House State Affairs held an interim hearing on data center development and the proposed 765 kV transmission lines
The Texas House Committee on State Affairs met on August 19th, 2026 on two interim charges. The first directs it to study the development of data centers in Texas and to review the regulatory framework governing that development. It also directs it to study the implementation of SB 6 and the Large Load Batch Study Process proposed by ERCOT as it relates to data centers. The second directs it to review the regulatory and planning processes regarding the proposed 765 kV transmission lines. Those are the same lines the commission has two Oncor applications for. The committee's product is a report to the next Legislature rather than an order, so nothing binds until the session convenes in January 2027.
How to take part
The hearing has been held. The committee clerk is named on the Legislature's committee meetings page with a phone number and a room. That page is where the hearing notice, the minutes, the witness list and the handouts are posted as they are filed.
Where
Statewide. This decision applies across Texas rather than to a named county.
Timeline
- hearing
Committee meeting at 8:00 AM, as listed on the Legislature's own committee meetings page
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-08-21
Admitted. The Legislature's own committee page carries the meeting and the Legislative Reference Library carries both charges in full. So the record has the data center charge and the 765 kV charge on the same August 19th agenda.
- 2026-08-25
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-08-28
Checked and unchanged. House State Affairs has published no interim report from the August 19th hearing. The committee's reading of the data center framework and the 765 kV lines is still only what was said in the room.
- 2026-09-01
The House State Affairs record still shows the data-center and transmission hearing without a later committee action.
- 2026-09-02
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-09-05
House State Affairs has held its hearing on data centers and the proposed transmission lines. No interim report has been published from it.
- 2026-09-08
House State Affairs has held its hearing on data center development and the proposed 765 kV lines, and the committee has issued nothing since.
- 2026-09-09
The August interim hearing on data center development has dropped off the committee's own meeting list, which carries only what is still ahead. The legislative library's record of the week still carries it and no report has followed.
- 2026-09-12
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-09-13
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-09-16
The committee has sat twice more this week, on September 14th and September 15th, and its own meeting archive lists both. What it took up at either sitting is not yet on the record here. The committee has still published no report out of the August hearing on data centers and the transmission lines.
- 2026-09-19
The August 19th hearing is still on the committee's own archive and sits below the September 14th and September 15th sittings. The record's reading of that page was written to span the page heading and the first meeting row, so the two newer sittings broke it. The reading now names the August date alone. Nothing about the hearing changed. The committee has still published no report out of it.
- 2026-09-23
The state affairs hearing has been held and nothing has been published out of it.
- 2026-09-26
The State Affairs hearing on data centers and the new transmission lines has been held, and nothing has been published from it.
- 2026-09-29
House State Affairs has published no report from its hearing on data centers and the proposed 765 kV lines.
- 2026-10-02
The House State Affairs hearing on data centers stands as the committee's own pages list it, with no recommendation published.
- 2026-10-05
House State Affairs still lists its hearing on data centers and the 765 kV lines, with no report from it published.
- 2026-10-08
The committee's own archive still lists the August 19th sitting and the two September sittings after it, and no report from the hearing has been published.
- 2026-10-14
The committee's own meeting archive still lists the August 19th sitting, now followed by two September sittings, with its minutes and witness list linked. The charge wording on the Legislative Reference Library page and any report index weren't re-read, since that host is off limits to this project.
- 2026-10-17
The committee's own meeting archive still lists the August 19th sitting and the two September sittings after it, with no later sitting posted. The charge wording on the Legislative Reference Library page is unconfirmed, since that host is off limits to this project.
- 2026-10-20
House State Affairs still lists the August 19th sitting and the two September sittings after it, and has posted no later meeting. The charge wording on the Legislative Reference Library page stays unconfirmed.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
August 19, 2026 8:00 AMTexas Legislature, House Committee on State Affairs (C450), meeting archive Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Charge: Data Centers: Study the development of data centers in Texas, including its importance to global competitiveness and national security.Legislative Reference Library of Texas, Interim Hearings, Week of August 17th, 2026 Primary source, official · lrl.texas.gov
Review the existing regulatory framework governing data center development and recommend proposals to streamline regulations while enabling communities to plan and manage growth responsibly. Study the implementation of SB 6 and the Large Load Batch Study Process proposed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as it relates to data centers, and identify how grid-connected data center facilities and co-located resources can support grid resilience and reliability.Legislative Reference Library of Texas, Interim Hearings, Week of August 17th, 2026 Primary source, official · lrl.texas.gov
Charge: 765-kV Transmission Lines: Review the regulatory and planning processes regarding the proposed 765-kV transmission lines.Legislative Reference Library of Texas, Interim Hearings, Week of August 17th, 2026 Primary source, official · lrl.texas.gov
September 14, 2026 10:00 AMhttps://capitol.texas.gov/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=89&Chambe Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
September 15, 2026 10:00 AMhttps://capitol.texas.gov/Committees/MeetingsByCmte.aspx?Leg=89&Chambe Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
The Texas House Committee on State Affairs met on August 19th, 2026 on two interim charges. The first directs it to study the development of data centers in Texas and to review the regulatory framework governing that development. It also directs it to study the implementation of SB 6 and the Large Load Batch Study Process proposed by ERCOT as it relates to data centers. The second directs it to review the regulatory and planning processes regarding the proposed 765 kV transmission lines. Those are the same lines the commission has two Oncor applications for. The committee's product is a report to the next Legislature rather than an order, so nothing binds until the session convenes in January 2027.
Who decides it?
Texas House Committee on State Affairs decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The hearing has been held. The committee clerk is named on the Legislature's committee meetings page with a phone number and a room. That page is where the hearing notice, the minutes, the witness list and the handouts are posted as they are filed. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It is a statewide body's action and it governs the ERCOT region rather than every county.
Has it been decided?
It is pending. No final decision is on the record.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was hearing on August 19th.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is August 19th, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under data centers.
What sources back it?
Two sources back it. Two of them are primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
Yes. It sits inside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on October 20th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, House State Affairs held an interim hearing on data center development and the proposed 765 kV transmission lines. Tracked since August 19th, 2026. Last verified October 20th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0078/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0078.
Beat
Filed under Data centers, with every other decision on that beat.