Statewide data center audit; Overhaul of homeless aid program

Thank you. Thanks for joining us this morning on North Texas Now. I'm Miranda Suarez. And I'm Ron Corning. According to the Texas Tribune, Texas is on track to become the biggest data center market in the country. The developments are divisive, and they've become a big issue in the upcoming term elections, as we've already discussed this morning. Yes, we are digging in deeper talking about Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who has called for a data center audit that has essentially paused new data center developments. The Texas Tribunes, Paul Cobler, covers the economy and... industry and his colleague, Jamie Lazzano Carver, covers the South Plains and the Panhandle, and they are here to break this election issue down for us. Thank you both for being here. Thanks for having us. So, Paul, I want to start with you. Tell us what does this audit do. Yeah, well, and I hate to correct you off the jump, but what I want to say is that it doesn't, it doesn't entirely stop data center development. Thank you for the correction. Yeah, of course. Basically, what the governor is asking the ERCOT and the PUCT to do is to audit all of the data centers that are in the interconnection queue, which is basically the line to get connected to the ERCGOT grid. And so the ERCGOT grid doesn't extend across the whole state, but the PUCT authority does. So the governor says this is a statewide stoppage of approvals. Now, the way you can get around that and what, you know, it's kind of unclear on how many data centers might do this, but they can connect behind the meter. just build their own power plan, which a lot of these companies have a ton of money and they can just do that and get connected to that. So they could still develop that way, but it is, it is definitely a slowdown and we're not sure how long this audit is going to take at this point. We're not sure how long it will take, but do we have any idea to what extent it's going to slow the role of these, slow the rollout of data centers? Yeah, I would think it would slow it down just given the fact that, you know, there are almost 2,000 projects that are in this interconnection queue and the ERCOT has said about 90% of them are data centers. You know, they definitely want to be hooked up to the grid, like not all of them, you know, have the time or the money to build a power plant. And this is certainly in the eyes of these companies, you know, they want to build as many of these as quickly as possible. So this is definitely a slowdown, but I'm sure you guys have seen there's been a number of letters from a lot of these companies saying that they will kind of agree. to the terms of these audits, which are basically to pay their own way on power, on water, to check if they have tax breaks that they're receiving. But, you know, they say they'll go along with it. We're not clear how long exactly it will take. You know, it might be a slight slowdown, but I don't think this is the end of the road of the buildup. Jamie, you cover rural parts of Texas. I'm wondering how you think the data center issue is going to drive the way people feel about voting in the midterms. Oh, I'm sorry. It doesn't seem like we have Jamie on the line. That's okay. If we get her, we'll get her. Let's circle back to Paul and continue this conversation. Does it matter, Paul, that Trump is pro-Data Center and he's criticized Greg Abbott for this audit? They don't seem to be entirely politically aligned during this important midterm election.

Yeah, I think it's complicated. I mean, the governor responded to that and said he didn't entirely agree with his position. And obviously, you know, on Truecast, our little podcast that we do not little, I shouldn't say that. Our podcast that we do. You can be humble. That's fine. That was humble. That was humble bragging, Paul. That's fine. Yes, of course. We had, we had Sid Miller on and we asked him about this, dude. You know, Sid Miller was one of the. the president's, you know, early supporters all the way back in 2016. And he kind of, he really towed the line. I thought his response was really fascinating that he was like, we agree with each other. Me and the president on this issue. He's, he. I am all in favor of building out and beating China in this data center race. And so is the president. You know, we just want to do it the right way. And that's basically what me and the president are saying. And like, I don't think that they are totally aligned. But I am finding it very fascinating, kind of this effort to stay on the president's good side. But then also please these, you know, voters that like you guys said are growing increasingly discontented with the pace of this buildup. It's become an interesting dance around what is. really kryptonite in this in this political climate i think at this point and it's happened so quickly really well paul cover's the economy and industry for the texas tribune thank you so much for joining us Thank you all for having me. Yes, on our little radio show. Yeah. Right here on North Texas now. Thank you, Paul. The Trump administration, meantime, wants to overhaul a federal homeless program that in a move that critics say could put more than 5,000 Texans at risk for reentering homelessness. A federal judge has blocked a second attempt by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to do so. But it's not the first time HUD has tried to overhaul the program and it likely will not be the last. The IRA's Emily DeMott has more on what's at stake for local communities as the government seeks to depart from a longstanding approach to homeless policy known as Housing First. Tonisha Thomas isn't usually one to ask for help. But when she dialed the number of Texas's resource hotline three and a half years ago, she was at rock bottom. No car, her phone disconnected, and nowhere else to go. Thomas and her one-year-old son arrived at the Center for Transforming Live Shelter in Fort Worth. And I didn't have any resources and I couldn't go stay with family, so I really had no options. The nonprofit helped Thomas and her son move into an apartment, where she received counseling, child care, financial coaching, and 18 months of rental assistance to get back on her feet. Now, that program, and others like it across the country are on the federal chopping block. For the past nine months, the Trump administration has been trying to overhaul what's known as the continuum of care. It's a program that provides housing assistance and support services to families and individuals experiencing homelessness. The change would shift federal funding away from permanent housing assistance and towards services like emergency shelters, street outreach, and mental health treatment.

A U.S. District Judge in Rhode Island blocked HUD's latest attempt to restructure funding on procedural grounds. But the agency could still appeal the ruling, or try again next funding cycle. And if it's successful, local service providers say the changes could gut crucial programs that keep thousands of Texans out of homelessness annually. It's so much better if families can move out of shelters, off the streets, and into homes. Carol Klossack is the president and CEO of the Center for Transforming Lives. She says access to permanent housing grants stability to families experiencing homelessness, which makes it easier to work towards self-sufficiency. And then they know where their children will go to school, which child care makes sense, what kind of transportation needs they have, what kind of job they can get into, all the things that they need to really be able to start their life. It's a framework known as Housing First. The idea that giving someone a place to live stabilizes them enough to get back on their feet. If the proposed changes take effect, Closick says they could no longer provide housing for clients in need. That movement towards stability in families is what we all want and need. And not every community would be impacted equally by HUD's overhaul. Sarah Kahn is the president and CEO of Housing Forward, the backbone agency for the homelessness response system in Dallas and Collin counties. She says the changes would actually allow them to access more funding. That's because they already fund interventions like emergency shelter and street outreach at the local level. which are aligned with the White House's new federal funding priorities. That is where Dallas and Collin counties really shines, and that's why we've been able to increase our portfolio of funding every year. We believe that we will remain competitive to increase resources this year as well. To be sure, most service providers aren't against these new interventions that HUD wants to fund, which are still critical parts of the community's holistic response to homelessness. Lauren King is the CEO of Partnership Home, which manages the homelessness response system in Tarrant and Parker counties. The problem is it's not an either-or. It's a both-and, right? So yes, we need more money for treatment, and also those people have to have some place to live when they finish with treatment. And without additional federal investment, King says communities are doing the best they can with the resources they have. We'll serve people and we'll do a great job, but without significant investment, the community as a whole, I think. it's not going to see this huge decrease. As for Thomas, she's just graduated with honors from Tarrant County Community College with her associate's degree. It's a long way from where she was before. We're just living. We're living. We're out of surviving and we're living now. In a few weeks, she'll start at the University of Oklahoma to earn a bachelor's in social work, with the goal of someday helping other women who are going through similar situations. For KERA News, I'm Emily DeMott. And this is North Texas Now.