17 billion would come from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which holds more than $27 billion and requires a two-thirds vote to tap. Democrats control the House but would need nine Republicans to cross over in the Senate.

Republican lawmakers have previously criticized sending cash directly to Texans, and state law generally bars such grants. The bill invokes an exception by declaring rising costs a “public calamity,” and it’s unclear whether that’s legal.

Bills Stack Up Ahead of Session

Texas Democrats filed bills loosening abortion limits ahead of the Jan. 12 session, including one from Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, that would scrap all three state bans, though Republicans still control the Senate.

Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, filed a bill to end data centers’ sales tax break, and 23 of the Senate’s 31 members and members-elect have signed on. A House version from Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, would let existing projects keep their breaks until they run out.

Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, filed a new social media ban for children under 16 after his 2025 version for children under 18 passed the House 116-25 but stalled in the Senate. Other bills would limit police license-plate cameras, with proposals ranging from a statewide ban to a warrant requirement.

Rep. Elizabeth Campos, D-San Antonio, is reviving the Ramon Najera Act, named for an 81-year-old veteran killed by dogs in 2023. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the first version, saying existing laws already hold pet owners accountable, and a 2025 rewrite stalled in the House.

Reps. Shelley Luther, R-Sherman, and Eddie Morales Jr., D-Eagle Pass, filed bills to replace the mockingbird with the golden-cheeked warbler, an endangered songbird that breeds only in Central Texas. In 1927, Texas became the first state to name an official bird.

SpaceX Seeks Starbase Tax Break

SpaceX is asking the city of Starbase for a property tax break on a $24 billion data center and gas-fired power plant. Two of the city’s three commissioners voting on it work for the company.

The 444-acre site sits between Boca Chica Boulevard and the Port of Brownsville, land Brownsville dropped from its city limits in August. Commissioners will weigh the tax break at a Dec. 9 public hearing, where residents can speak.

Mayor Bobby Peden is SpaceX’s vice president of Texas test and launch, and Commissioner Jordan Buss is its senior director of environmental, health, and safety.

The request lands weeks before Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat critical of the state’s data center boom, takes office, and as lawmakers in both parties plan to end data center tax breaks. SpaceX didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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➤ Statewide: Texas logged 5,011 stolen disabled parking placards in the first half of 2026 as authentic permits turn up for sale online for about $150 each. (More)

➤ Dallas County: A child has died from flu complications, the county’s first pediatric flu death since 2022. Dallas and Fort Worth hospitals have reported a surge in children’s flu cases this past month. (More)

➤ Lubbock: Texas Tech System regents voted Wednesday to drop 21 classes, including a women’s and gender studies course on race, class and gender, from the list that satisfies graduation requirements. The changes start in fall 2027. (More)

➤ Beaumont: A 60-year-old woman was shot while showering Tuesday night when a bullet came through her home in the 2300 block of Poplar Street. She’s in stable condition. (More)

➤ Big Spring: The GEO Group launched a monthlong hiring drive for 1,200 jobs, some paying more than $104,000, at two former prisons set to reopen as ICE detention centers. Both have sat empty since their federal contracts ended in 2021. (More)

➤ Tyler: A former UT Tyler student faces three assault charges, two of them aggravated, after video showed him tearing down an American flag and swinging a cane at someone during a Turning Point USA event Tuesday. Campus police restrained him. (More)

➤ Laredo: Lake Casa Blanca hit full capacity for the first time in years after weekend rains, with water lapping at parking lots and its three boat ramps reopened. (See Photos)

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➤ The Houston Astros hired Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus as manager Wednesday, replacing Joe Espada, whose contract wasn’t renewed after an 81-81 AL West title and a wild-card sweep by the White Sox. Ausmus, 57, caught 10 of his 18 MLB seasons in Houston. (More)

➤ No. 16 Texas Tech men’s basketball beat No. 3 Illinois 84-78 Tuesday, the highest-ranked nonconference home win in program history. (More)

➤ No. 5 SMU hosts No. 3 Louisville in volleyball tonight, aiming to hand the 14-0 Cardinals their first ACC loss. (See Standings)

➤ Liberty Christian’s season is likely over after a Denton County judge declined to block its removal from the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Division I football playoffs. TAPPS ruled the top-ranked Argyle school used an ineligible transfer player. (More)

➤ Will Anderson Jr. spent Tuesday touring Joint Reserve Base Ellington with the Air National Guard’s 147th Attack Wing before Veterans Day. The Houston Texans star tried on 75 pounds of gear, calling it “way heavier” than his pads. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: NCAAF | NHL | NBA | NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer | NCAA Volleyball

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➤ Dallas City Council voted 9-6 Tuesday to approve a zoning change for an $800 million development at Preston Road and Royal Lane, capping its towers at 199 feet. Opponents gathered 5,315 signatures against it. The 7-acre lot has sat empty since a 2019 tornado. (More)

➤ Three airlines will add San Antonio flights in 2027: Delta a third daily Los Angeles flight in July, Breeze a third weekly Memphis flight in April, and Air Canada a fourth weekly Toronto flight when seasonal service resumes in May. A $2.2 billion airport expansion is underway. (See Routes)

➤ Frost Bank will move its stock from the New York Stock Exchange to the Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange today, which the 158-year-old San Antonio bank calls a commitment to Texas. Shareholders won’t notice a difference, the bank said. (More)

➤ H-E-B will serve free holiday dinners Nov. 18 at Fair Park’s Centennial Hall, Dallas’ 20th Feast of Sharing, from 3 to 7 p.m. Meals are first come, first served, with music, Santa, and more than 40 social service agencies. (See Feast)

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Whistleblowing Doctor Links Common Health Issues to Widespread “Grocery Scam”

One of America’s top doctors is hoping you’ll read this before you set foot in another grocery store.

➤ Endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles dug 697 nests on the Texas coast this year, up 55% from 2025. In 1978, Texas averaged about one Kemp’s ridley nest every three years. Crews incubate the eggs and release hatchlings on Padre Island beaches. (More)

➤ Driving 80 mph or faster jumped 139% in Texas on Thanksgiving Day last year, third-highest in the nation, according to an Allstate analysis of 44 million trips. DPS counted 41 traffic deaths statewide that weekend. (See Findings)

➤ Southeast Texas bikers traded the open road for a Beaumont food bank Saturday, packing monthly boxes for about 2,800 seniors. The club, Rollin on 3, also hands out food, water, and doughnuts to homeless people along Magnolia Street. (More)

➤ Free trees are up for grabs in San Antonio Saturday, when the city gives away more than 1,000 at Mission Marquee Plaza from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Options include bur oak, cedar elm, and Texas redbud. (See Trees)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. 

➤ Those old family rules about swimming, sugar, and knuckle cracking are finally getting scientific verdicts. (See List)

➤ In his only interview before a new memoir, former President Joe Biden is downplaying the debate that ended his 2024 campaign. (Listen Now)

➤ Migraines hold a hidden connection to women’s health, and a leading neurologist is breaking down why women suffer from them more than men. (Hear Details)

Will you drive out of town for Thanksgiving this year?

1. Yes, long drive
2. Yes, short drive
3. Flying instead
4. Staying local

Yesterday’s Results:

Do you have an HOA where you live?

1. No: 50%
2. Yes, don’t love it: 24%
3. Yes, it’s good: 21%
4. Used to: 5%

Why did Texas Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys from 1971 to 2008, have a hole in the roof?

Show me the answer

If you’re a fan of our Trivia section, you’ll love our new book, The Flyover Book of Trivia 2027, an illustrated collection of 100 of our favorite questions and answers. (Buy It Now)