A look at the wins rural Texas scored in this year’s legislative session

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There were big wins for rural Texas this legislative session as lawmakers dedicated more funding to health care, struggling farmers and emergency management.

More than 3 million Texans live in rural pockets strewn across the state, from the Piney Woods in East Texas to far-flung corners in the Panhandle. However, people in rural communities are more likely to lack access to basic necessities, have a dearth of hospitals and struggle to find money for infrastructure needs.

Lawmakers took strides to close those gaps this year. Some proposals did not go through, including a bill that would have prioritized applications for broadband projects that expand to underserved and unserved communities. However, there are other changes that stand to improve conditions for rural communities.

Education

Texas schools can expect an additional $8.5 billion in public education funding.

House Bill 2, sponsored by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, gives public schools money for teacher and staff salaries. The money will also be used for training and preparing teachers, special education, safety requirements and early childhood learning. Texas has an excess of 5.5 million students attending 1,200 public school districts.

The boost is expected to help financially stagnating school districts recover from their shortages, including budget deficits, keeping up with competitive salaries and operating costs.

Chris Stanley, board president of the Ector County School District in the oil-and-gas producing region of the state, said he was pleased to see lawmakers pass a public school funding package in tandem with the voucher program. The district is running with a $24 million deficit to educate its 33,000 students. Stanley said the district will benefit from the extra money.

However, Stanley said it was just the start to addressing the needs of public schools.

“In no way is it over,” Stanley said.

Legislators also passed a private school voucher school program called the Education Savings Account, a $1 billion program that allows families to use public dollars to pay for private schools. Parents and educators have said the program could adversely affect public schools.

Water

Lawmakers addressed a flurry of water issues plaguing Texas communities this session, and some of their solutions will directly benefit rural areas. Senate Bill 7, a sweeping bill by state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, calls for more money to go toward rural Texas.

The bill allows for money from the Texas Water Fund to be allocated to the Rural Water Assistance Fund, which provides small, rural water utilities with financing for water and wastewater projects. The bill also requires the Texas Water Development Board to ensure a portion of the money is used in rural areas.

Lawmakers also expanded what type of projects qualify for funding through the state. This is helping South Texas officials in their two-year long quest to obtain the funding for a project that would reuse water in their drainage system.

Senate Bill 1967 allows drainage projects that capture floodwater, treat it and distribute it as a new source of water to qualify for funding through the Flood Infrastructure Fund. Gov. Greg Abbott has signed the bill into law.

The bill also allows drainage districts to qualify for funding through the Water Loan Assistance Program, even if they don’t have historical data about water use or provide retail water service directly to consumers.

While these changes to the Texas Water Code will help officials in Hidalgo County get started on construction for their project, it also helps drainage districts across the state fund similar projects.

Rural health

Texas lawmakers took several steps to address problems with rural health. This includes a bill that provides more support for rural hospitals. Experts say it could have helped prevent the closure of a hospital in East Texas during the legislative session.

The Mid Coast Medical Center closed down its operations in Trinity, a town of about 2,400 that is 90 miles north of Houston, citing financial concerns.

Rural hospital closures slowed in Texas after the state saw an influx of federal funding for rural health care as part of the national response to COVID-19. The funding has ended, but inflation hasn’t, leaving many rural hospitals with tough financial choices.

House Bill 18, by Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, is known as the Rural Health Stabilization and Innovation Act. It seeks to give more support for rural hospitals by creating a State Office of Rural Hospital Finance to provide hospitals with technical assistance. Lynn Cowles, the health and food justice director for Every Texan, a public policy institute in Texas, said the bill is good but requires a lot of oversight and monitoring.

“We do want to make sure that the bill's emphasis on administrative improvements and training is going to serve the bill's intent and not line pockets for consulting firms,” Cowles said.

The bill also creates a Rural Hospital Financial Vulnerability Index and Needs Assessment, which will evaluate the financial health of rural hospitals, along with a Rural Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program and other measures. Under the bill, each hospital's reimbursement rates will be updated every two years.

John Henderson, CEO of the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals, said the bill was the most significant rural health legislation in a “generation.” He said the Medicaid rate protection, pediatric behavioral health and other changes will help rural communities.

“Because these things are now in statute, rural hospitals can count on it,” Henderson said. “Rather than worry about uncertainty related to renewals or budget cycles.”

Rural emergency services will also get a boost from lawmakers. House Bill 3000 by state Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, addresses the lack of resources for rural emergency services, which largely happens because of tight budgets that keep medical departments from affording equipment. The bill establishes a grant program for qualified rural counties to purchase ambulances as a way to strengthen emergency services and improve response times.

Agriculture

Texas farmers will soon have access to additional state support, thanks to a bill by Sen. Stan Kitzman, R-Pattison.

House Bill 43 expands both the Young Farmer Grant Program and Young Farmer Interest Rate Reduction Program, which provide money to farmers. Age restrictions were eliminated from the grant program, making the money eligible to all farmers.

Changes to the interest rate reduction program will allow anyone in agriculture to apply for loans up to $1 million at an interest rate of 2%. Under the current program, only 18 to 46 year-olds can only apply for $500,000 loans at a 5% interest rate.

The age restrictions were also eliminated from the grant program, which was limited to 18 to 46-year-olds. Under the bill, grantees could receive up to $500,000 while paying a 10% match. Currently, grantees can only receive $20,000 and have to fully match the grant. Businesses essential to agriculture, like cotton gins, are also now eligible to apply under the bill

Kitzman said the goal is to help producers who are sitting in a tough economy to hang on. Uncertain markets, inflation and growing competition for land have made it difficult for farmers to operate. Rodney Schronk, a fifth-generation farmer from Central Texas whose family has grown cotton, corn and other commodities, tipped his hat to lawmakers for helping agriculture.

“So hopefully it's enough money that maybe — maybe — there'll be some farmers that are able to survive these difficult times,” Schronk said.

As his son prepares to take over the family business, Schronk sees how the bill’s expanded funding opportunities could help establish more stability in their own farm. In the coming years it may open the door to actually purchase land, rather than just lease it.

Disaster recovery and emergency preparedness

Lawmakers also passed a bill directing the state’s emergency division to establish a disaster recovery program. Authored by Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, House Bill 3010 makes new money available to certain counties, cities and colleges when extreme weather devastates infrastructure. The bill does not include a specific amount.

Counties must have fewer than 100,000 residents to apply for this funding, which will be administered by the Texas Division of Emergency Management. To be eligible, the cost of restoring destroyed infrastructure must exceed 10% of what the county collects in state and local sales taxes. Applications must include an estimate of the total cost of the repairs and evidence that the project does not qualify for federal assistance.

Leon County Judge Byron Ryder said the money will help counties like his address the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, such as flooding and hurricanes. He said counties often have to dip into their penny-pinched budgets to keep themselves afloat while they wait for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse the damages. That reimbursement is not guaranteed.

Ryder said the county, with roughly 16,000 residents, has spent upwards of hundreds of thousands on previous hurricane and flooding damages, part of which has not been reimbursed.

“We're on our own for the first 72 hours [of a disaster],” Ryder said. “Everything is spent, and then we hope we get reimbursed by FEMA.”

Another bill by Rep. David Spiller, R-Jacksboro, seeks to eliminate the disparities between rural and urban firefighting and rescue capabilities. The bill requires Texas A&M Engineering Service to conduct a study that evaluates the disparities and provide recommendations on how to improve it. Another requirement is that the study considers several factors, including available funding for personnel and equipment and the number of qualified candidates to fill new or vacant positions.

The study is to be submitted by Dec. 1, 2026 to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House.

Lawmakers also passed a slew of bills aimed at preparing the state for wildfires and mitigating the damage. The package of legislation includes 10% of money in the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance program to go to volunteer firefighters at risk for wildfires.

Disclosure: Every Texan and Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals (TORCH) 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.

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