Ahead of the upcoming legislative session, the Greater Houston Partnership's Public Policy Division held the first in a series of legislative energy forums aimed at educating legislative and policy staffers on Houston's leadership in the energy transition and the need for lawmakers to act on central issues such as carbon capture. The forum included a presentation and an industry panel moderated by Scott Nyquist, Vice Chairman of Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) for the Greater Houston Partnership. During his presentation, Nyquist discussed the vital role energy plays in funding our state budget, creating jobs and strengthening energy security. "Texas is a global energy leader, and the state needs the energy sector to remain a growth engine for the region by leveraging opportunities within the energy transition," Nyquist said. Through HETI, Houston's incumbent energy industry is nurturing the rapidly growing energy transition ecosystem and seeing measurable successes leading to investments, jobs and meaningful innovation.  The panel portion of the event featured critical conversations about who is driving the transition and why Texas companies like Baker Hughes are leading investors in innovative, emissions-reducing technologies. "There's the dual challenge of climate change and the need for reliable energy," Bruce Wilcoxon, Senior Public Policy Manager at Baker Hughes analogized, “it's like saying we're going on vacation, do we bring the kids or the luggage – you have to do both.” Nick McKenna, Vice President of Midland Basin at ConocoPhillips, provided context to the transition conversations happening today, "the energy industry has always been in a state of transition." He highlighted how Texas companies like ConocoPhillips are raising the bar to meet growing energy demand in cleaner and more efficient ways. Just as the Partnership serves as a strategic partner for the industry to lead on the energy transition, we need lawmakers and regulators to recognize their role in supporting the policies needed for Texas to remain a global energy leader. For more information on the legislative energy forum series, please contact Caroline Wylie at cwylie@houston.org  

On October 5, 2022, the United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in State of Texas v USA the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as an overstep in authority by the executive branch but has kept the renewal process open while litigation continues—potentially rising to the United States Supreme Court.  DACA, which was announced on June 15, 2012 by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, granted security and stability to hundreds of thousands of youth who’d been brought to our nation as children. Over the last 10 years, these children—now adults—known as Dreamers benefitted from a renewable, two-year permit protecting them from possible deportation. In these last ten years, the DACA program has supported more than 800,000 eligible individuals across the United States; Dreamers have enrolled in education, expanded the economy, and enhanced our communities – especially in Texas. The 33,000 DACA recipients in the Houston region  as well as the additional tens of thousands of DACA-eligible Houstonians have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes and possess nearly a billion dollars in spending power . We have become a better, more diverse nation because of Dreamers and Houston’s economy and diversity could suffer as a result of this decision and its implications. However, for all of the benefits and opportunities provided by the program, DACA has been mired in controversy and confusion since its establishment. Lengthy lawsuits and countless pieces of legislation have been filed to try and create clarity for Dreamers; ultimately, these endeavors have failed in achieving any resolution.  While the future for Dreamers remains uncertain today, opportunity to resolve this issue remains. Congress should resolve this matter with the passage of sensible solutions to ensure Dreamers continue to contribute to our economy and communities. It is important, now more than ever, for Dreamers to be given permanent protections; the Partnership continues to support Congressional action to achieve these ends.     [1]https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/DACA_Population_Receipts_since_Injunction_Dec_31_2019.pdf [1] https://research.newamericaneconomy.org/report/examining-the-economic-contributions-of-daca-eligible-populations-in-texas/