Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs has held both sittings on data center cooling water and published no recommendation
The Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs carries an interim charge directing it to examine how much water high consumption cooling technologies use. The charge names data centers. The committee sat on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 and again on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026 in hearing room E1.012 at the Capitol. The Legislature's upcoming meetings listing no longer carries either sitting, which is what a held hearing looks like on that page. No recommendation from the committee has been published, so what it will ask the Legislature to do about cooling water is not yet on the record.
How to take part
Both sittings have been held and no further hearing is set, so there is no meeting to attend. The committee's own page carries its interim charges and its recordings. A member of the public who wants to be heard on the cooling water charge should write to the committee clerk before the committee reports.
Where
Statewide. This decision applies across Texas rather than to a named county.
Timeline
- hearing
Public hearing, held
- hearing
Second public hearing, hearing room E1.012, held
- 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.
- 2026-08-26
Admitted. The committee's own charge names data centers and the Legislature's upcoming listing carries the date and the room.
- 2026-08-27
Checked, and the committee has added a day. The Legislature's listing now carries a second public hearing of the same committee on September 2nd. It sits in the same room as the first.
- 2026-08-28
The Senate committee still sits on September 1st in hearing room E1.012 at the Capitol, and the second sitting the next day is still listed. The charge on how much water high consumption cooling uses is still the reason it meets, and a Texan can still show up.
- 2026-08-29
The comment window is still open, closing September 2nd. The committee still meets on the interim charge that names data center cooling water, and the notice still says it hears public as well as invited testimony.
- 2026-08-30
The hearing is still set and the room is still open to file into. Data center cooling water remains on the committee's list, and the window closes September 2nd.
- 2026-09-01
The Senate water committee's data-center hearing remains open to written public submissions through its stated close.
- 2026-09-02
The September 1st sitting was held. The committee's own page carries its recording. The second sitting stands for September 2nd, 2026 in hearing room E1.012, so the door is open today.
- 2026-09-05
Both sittings have been held and the Legislature's upcoming meetings listing no longer carries either of them, which is what a past hearing looks like on that page. The committee still holds the charge on cooling water and has published no recommendation. The door a reader could have walked through has shut and the question behind it is unanswered.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
Assessing the Water Demands of Energy-Intensive Technologies: Examine the current water consumption rates for high-consumption cooling technologies, including data centers.Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs, interim charges Primary source, official · senate.texas.gov
Evaluating Desalination Viability and Regulatory Efficiency: Inventory existing facilities and review the permitting framework across relevant state agencies to improve efficiency.Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs, interim charges Primary source, official · senate.texas.gov
Tuesday, September 1, 2026Upcoming Senate Committee Meetings, Texas Legislature Online Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Water, Agriculture and Rural AffairsUpcoming Senate Committee Meetings, Texas Legislature Online Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Type: Public Hearing Location: E1.012 (Hearing Room)Upcoming Senate Committee Meetings, Texas Legislature Online Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Wednesday, September 2, 2026Texas Legislature, upcoming Senate committee meetings, September 2026 listing Primary source, official · capitol.texas.gov
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 9:00 AM Water, Agriculture and Rural AffairsTexas Legislature Online, Senate upcoming committee meetings 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 Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs carries an interim charge directing it to examine how much water high consumption cooling technologies use. The charge names data centers. The committee sat on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 and again on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026 in hearing room E1.012 at the Capitol. The Legislature's upcoming meetings listing no longer carries either sitting, which is what a held hearing looks like on that page. No recommendation from the committee has been published, so what it will ask the Legislature to do about cooling water is not yet on the record.
Who decides it?
Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
Both sittings have been held and no further hearing is set, so there is no meeting to attend. The committee's own page carries its interim charges and its recordings. A member of the public who wants to be heard on the cooling water charge should write to the committee clerk before the committee reports. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It applies statewide.
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 September 2nd.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is September 1st, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under state policy.
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 September 5th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs has held both sittings on data center cooling water and published no recommendation. Tracked since August 26th, 2026. Last verified September 5th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0096/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0096.
Beat
Filed under State policy, with every other decision on that beat.